Reynolds, legislature reduce state park personnel

To the Editor,

   The people of Jones County love and enjoy the Wapsipinicon State Park. I believe that most Iowans treasure the parks near them and want all of them to be well tended, safe places to enjoy nature and outdoor recreation. I question whether Governor Reynolds and her Republican legislature share those values.

   In 2022, despite proudly proclaiming a huge budget surplus, the governor and legislature refused to allocate $1 million to repair and renovate ranger residences in state parks after years of deferred maintenance. Their solution instead was to abandon those houses and move over two dozen rangers out of the parks, sometimes many miles away. Now the DNR is doing away with the job of state park ranger all together. Our parks will soon be the responsibility of county conservation officers and seasonal maintenance workers. This seems like such a bad idea. In my opinion, the parks are safer, cleaner, more enjoyable places by virtue of a ranger’s presence to address problems and monitor activities.

   Recent news articles also point out significant repair and accessibility needs in our state parks that are sorely unmet. These deficiencies include the deteriorated roof of the Boy Scout Lodge in the Wapsipinicon State Park. Despite these problems in a park system treasured by Iowans, DNR Director Kayla Lyon did not even include them in her budget request to the legislature. Why not? Was she told not to bother or that the parks were not a priority of the governor? Did our local legislators lift a finger to counteract this attitude of neglect? I believe most Iowans would want to use a bit of the much touted $1.83 billion surplus to take better care of our beloved state parks.

   I have lived in Eastern Iowa my entire life; this is my home. I have to ask, in a growing number of areas, do our values align with the people currently running the State of Iowa?

Connie McKean

Anamosa, Iowa