Public-private campground dispute flares again in debate over failed bill

A kayaker explores Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

PIERRE — A bill seeking to restrict the expansion of state campgrounds was defeated Thursday following spirited testimony from a campground owner who said the legislation was about “broken trust.”

The legislation aimed to amend state law to prevent new state campgrounds or additional state camping sites from being built without the approval of legislators.

Rep. Trish Ladner, R- Hot Springs, said she brought the bill on behalf of some people she represents. One is Steve Saint. He owns Fort Welikit Family Campground, just south of Custer State Park. He is also the president of the South Dakota Campground Owners Association.

Saint said the Department of Game, Fish, and Parks – which manages state-owned campgrounds – broke his trust when it made plans for a multi-million-dollar campsite expansion at Custer State Park in 2022. He said the department does not listen to feedback.

“My experience has been ‘we hear what you say, but we don’t care,’” Saint told the state House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He said running a private campground “costs us a lot of money,” and it’s frustrating when the government is the biggest competition.

The department manages 390 campsites in Custer State Park, according to Jeff VanMeeteren, the department’s director of parks and recreation.

A slide showing the number of state-owned campsites that are rented annually. (Courtesy of Game, Fish and Parks)

VanMeeteren said needing legislative authorization for expansions, renovations or new sites would put a burden on the department.

“That is a lot of legislation,” he said.

Under existing law, the department has the authority, with approval from the GF&P Commission (a body appointed by the governor) to purchase, construct and acquire facilities within state parks and recreation areas if deemed necessary and feasible.

VanMeeteren told the committee that under current state law, people like Saint have their voices heard during the monthly commission meeting, and that “we follow up with everybody.”

Saint replied, “I’ve been to those meetings. GF&P is rolling their eyes the whole time.”

Saint said the problem is government competing with private industry. Lawmakers on the committee empathized with that feeling, “especially when you’re competing against your own tax dollars,” said Rep. Julie Auch, R-Yankton.

However, she and others ultimately felt “this bill appears to use a sledgehammer to kill a fly,” in the words of Rep. James Wangsness, R-Miller. “To have us try and approve every single project would be very cumbersome and a waste of time and money, in my opinion.”

The Custer State Park campsite expansion debate in 2022 centered around the state’s plan to add 175 new campsites to accommodate growing tourism and visitation rates. In response to the backlash, the proposal was abandoned.

The post Public-private campground dispute flares again in debate over failed bill appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight .