Your support is critical to Arizona State Parks ability to contribute to the aesthetic and economic value of Arizona.
Take our message to your mayor, your county supervisors, your chamber of commerce and your representatives in the Arizona State Legislature:
1) All fund sweeps and transfers must stop.
2) Support any legislation created to secure a stable and voter-protected funding source for the sustainability of Arizona State Parks.
Take our message to your mayor, your county supervisors, your chamber of commerce and your representatives in the Arizona State Legislature:
1) All fund sweeps and transfers must stop.
2) Support any legislation created to secure a stable and voter-protected funding source for the sustainability of Arizona State Parks.
Economic Value of Arizona State Parks
The Arizona State Parks system is among the most threatened public park systems in the United States. While the natural beauty and open spaces of Arizona are seen by citizens as our greatest asset*, many residents and government representatives do not recognize or understand the significant economic impacts (retail spending, tax revenue and jobs) that state parks have on the Arizona economy.
In an effort to inform park users and non-users of the economic value Arizona State Parks brings to our communities, counties and state, Arizona State Parks Foundation has developed Economic Impact Statements (.pdf) for each state park in the system. These simple park by park statements are listed on our Impacts page alphabetically, by county and by voting district.
Arizona State Parks Foundation urges you to evaluate the EIS of your favorite state park and those within your county and voting district. Our state parks contribute to the economic vitality of your community, county and the state, yet the state park system receives NO financial support from the state general fund for park operations and is repeatedly targeted by the Arizona State Legislature for fund sweeps and transfers of the revenue state parks earn at their entry gates and gift shops.
* The Arizona We Want report was issued in 2009 by the Center for the Future of Arizona and developed from responses to the largest Gallup survey ever conducted in Arizona.
RESOURCES:
Why Parks and Open Space Matter -
The Economics of Arizona's Natural Assets by Arizona Forward
Arizona Forward, a business-based coalition vested in enhancing the state's environmental quality, has developed a parks and open space primer to provide unbiased facts, background information and answers to frequently asked questions on this important topic. A section of this primer is devoted to Arizona State Parks and confirms the economic benefits of our state parks to regional economies and the State of Arizona. Link to the primer (.pdf) by clicking on the title above.
The Colorado College State of the Rockies Project
The Arizona We Want report was issued in 2009 by the Center for the Future of Arizona and developed from responses to the largest Gallup survey ever conducted in Arizona.
As part of a responsible solution to the issues that challenge Arizona
State Parks, the Arizona State Parks Foundation funded a highly regarded
team of nationally known experts on park operations,
PROS Consulting of Indianapolis, Indiana to analyze privatization of Arizona State Parks and to develop a blueprint for an alternative model of operation for the Arizona State Parks system.
The result of this analysis is the study "Arizona State Park Privatization and Efficiency Plan."
Link here to download the full study.
Link here to download the Executive Summary.
The 2007 Arizona State Parks Economic Impact Study conducted by Northern Arizona University demonstrates the indisputable economic value of state parks.
2008 Arizona State Parks Visitation Estimates
Arizona State Parks Revenues FY2008-2011
PROS Consulting of Indianapolis, Indiana to analyze privatization of Arizona State Parks and to develop a blueprint for an alternative model of operation for the Arizona State Parks system.
The result of this analysis is the study "Arizona State Park Privatization and Efficiency Plan."
Link here to download the full study.
Link here to download the Executive Summary.
The 2007 Arizona State Parks Economic Impact Study conducted by Northern Arizona University demonstrates the indisputable economic value of state parks.
2008 Arizona State Parks Visitation Estimates
Arizona State Parks Revenues FY2008-2011
Link here to Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public PolicyOctober 2009
"The Price of Stewardship: The Future of Arizona's State Parks"
This report lists the dangers facing Arizona's 31 state parks, in light of continued population growth and budget cuts. It also offers solutions to the funding crisis, including potential revenue options to provide stable, sustainable funding for Arizona's state parks.
- To find your legislator, visit our Who to Contact page.
- Get the latest news in our Newsroom
- Find out about Legislative raids on Heritage Funds
- See "Alerts" providing notices on breaking legislative and regulatory developments
- Visit "Impacts" giving an overview of Arizona State Parks funding, budget cuts and the impact on historic buildings, facilities and parks services.