Colorado State Parks Board is facing some difficult decisions as they try to decide upon which parks they need to close in order to balance the budget. According to sources, however, Cherry Creek will not be facing closure.
“We’ve identified our highest-priority parks and they are the gems that we want to preserve, but at the same time we want to find ways to keep as many parks as possible open and accessible to the public,” stated Colorado State Parks director Dean Winstanley in a Denver Post article.
Although it is too early to say for certain which of the state’s 42 parks will be closed, those that have been placed at the top of the list in addition to Cherry Creek include Chatfield, State Forest, Arkansas Headwaters and Golden Gate. Those at the bottom of the list, on the other hand, include Paonia, Harvey Gap and Sweitzer Lake.
“It is completely premature to talk about closing any specific park,” continued Winstanley. “The list doesn’t make the decisions. The Parks Board will carefully consider options in the months ahead.
According to sources, the Park Board will consider a number of different factors when determining which ones to close and which will remain open. Some of these factors include the condition of the facilities, the economic self-sufficiency of the park, the contributions the park makes to the economy and overall visitor satisfaction.
“You can’t really compete with other parks like a football team,” said Ed Keleher, who is the manager of several recreation areas that are included in the bottom portion of the current list. “We’re always trying to be as innovative as we can be. We’re trying to get some trail projects done. There’s lots of stuff we can try to do to improve it. But some of it we can’t really control. When you’re trying to go into competition with something like Cherry Creek (State Park), it’s not really relevant.”
Unfortunately for those who live near to those parks that are at the bottom of the list, the current formula being used for ranking the parks does not take into account whether or not nearby residents have a reasonable alternative to enjoy. In the end, the five-member State Parks Board needs to think about dollars. With State funding, which covered about 40 percent of the park system’s budget, coming to an end next year, the board needs to find the most economical way to manage the 225,260 acres of land and water that it oversees. Fortunately for Cherry Creek residents, it looks as though the Cherry Creek State Park will not be one of the parks affected by the cuts.
