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.

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.

* 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.



Fiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012)
Despite cuts totaling more than $81 million over the past four years resulting in a vacancy rate of more than 50%, ASP, through partnership agreements, has managed to keep all but three (Picacho Peak SP, Oracle SP and San Rafael State Natural Area) of its parks open for the benefit of the rural economies and the people of Arizona.

The continuation of these partnerships is predicated on:
1)  Continued financing by the partner, and
2)  The ability of Arizona State Parks to collect and expend its forecasted revenue
(Enhancement Fund, State Lake Improvement Fund, Law Enforcement Boating Safety Fund, etc). 

The loss of either of these terms makes the system unsustainable.

FY12 $2,090,000 Fund sweep, Enhancement Fund
The FY12 ASP operating budget is predicated on the park system generating $10 million in revenue, coupled with the authority of ASP to spend the revenue it earns, and its partnership agreements (for Alamo Lake, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Fort Verde, Homolovi, Jerome, Lost Dutchman, Lyman Lake, McFarland, Picacho Peak, Red Rock, Riordan Mansion, Roper Lake, Tombstone Courthouse, Tonto Natural Bridge, Tubac Presidio, Yuma Prison, Yuma Quartermaster Depot).  Without the authority to expend its own earned revenues, even with intergovernmental and private partnership agreements, the park system cannot be sustained.  The loss of the State Parks Heritage Fund means that the agency has NO CAPITAL FUNDS available to repair any structural emergency.

FY11 $1,491,100 Fund sweep, State Lake Improvement Fund
The sweep transferred the obligations for payroll, rent and risk management to the Enhancement Fund where illogical limitations to spending authority of ASP already make it nearly impossible to maintain partnership agreements and keep the park system open.

Law Enforcement Boating Safety Fund
An additional $250,000 transfer from this fund resulted in a reduction to the operating budget of ASP.

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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.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

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 Policy
October 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.