That outlook has shifted significantly in the years since, especially with record demand for parks during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Rodney Franklin, the division director of Texas State Parks. The number of visitors to state parks increased 37% from 2020, reaching almost 10 million in fiscal year 2021, according to .
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting that number to continue to grow because it was growing prior to that, and it just spiked up,鈥� Franklin said. 鈥淲e need more places for Texans to go.鈥�
After a decades-long campaign by conservation groups and legislators, including , voters overwhelmingly approved dedicating all sales tax revenue from sporting goods to Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Historical Commission.
Previously, lawmakers had the right to allocate that revenue to other uses. Local and state sporting good tax revenues generated nearly $100 million for the department in fiscal year 2021, according to .
Now, with a mixture of tax revenue, private donations and potential funding from , Franklin has the agency on track to open six parks in the next 12 to 14 years.
The speed 鈥渋s lightning compared to glacier,鈥� Franklin said. 鈥淪ome of the properties we鈥檙e going to be opening up in the next few years, we鈥檝e had in our inventory for 10 to 20 years. We just haven鈥檛 had the funds to develop them. Now, we鈥檙e actually having conversations about, firstly, where campsites are going to go.鈥�
The closest to opening is Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, which features 4,800 acres of hills, canyons, forest and a fish-stocked lake halfway between Fort Worth and Abilene. On Oct. 11, Texas Parks and Wildlife welcomed journalists to tour the property and announce a from grocer H-E-B.
The agency hasn鈥檛 set an opening date for Palo Pinto, which will become the first new state park in North Texas in 25 years. But state officials are planning a soft opening in late 2023, when Texas Parks and Wildlife will celebrate of state parks.
The next year will be crucial in determining the future of Texas state parks, said Michael Lewis, a clean air and water advocate for the advocacy and research group Environment Texas. The state is set to receive millions in federal funds from the Great American Outdoors Act and the federal infrastructure law, and legislators must decide what to do with the 2023 budget surplus, he said.
鈥淭here is a ton of money coming in and, if we don鈥檛 take advantage of that, we鈥檙e just leaving money on the table,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e coming up on surplus, and we鈥檙e going to have to spend it right. Why not spend it on something popular that has a nice anniversary coming up and that鈥檚 going to benefit huge areas of the state?鈥�
In August, Environment Texas finding that Texas ranks 35th in the U.S. when it comes to state park acreage per capita 鈥� about 636,000 acres of parkland for more than 29 million people, as of 2019. About 2.4% of Texas land is protected for parks, forests and recreational uses, with 97% of the state remaining privately owned, according to the report.
Lewis is confident in the bipartisan support for more investment in parks, especially because of their economic benefits to small towns like Strawn, which stands to see a massive boost in tourism from the opening of the Palo Pinto park.
During the 2021 legislative session, legislators also allocated funds specifically for park land acquisition. That funding will help Texas Parks and Wildlife compete with private developers to purchase land rather than relying on land donations or private philanthropy, Franklin said.
鈥淲e do still rely on willing sellers and people that want their land to go to state parks or conservation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still very difficult because there鈥檚 a lot of development going on in the state of Texas, so it鈥檚 hard to compete with all of the interests. But at least we now have a way to get it done.鈥�
Inflation and rising construction costs are also impacting the state鈥檚 ability to move forward with park development, including paving new roads and building structures to accommodate visitors.
Palo Pinto is funded of private and public dollars, including $12.5 million from state appropriations and up to $13 million from the Texas Department of Transportation for roads in the park.
Anne Brown, the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, said the nonprofit reached its fundraising goal of $9 million for Palo Pinto. But the foundation will need to generate more donations because of the rising cost of building materials and labor, she said.
As parks officials close in on finishing Palo Pinto, Franklin sees an opportunity to use the upcoming centennial celebration to bring in a new generation of Texans, especially from underserved communities and communities of colors, to state parks.
The state is planning large community events and media campaigns to reach markets they haven鈥檛 reached before, Franklin said.
鈥淲e know the demographics of Texas have changed, so in order to build our support base 50 years from now, 100 years from now, we鈥檝e got to reach communities that are not engaged in the outdoors,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e out to reach these folks that are not aware of state parks.鈥�
Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter . 四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by a grant from the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation. Contact her by email or via .
