Park closings' financial impact feared

By Gary Tanner Staff Writer

The closing of some Tennessee parks could cost the state millions of dollars in lost tourism tax revenue, an area environmentalist said.

Ron Castle of Monteagle, Tenn., a member of the Sierra Club and the Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area, said the loss to the state government in reduced tourism at the parks could be at least $8.5 million.

In August, Gov. Don Sundquist announced $3.2 million in budget cuts for state parks, which included the indefinite closure of 14 state parks.

"They came up with these cuts in two hours and were not open to suggestions from their own people or the public on solutions," Mr. Castle said.

Kim Olsen, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said the cuts had to be made if the state is to operate within the budget approved in August by the Tennessee General Assembly.

"We had no choice," Ms. Olsen said. "The Legislature said to live within our means."

Parks officials also expect a $500,000 shortfall in income from user fees and have said they don't know if the cost of reopening parks will be more than what is saved in the current budget year.

"Nobody really knows, because we've never been in this position before," Ms. Olsen said.

The parks budget still includes money for security and basic maintenance at the closed parks, she said.

Ms. Olsen said it is too early to determine whether an economic turndown and public apprehension after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., will lead to a deeper financial hole and even more cuts.

"We're basically like everyone else, just waiting to see what will happen," she said.

Meanwhile, representatives of Save Our Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning met last week at Norris Dam State Park near Knoxville and called for tax reform to rescue the state parks system.

Income tax foes said they dislike the park system cuts, too, but believe a solution is possible without the state adopting an income tax.

"We're opposed to a state income tax," said J.C. Bowman of the Tennessee Institute for Public Policy, a free-market think tank. "In regards to state parks, Commissioner Milt Hamilton put a plan in place that would have raised more than enough money through users' fees, and the General Assembly rejected it."