Illinois Forced To Close 11 State Parks and 25 Historical Landmarks

The state of Illinois is being forced to close 11 state parks after lawmakers recent made a $14 million dollar cut to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources funding.  All eleven parks will be closed on November 1st, 2008.  The Illinois DNR is also being forced to layoff 39 employees, 36 of whom are full-time.  These employees include park rangers, security, superintendants, and park technicians.

Earlier this summer, Illinois’ General Assembly passed the state budget which included a 24% decrease in DNR general funding.  This funding is used to pay park salaries and maintain the current park system.  Many of Illinois’ lawmakers are attributing the cuts to a poor economy, but Illinois’ DNR claims that these parks are one of few areas that actually profit in the state.  The Illinois state park system had over 45 million visitors in 2007, many of which spend more funds in local economies.  It is thought that the loss in local revenue from visitors will far outweigh any savings that the state hopes to gain by the closures.

The Illinois DNR was actually in the process of making a proposal to slightly raise park fees in an effort to compensate for the state’s shortcomings on funding, when the measure to close the parks was handed down.

The parks in question (which I will list shortly) do have the possibility of being reopened at a future date, but DNR officials worry that without proper maintenance, it will take much more money to get these parks back in line.  With a shortcoming on funds, they fear that this option may be a far stretch and future funding will not allow for the kind of work involved to reopen the parks.

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Adventurist Issues: ATV and Off-Road Vehicles in Our Parks: Part II, The Environmentalists Speak Out

I have recently jumped on an issue that has sparked a bit of controversy in the press: the use of ATV and Off-Road Vehicles in our parks. This issue has been an ongoing debate amongst those who ride, environmentalists, lawmakers, and the public. Many are for, many are against.

A couple of days ago, I put up my thoughts on what could be done to perhaps satisfy both sides a bit–I am not going to take a stand on this issue, but rather try to put up both sides and let you, my readers, decide for yourselves where you stand. My job is to inform.

Today I am taking a look at a recent article published over on the ENN–The Environmental News Network–concerning this issue. Their article, “Apache-Sitgreaves Off-Road Vehicle Plan Will Put Arizona’s Crown Jewel White Mountains at Risk,” takes a look at a recent proposal by the Arizona Forest Service to put in Off-Road Vehicle trails in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Read more