McDONOUGH – Bowman Lake could still face closure if state legislators decide not to transfer $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to help cover the cost of operating New York State’s Office of Parks Recreation and Historical Preservation, a department spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
According to NYSOPRHP Spokesperson Dan Keefe, the 660-acre McDonough park is one of 34 state parks and historical sites whose continued operation hinges on the transferal of those EPF funds. In addition, another 18 - including Chenango Valley State Park in Broome County - would see service reductions.
“The hope is that these (measures) would be temporary,” Keefe reported in a phone interview on Monday.
The 52 facilities on the list are in addition to the 41 state parks and 14 historic sites which have already been slated for closure as a result of Governor Paterson’s executive budget proposal. Chenango County’s only other state park, Hunt’s Pond State Park in New Berlin, was included on that initial list, which was released on Feb. 19.
All tolled, 22 of the 26 state parks in the Central New York region would be affected, if the greater cuts are realized.
The state agency has been hit hard by budget cuts over the last two years – to the tune of 25 percent of their overall budget. Last year, Keefe explained, they were forced to cut services at 100 parks across the state.
“We’ve been cutting around the edges,” he explained, by shortening seasons, reducing hours and cutting programs. “At this point, it’s really difficult to make reductions without cutting at the heart.”
Keefe said a number of factors were considered when selecting which parks would be closed, including attendance, operating costs, revenue and proximity to other similar services. He described the process as an “imperfect science,” one which required “very difficult decisions” driven by the need to close the state’s $8.2 billion budget deficit.
The decisions are not being taken lightly by the agency.
“We’re not in the business of closing parks,” Keefe said.
What the closures will mean for individual properties has yet to be determined, he said.
“There is no plans to sell anything,” the spokesman reported, explaining the agency’s hope that the closures would not be permanent.
According to Keefe, the announcements of the proposed closures and service reductions have prompted public outcry.
“People do love their parks,” he said. “(They) are disappointed by the prospect of them closing.”
The cuts come at a time when more people are making use of the park system for camping and recreational purposes. According to Keefe, the state’s 214 parks and historical sites saw nearly 56 million visitors in 2009, an increase of 1.9 million over the prior year.
Bowman – with its 189 campsites, swimming beach and year-round fishing and trail system– saw some 55,000 visitors last year. Hunt’s Pond recorded 8,000.
According to Chenango County’s director of tourism, Audrey Robinson, the loss of the parks would have a detrimental effect on the area.
“State parks return $5 for every $1 the state invests,” she reported. “At a time when more people than ever are visiting our parks and historic sites because they are close by and affordable, closures of Hunt’s Pond and Bowman Lake State Park will deprive our communities of much-needed revenue, and jobs.”
It would also be a loss for local residents who utilize the facilities, Robinson explained, because both Bowman and Hunt’s Pond “provide safe, affordable recreation that enhances the quality of life for Chenango County residents.”
If Bowman Lake were to close, it would be a blow to Martin Barry on both fronts. Not only does the Norwich resident frequent the state park for his own recreational purposes, but he also depends on park visitors to boost business at The Outpost, the East McDonough bar and grill he acquired last June.
“I’d hate to see it close,” Barry said, explaining that he had planned to gear even more of his marketing efforts toward Bowman campers this summer.
Robinson said she will be advocating for the two parks in Albany on Monday. During the trip, she and other members of Commerce Chenango’s Government Affairs Committee intend to meet with Assemblymen Cliff Crouch, Gary Finch and Pete Lopez, as well as Senators James Seward and Tom Libous.
McDonough Town Supervisor Art Canor said he was unaware that Bowman Lake was still in danger.
“A lot of people use it, so I’m sure hoping it’s not on the closing list,” he said.
The McDonough official wasn’t the only one for whom the news came as a shock.
“I can tell you that this second wave of cuts were a surprise to many of us,” Senator Tom Libous reported in a phone interview this morning.
Though the matter is still in committee, he said he was “cautiously optimistic” that legislators would be able to prevent the additional closures and service reductions, which would up the number of parks affected in his district to four.