Budget leaves Ohio parks out in the cold

DAYTON (AP) — The state budget provided little help to the agency that runs Ohio’s parks and wildlife programs, currently facing a half-billion-dollar maintenance backlog.

About the best news for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was that parks remain open and free to the public.

Many states now charge fees to enter parks.

The budget signed Friday by Gov. Ted Strickland eliminated state funding for the agency division that oversees 89 unique prairies, gorges, lakes, woods, waterfalls and marshes.

The budget also cut funding for the Geological Survey, a science research service.

The agency is trying to figure out how to fund those two divisions in the future, said Natural Resources Department Director Sean Logan.

“We have to find creative ways to maintain the mission,” Logan said.

He said layoffs are still possible, noting that state funding will be at $56 million this year and $51 million in 2010, down from $87 million two years ago.

The agency lost its attempt to place an 8-cent fee per ton on coal mining to raise money to finance the coal industry, including safety inspections and permitting.

The final budget also removed a fee increase for disposing of construction and demolition debris to provide more money for the agency’s Soil and Water Conservation program.

Almost 45 percent of Natural Resources’ operating budget now goes to debt payments on previous construction projects, meaning less money for other programs.

Environmentalists were happy about one aspect of the budget: the removal of a proposal that would have allowed gas and oil wells in state parks.

They also were happy that the Scenic Rivers program, which conserves 4,000 acres of river corridor land, survived the budget process.

“But lost in the debate is the sad fact that funding for Ohio’s last bits of wilderness — state nature preserves — has been completely zeroed out for the last year of the budget,” said Jack Shaner, deputy director of the Ohio Environmental Council.