Silke Jasso
In 2015, Wisconsin’s Republican state government cut all state tax support for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which oversees Wisconsin’s parks. This, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, has forced them to get creative. Even in the face of sustained growth in park attendance, the DNR has had to recover from a budgetary hole of $1.4 million.
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From fiscal year 2015 to 2016 alone, overall attendance at parks jumped by over 1.5 million annual visitors, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Recent years have seen a steady increase in park attendance, from under 13 million to this year’s high of 17,117,528.
Some in state government say the popularity of the parks system is an argument that they should pay for themselves entirely. In an interview, State Senator Tom Tiffany elaborated on a comment made to the Wall Street Journal — “the people who use the service should pay for the service” — saying that Wisconsin’s seen increased visitor attendance even with increased fees, and that the state’s user fees are lower relative to neighbors. (They’re a “great value.”) Increasing user fees would cover current operating expenses, said Tiffany.
When asked how the Department of Natural Resources would make up a potential budgetary shortfall, Tiffany said corporate sponsorships were among a number of options the DNR was considering, another of which was increasing campsite fees. This corroborates the Wall Street Journal’s report.
In the event of a sponsorship or partnership arrangement, he said not to expect “the Golden Arches over a park,” an image he says opponents like to create. Rather, any advertising would be “minimal” and “respectful.”
Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach doesn’t like that idea at all. He told the WSJ “that’s not the Wisconsin tradition.”
