2016 Annual Report

WYOPARKS.STATE.WY.US THE FACTS 111 THE ECONOMIC IMPACT Historic Structures 2016 projected economic impact is more than 36 $475 Million Information Kiosks for State Parks & Historic Sites, ORV Program and Snowmobile Program 1,645 Campsites 14 THE SURVEY Cabins & Yurts The public loves our parks!

236 In the last 10 years: Picnic Shelters 44 11% increase in repeat visitation Playgrounds 11% increase in length of stay

319 15% increase in annual trips Miles of Roads 10% increase in Visiting Parks 89 as primary destination Water Systems 99% of visitors found 98 park staff to be helpful or Sewer Systems very helpful! 139 THE CONSTRUCTION Miles of Non- Funds spent for construction Motorized Trails $2,864,975.84 6,400 Miles of ORV Trails THE GRANTS 2,585 $2,295,618 Snowmobile Trails in federal recreation grants were distributed 49,000 Acres of Land Equivalent to almost $ $4 for every person 70,000 in Wyoming Acres of Water THE PEOPLE THE VOLUNTEERS  16% in visitation to State 36,000+

Parks & Historic Sites

(over 5 year average, 2011-2015) volunteer hours

  The equivalent of 17.5 full-time positions 1% 2 % in snowmobile in ORV use use

THE TRENDS THE INTERNET  20% in State Parks & Historic Sites Fees Collected  .77% in ORV Fee Revenue 749,035 visitors to Website: wyoparks.state.wyo.us  .28% in Snowmobile Fee Revenue

 13% in Annual Permits Sold 9,742 Facebook Followers  in Shelter and Lodge Rentals 23 Site-Specific Facebook Pages 32%  62% in Online Permit Sales and Reservations 7,499 Twitter Followers with a  13% in Historic Site Entrance Fees Collected total of 2709 Tweets in 2016  133% in Cabin/Yurt Rentals 348 Pinterest Followers Water/electric site rentals  146%, with over 13,000 uses in 2016 620 Instagram Followers More than $200,000 collected through Concessions/Leases/Special Permits (2016 compared to 5 year average 2011-2015) IN THE NEWS National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award Park Rangers Win National Over the last four years Wyoming State Award Second Year in a Row Parks, Historic Sites, and Trails has been working to make our park system the best The Rangers of Wyoming State Parks, in the nation. An important measure is Historic Sites, and Trails received the participation in the National Recreation and Park Law Enforcement Association’s Parks Association’s (NRPA) Gold Medal Award (PLEA) Presidents Award at the 2016 competition. The award is presented to the Conference in Savanah, GA. The best state park system every two years. The Executive Director, and both the current award process is a very thorough evaluation and past Presidents, awarded the park of all of the components of each park system enforcement agency exemplifying which applies. After each award cycle the excellence in all aspects of park law NRPA shares the judge’s evaluation with the enforcement including professionalism, applicant and identifies areas that require enhanced safety for park guests, improvement. Wyoming has been carefully furthering the cause of park law reviewing these results and working to improve enforcement as a specialty enforcement our system. In 2015, Wyoming was one of four agency, and education of park users finalists and we are preparing to apply in 2017. on the value of parks and recreation. The rangers demonstrated a history of collaboration and partnership with other park professionals as well as other law enforcement partners.

At the same meeting Wyoming Chief Ranger, Bill Westerfield, was elected as the PLEA President. He previously served a Part of the Community two year term as vice president. In May, Every year Wyoming State Parks, Historic Westerfield attended the International Sites and Trails staff host many events at Ranger Federation’s (IRF) World Ranger our sites and make numerous presentations Congress held in Estes Park, CO as the within adjacent communities. Additionally, PLEA delegate. He will serve as the each park and historic site holds a minimum North American representative to the of two Wyoming Kids eXtreme events. This International Executive Committee of the can include helping at a museum, geocaching, IRF until the next World Ranger Congress canoeing, caving, bird banding and a myriad scheduled for Nepal in 2019. of other activities. We also partner with several child welfare organizations to host activities for at-risk and disadvantaged youth. In 2016 agency staff hosted a total of 123 events serving over 56,000 people and made 319 presentations attended by almost 20,000 people. TripAdvisor Governor’s Task Force On Outdoor Certificates of Recreation Excellence In 2016 Governor Matthew H. Mead directed Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails to convene a task Twelve State Parks and force of almost 30 individuals from all around the state Historic Sites were awarded the to provide recommendations on outdoor recreation. TripAdvisor 2016 Certificate The goal is to provide the governor direction on how to of Excellence Award: Bear improve the outdoor recreation economy, recreation River, , Curt Gowdy, opportunities and recreation land management in Fort Phil Kearney, Historic Wyoming. The meetings are on-going and we will have Governors’ Mansion, Hot the report to the Governor by mid-summer of 2017. Springs, Independence Rock, , Ruts, Sinks Canyon, Trail End and Territorial Prison. This is up from seven in 2015 and four in 2014. Award winners must maintain a rating of at least four out of Fireside Chats five stars, have a minimum number of reviews and be Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and listed on the website for at least Trails had another outstanding year at twelve months. our Ranger Fireside Chats, with more than 250 campers, recreationists, and scouts attending during the 2016 season. There were a variety of new topics this year, which include – History of Glendo, Riders, History of the Twin Springs Battle, Field Ecology, Bird Banding, and Hunter Safety Classes, along with various other programs Every Kid in a Park presented at , , and . The Ranger Fireside Chats would For a second year, Wyoming not be possible without Partnerships State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails and Sponsors, such as; Montana is partnering with the Wyoming Conservation Corp, Pony Express Riders, Office of Tourism, the Wyoming National Audubon Society, and the Department of Education, and Wyoming Game and Fish. other state and federal agencies on “Every Kid in a Park”. This program provides every 4th grader nationwide with a national parks pass that grants the student and their family free admission to more than 2,000 National Parks, as well as state parks and historic sites in the Cowboy State. Cowboy Tough

