Popular state parks to get $1M upgrade

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's state parks have been strained by years of tight budgets that forced some maintenance projects and other important work to fall behind while numbers of park visitors have steadily increased.

But for the first time, the park system will receive this year a cash infusion from a state hotel tax fund that has historically been earmarked solely for tourism marketing and related work.

The parks are to receive $1 million from the transient accommodations tax, with the money going to improve and protect parks that draw the most visitors.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority are mapping out priorities for the money from a long list of projects that park officials say are needed.

"Our facilities were not made to handle the current volume of visitors," state parks administrator Daniel Quinn said. "We'll be able to make some progress in reconstruction of some of the facilities that are most in need."

The plan is to make some basic but needed improvements to more than a dozen parks and trails across the state. The projects include cutting non-native vegetation back from trails, smoothing trail surfaces and removing ruts, and installing benches and signs at appropriate locations.

The Legislature and then-Gov. Ben Cayetano approved the $1 million boost for parks from the hotel tax in 2002.

Among those that lobbied in support of the change was the Sierra Club's Hawai'i Chapter. Director Jeff Mikulina said Hawai'i's parks haven't been prepared for the steady increase in visitors seeking outdoor experiences.

"The state has been promoting eco-tourism without being set up to handle it," he said. "Eco-tourism could be a curse and a blessing."

For instance, when too many hikers use trails, they cause erosion that damages the environment, Mikulina said. Reefs and beaches can also be damaged by overuse.

"Eco-tourism should not be a cattle-car experience that damages the environment," he said. "There are limits that should be set and there are places that should be off-limits to eco-tourism."

If Hawai'i doesn't properly care for its 52 state parks and recreation areas, visitors could be turned off, Mikulina warned.

"Considering that three out of five visitors is a repeat visitor, the last thing we need is a bad experience at one of the destinations we're promoting," he said.

Quinn said park workers are doing a good job keeping up with routine tasks, such as collecting rubbish at camp sites.

But bigger jobs, such as re-painting weathered pavilions and restrooms and patching roofs, have been falling behind for years.

"We're in the same situation that most park agencies are in nationwide, national parks included," Quinn said. "There hasn't been adequate maintenance funding for several years, starting in the mid-1990s. Ultimately, there's an impact. It means a facility's life span is not going to be what it should be."

Hawai'i's parks have the tenth-highest visitor load of all states, but rank forty-third in state spending and fiftieth in the total number of employees, according to the National Association of State Parks Directors 2002 Annual Information Exchange.

As a percentage of state expenditures, only three states spend less on their parks than Hawai'i, according to the state park system's 2003 annual report.

The total estimated cost of repair and maintenance projects throughout the park system is about $73 million, according to the report.

Quinn said a wish-list that includes other projects to put the system in truly excellent shape would cost more than $80 million.

And it is expected to cost about $10 million to remove a series of old cesspools throughout the park system to comply with modern federal regulations, he said.

Marsha Wienert, tourism liaison for Gov. Linda Lingle, said it is important to recognize that parks are important to both visitors and residents.

Improving facilities can make park lands and beaches more accessible, but it can also change them in ways that residents don't always appreciate.

"All of a sudden, it's not that little beach anymore — it's busy," she said. The challenge is to strike a balance that will appeal to both groups, Wienert said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.