Maine Policy Review Volume 15 | Issue 1 2006 Maine’s State Parks: Their alueV to Visitors and Contribution to the State Economy Robert Roper University of Maine Augusta, Bangor, [email protected] Charles E. Morris University of Maine Thomas Allen University of Maine Cindy Bastey Maine Department of Conservation Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr Part of the Infrastructure Commons, and the Tourism and Travel Commons Recommended Citation Roper, Robert, Charles E. Morris, Thomas Allen, and Cindy Bastey. "Maine’s State Parks: Their alueV to Visitors and Contribution to the State Economy." Maine Policy Review 15.1 (2006) : 56 -66, https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol15/iss1/8. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. Maine’S STATE PARKS Maine’s State Parks: Maine’s state parks are important to the social and Their Value to economic well-being of the state, and provide public access Visitors and to a variety of outdoor activities. In a study reported here, Contribution the authors find that visitors have a high level of satisfac- tion in Maine’s day-use parks, campgrounds and historic to the State sites. Moreover, the overall impact of visitor-related park Economy spending exceeds $30 million in income and 1,449 jobs by Robert Roper annually. Even still, the authors point out that the majority Charles E. Morris of Maine’s state parks suffer from long-deferred mainte- Thomas Allen nance and are in immediate need of major capital improve- Cynthia Bastey ments if they are to continue their vital role in supporting tourism and outdoor recreation. 56 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Fall 2006 View current & previous issues of MPR at: www.umaine.edu/mcsc/mpr.htm Maine’S STATE PARKS State parks today he Maine state park system originated in 935 (DOC). Snowmobile and ATV Twith the creation of a State Park Commission. trail programs were added in enhance quality The commission was an outgrowth of the first national the 970s and 980s. In the conference on state parks in 92, whose purpose mid-990s, the Bureau of of life, preserve was to encourage the development of state park Parks and Recreation and the systems. The 92 conference was an outgrowth of Bureau of Public Lands in the natural and recre- the National Park Service Act passed by Congress in Department of Conservation 96. In that act the purposes of national parks were were merged to form the ational resources, articulated “to conserve the scenery and the natural and current Bureau of Parks and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide Lands, which currently manages and help to explain for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and the Maine state park system. by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the There are three types our culture and enjoyment of future generations” (Morgan 996). State of parks: parks build on that philosophy, but on a smaller scale. Day-use parks include many heritage. State parks today enhance quality of life, preserve of Maine’s most important natural and recreational resources, and help to explain coastal beaches as well as our culture and heritage. inland beaches and scenic Maine’s State Park Commission planned early mountain areas. Examples include Popham for a system of areas that would protect resources, Beach in Phippsburg, Damariscotta Lake provide recreation opportunities, and contribute to in Jefferson, and Grafton Notch in Grafton the state’s social and economic well-being. In the Township. 930s and 940s, the commission assumed respon- Historic sites include most of Maine’s impor- sibility for federally administered areas including tant historical forts and other important areas. Bradbury Mountain, Lake St. George, Mount Blue, Examples include Fort Knox in Prospect and Sebago Lake, and Camden Hills, and for most of Colonial Pemaquid in Bristol. Maine’s historic forts such as Fort Popham and Fort Knox. Significant private land donations in the 940s Campground parks include many of the orig- and 950s, including Reid, Lily Bay, Rangeley Lake, inal parks and provide both camping and day Warren Island, Vaughan Woods, and Moose Point, use. Examples include Aroostook State Park in expanded this system. The availability of federal funds Presque Isle, Lake St. George in Liberty, and for outdoor recreation (today, the Land and Water Sebago Lake in Casco/Naples. Conservation Fund) in the 960s and early 970s, matched by funds from two state bond issues in 967 In addition to the state parks, the Bureau of and 97, enabled the commission to purchase land Parks and Lands oversees other park lands and several and improve or develop facilities so that most of the hundred thousand acres of public reserved and non- developed park system in place today was completed reserved lands that also provide outdoor recreation. by the mid-970s. In the 960s, the scope of the Commission’s work EVALUATING MAINE’S