Wyoming Cowboy Tough was a New Sheriff in Town vision of Governor Matthew H. Mead to bring an outdoor sporting Darin Westby has been appointed by the Governor to event that highlights the great be the new Director of the Department of State Parks beauty, history and recreational and Cultural Resources. Darin follows Milward opportunities Wyoming has to Simpson who guided the Department for over 10 offer. This year Wyoming State years and has become the State Director of The Parks, Historic Sites and Trails is Nature Conservancy-Wyoming Field Office. Darin proud to announce Wyoming will is a Licensed Professional Engineer and joined State host the world championship for Parks, Historic Sites and Trails in 2001. He worked this event. For more information his way up through the ranks to become the Section please visit: Chief for Field Support, before being appointed www.cowboytoughwy.com. director. Darin has also been a Committee Chair and General Chair for Cheyenne Frontier Days. We are excited to have Darin in the director’s office and look forward to his leadership in the coming years.

Trails

Wyoming State Trails has dived into the digital world. With the use of downloadable, Geo- referenced PDFs (GeoPDF) for Snowmobile and Non-Motorized Trail Maps and online mapping application (current snowmobile trail grooming/Snow Depth analysis); Wyoming State Trails is using technology to reach a larger group of trail users.These new features are mobile compatible and the GeoPDFs can be used to navigate while on trail. The Trail Crew completed work on twelve projects throughout the state including the Pinnacle Trails access on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Teton Basin Ranger District. The community lost legal access to this system when the private land access was sold. This project created a new and safe access route again giving the ATV and snowmobile users access to the Pinnacle trail system. The non-motorized trails crew completed natural surface trails at City, Fort Steele, Glendo and Curt Gowdy. At Curt Gowdy, a one-mile concrete ADA trail (Kate’s Trail) was completed this year. The trail was a three- year project and partially funded by a grant through the Recreational Trails Program. THE EVENTS

Anything That Floats Race Antelope Dash Bird Banding Birding Hike Archery Tournament Kids Outdoor Day Cowboy Tough Adventure Race Rendezvous Summer Outdoor Slam Every Kid in a Park Easter Egg Hunts 2nd Annual Car and Truck Show Earth Day Celebration Pine Haven Fireworks celebration Dark Cells Prison Tours Wild West Winter Carnival Day Rockin’ the Reservoir Trail End Holiday Open House Kids eXtreme Cave Exploration St. Jude’s Saddle Up Ride Days Spring Exploration Event Dam Day Mother’s Day Celebration Youth Fishing Derby Archaeology Fair WyoFiber Event 125th Statehood Anniversary Celebrations Science Kids’ Camp First Day Hikes Kids’ Pumpkin Walk Glendo Trail Fest Ghost Tours of Laramie City Gowdy Grinder Halloween Tours of Stone Temple 8 Pumpkin Walk Rattlesnake Rampage Full Moon Fort Tours Xterra Tinsel Through Time Holiday Exhibit Days Children’s Holiday Tee Gift of the Waters Pageant and Big Horn Basin Jingle Cells Holiday event Folk Festival Kids’ Pheasant Hunt Run Like a Bighorn Trail Run Kearny Battlefield Tours Ranger Fireside Chat And more! PARTNERS

67th Army Band National Association of State Park Adventure RV Volunteer Coordinators American Recreation Coalition Andadarko Petroleum National Weather Service Audubon Rockies NOLS Audubon Society Oaks Spokes Big Brothers Big Sisters Office of the Governor Black Dog Animal Rescue Overland Mountain Bike Club Boy Scouts Park County Pedalers Boys and Girls Club Paul Smith Children’s Village Bozeman Trail Association Peak Wellness Bureau of Land Management Pheasants Forever Bureau of Reclamation Pizza Hut Central High School (Green Club, ROTC, FFA) Rock on Wheels Check’s Ice ROTC Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities Science Kids Cheyenne Field Archers Serve Wyoming Cheyenne Fire Department Sheriff’s Department Cheyenne Parks & Recreation Sinks Canyon Natural Resource Council Cheyenne Police Department Snowy Range Ski Area City of Cheyenne Student Conservation Association Coleman Company Team Alchemist Converse County Historical Society Trail End Guilds, Inc. Cycle Wyoming University of Wyoming - WITS Program Devon Energy USDA Forest Service Dubois Association for Recreation & Trails U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fat Fish Racing Volunteer Wyoming F.E. Warren AFB WY Alliance for Environmental Education Friends of Guernsey State Park WY Pioneer Association Friends of South Pass City WY Territorial Park Historic Association Fort Bridger Historical Association Wyoming Afterschool Alliance Fort Bridger Rendezvous Association Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems Girl Scouts Wyoming Conservation Corps Historic Governors’ Mansion Foundation Wyoming Cowboy Challenge Academy Just Trails Wyoming Department of Education Lander Cycling Club Wyoming Department of Health Laramie County 4H Wyoming Game and Fish Laramie County Fire District #8 Wyoming Historic Governors’ Mansion Foundation Laramie Enduro Wyoming Office of State Lands & Investments Local Conservation Distiricts Wyoming Office of Travel & Tourism Local Fire Districts Wyoming State Engineer’s Office Local Weed and Pest Districts Wyoming State Forestry Division Military 4H Wyoming State Historical Society Mule Deer Foundation WY Outside National Association of State Park Directors WY Parks & Recreation Association