2016 Annual Report
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2016 Annual Report WYOPARKS.STATE.WY.US THE FACTS WYOMING 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, Buffalo Bill, 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, Legend Rock, Oregon Trail 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, Pony Express 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 Guernsey State Park, Glendo State Park, and Keyhole State Park. 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 South Pass 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 Mountain Man 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 Fort Fetterman Day Rockin’ the Reservoir Trail End Holiday Open House Kids eXtreme Cave Exploration St. Jude’s Saddle Up Ride Bozeman Trail Days Spring Exploration Event Dam Day Mother’s Day Celebration Youth Fishing Derby