STATE PARKS expanded beyond management of a state park system to include providing outdoor recreation opportunities at ost persons would likely agree that Maine the local level through municipal grant programs and at Mstate parks are important to the social and the regional level through acquisition of strategic prop- economic well being of Maine. But who uses them erties across the state. A public boat access program and how important are they economically? In 2004, was added in 965. In 967, a Parks and Recreation the Department of Conservation contracted with the agency succeeded the commission, and in 974, it Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University became a bureau in the Department of Conservation of Maine to research and provide a comprehensive View current & previous issues of MPR at: www.umaine.edu/mcsc/mpr.htm Fall 2006 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 57 Maine’S STATE PARKS Fort Kent FIGURE 1: Maine State Day Use Parks, Historic Sites, and Campground Parks assessment of visitor characteris- tics, perceptions, and spending, Aroostook as well as the economic impacts Developed and staffed of state parks. This was the first parks and historic sites administered by the Bureau such examination of the usage of Parks and Lands are and impact of Maine’s state parks. shown here. Baxter State Five questions guided the research: Park (not shown) is () What are the demographic managed separately characteristics of Maine state park by the Baxter State Park Authority. visitors? (2) What are the recre- ational behaviors of Maine state park visitors? (3) How satisfied are these visitors with Maine state parks? (4) How much do visitors spend on items related Lily Bay to their Maine state park visits? (5) What are the economic Katahdin Iron Works impacts of Maine state park visitor spending on income Peaks-Kenney and employment in Maine? These questions were addressed in a Rangeley Lake survey-based study conducted by the Bangor Cobscook Bay Margaret Chase Mount Quoddy Head Smith Policy Blue Swan Fort Knox Grafton Lake Center in 2005. Notch Fort Point Roque Bluffs Moose Point Lamoine Survey Methodology Lake St. George The survey sample was devel- Holbrook Island oped based on 2004 Bureau of Peacock Beach Damariscotta Warren Island Parks and Lands’ records of the Lake Range Camden Hills number of visitors to 42 devel- Ponds Owls Head oped and staffed state parks and Bradbury Birch Point Beach Sebago Lake Mountain Fort Edgecomb historic sites where attendance is Reid Colonial Pemaquid recorded; this included 20 day- Wolfe's Neck Woods use parks, 0 historic sites, and Fort Baldwin & Fort Popham 2 campground parks (see map, Mackworth Island Popham Beach Figure , for the parks and sites Eagle Island 0 10 20 40 Miles included in the survey). We did Ferry Two Lights not include areas that are not Crescent Beach Vaughan Beach staffed and where public use is Woods Kettle Cove Day Use Park not recorded. We also did not Historic Site include Baxter State Park, which Fort McClary Campground/Day Use Park 58 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Fall 2006 View current & previous issues of MPR at: www.umaine.edu/mcsc/mpr.htm Maine’S STATE PARKS FIGURE 2: Proportion of Parties Participating in Selected Activities is managed separately by the 54.7% Baxter State Park Authority. Observing Nature 55.9% The survey design included 65.8% a sample population of 900 individuals from day-use parks 51.2% Picnicking 32.4% (including day visitors to camp- 48.5% ground parks), 749 individuals from historic sites, and 752 indi- 46.7% viduals from campground parks. Swimming 25.2% The survey sample was divided 64.0% proportionally to individual parks within each park type according 39.8% to 2004 total monthly visita- Photography 51.4% tion figures. Monthly samples for 50.0% each park were evenly divided 37.7% between weekdays and week- Hiking 34.9% ends, and individual surveys were 54.1% randomly assigned to individual days for distribution. The surveys 40.8% were distributed from June to Sunbathing 22.2% mid-October by park personnel 46.3% according to a prescribed selec- 15.0% tion and introduction protocol. Outdoor Games 10.0% Respondents were asked to be 8 32.7% years or older in order to complete the questionnaire. A total of 9.9% ,604 completed questionnaires Boating 10.8% were received, representing 68.9 44.7% percent of the final survey sample. 6.9% Visitor Demographics Fishing 13.7% 31.5% The respondents’ average age was 46.8 years. Almost two-thirds 5.6% were Maine residents and just over Biking 6.9% one-third of respondents were 35.8% non-Maine residents. The majority of respondents (59.2 percent) was 4.9% Running 4.2% female; a majority (55.9 percent) Day Use had at least a bachelor’s degree; 10.9% Historic Sites and a majority (64.7 percent) lived 1.3% Campgrounds in households with a combined Park Programs 9.8% income of $50,000 or higher.