Plans to fix Oklahoma state parks scaled back

Lake Thunderbird State Park needs four sewer lift stations replaced. It is among the high-priority items for the Oklahoma Department of Tourisn and Recreation to address. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation received 10% of what it asked from the legislature to fix state parks.

HB 3972 was introduced during the 2024 legislative session, proposing an eight-year plan where $350 million would be put into state parks to fix and beautify their assets. Instead, the plan was cut in half because of funding limitations.

As a result, Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt said plans have been scaled back.

“We’ve got the assets, we’ve got the goods,” Zumwalt said. “Nature has been very kind to us. But it’s a big project, you know, and I do want to say, I don’t think that we expected to solve this in one session either.”

Zumwalt said it became clear toward the end of the legislative session that lawmakers were not interested in using the fund to finance the plan.

However, the agency received $35 million through the Oklahoma Capital Assets Maintenance and Protection Fund, with $12.5 million the first year and $7.5 million for the next three.

Some of the high-priority projects include replacing four sewer lift stations at Lake Thunderbird; repairing the entire natural gas line at Sequoia; and repairing or replacing sewer lagoons at Roman Nose.

Zumwalt said fixing up cabins at Lake Murray, the highest revenue-generating park in the state, would drive more revenue from the already high-performing park. But because the plan did not receive all the financing it requested, ambitions are being scaled back.

Instead of repairing 54 cabins at Lake Murray, less than 10 will be fixed, Zumwalt said.

The lack of financing also limits the agency’s ability to improve infrastructure, such as upgrading RV amps. Zumwalt said most state parks have 30 amp hookups, though many RVs require 50 amps or more.

Rep. Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore, a co-author of the bill, said the financing is necessary for the parks to keep operating.

“Well, No. 1, it’s an extremely important issue for our state because our state parks are in severe disrepair, and we’ve been working on a deficit mentality with them for several years.”

That mentality is something Zumwalt said she was looking to fix when she joined the agency in October 2022. That’s when work on the deferred maintenance list began, she said.

It compiled items based on urgency, with health and safety issues at the top. When brought to the legislature, examples of a water treatment plant failing and an unfixed cave-in were presented. The major infrastructure issues have caused parks to temporarily close or create temporary fixes.

The biggest obstacle to getting legislators to sign on was education on the issues, Zumwalt said.

“I think once they understand what economic impact those parks are, it’s easy to get behind,” Zumwalt said.

State parks generate more than $340 million in travel spending and support almost 3,000 jobs, she said. They also are the No. 3 revenue generator in the state, she said.

“It’s a huge operation that really touches all parts of our state, and especially in rural parts of our state, is sometimes the largest employer in that area,” Zumwalt said.

Rep. Josh Cantrell, R-Kingston, said conditions in the parks need to improve quickly.

“We need maintenance done in our state parks in a bad way,” Cantrell said.

The bill stalled in the Senate. Zumwalt, Townley and Cantrell said there are plans to bring the legislation back next session.

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