WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Sour Economy Has Vt. State Parks Seeing Green

Sour Economy Has Vt. State Parks Seeing Green

Waterbury, Vermont - October 22, 2009

It's hard not to forget all the rain this summer-- it almost meant a washout at Vermont's 52 state parks-- but then August hit and with it the sun came out.

"Overall through the course of the entire season camping was very steady," said Jason Gibbs, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. "It was day use that surged in August. It was a combination of aggressive outreach, promotion and pent up demand because people just wanted to get out and take advantage of the good weather."

The end of the season was so strong. It helped bump visit numbers at Vermont State Parks to a new record-- up 10 percent over last year.

"It corresponds with the change in summer weather and in fact there were 70,000 more visitors in the month of August than we've ever had in previous years," Gibbs said.

It's not just the weather, officials say the economy helped. Many people were looking for vacations close to home that were affordable.

"People tend to want to go with what they know and stay close to home and take advantage of affordable options that they were not otherwise thinking of and we benefit from that in the park system," Gibbs said.

The strong year during a recession means any discussion of closing parks is off the table for now. The numbers are key because park fees pay for over one-half of the forests, parks and recreation budget. Another one-third comes from leasing land to ski areas and the rest from state taxes. Gibbs says he'd like to see the state parks not have to rely on any taxpayer funding and this year is a step forward.

"Up 10 percent which is great for our park system and state revenues," he said.

Strong financial news thanks to more people enjoying Vermont's outdoors.

Kristin Carlson - WCAX News