The popularity of state parks that emerged the first year of the pandemic — when COVID-confined Nebraskans were desperate for a breath of fresh air — grew in 2021.
The state Game and Parks Commission generated $17.4 million in camping and lodging fees last year, roughly $7 million more than in 2020.
And it sold more annual park passes — both to Nebraskans and nonresidents — than it did the year before.
It also spent the year celebrating its centennial. Under the banner of “Your adventures, your memories, your parks,” it staged more than 100 events — kite days, kayak races, candlelight tours and crane viewing — across the state.
“The story of 2021 is a good story,” said Jim Swenson, the agency’s assistant director.
The commission sold fewer hunting and fishing permits — again, both to Nebraskans and nonresidents — than it did the year before. And in August, it announced unprecedented cuts to hours and services at many of its properties because it couldn’t find and keep enough employees.
Camping demand increases
The campers keep coming back, and the commission is racing to keep up with demand.
“We saw a huge spike in camping revenue. People are spending more and more time in the outdoors.”
And they’re spending it all over the state, from the marquee parks like Mahoney — where the agency opened the $4.4 million, 11,600-square-foot Crete Carrier Riverview Lodge — to its more remote recreation areas, like Verdon Lake in Richardson County and Dead Timber northwest of Fremont.
All of the centennial events likely had something to do with the increase in camping fees and annual park passes, he said, which were up 3% for Nebraska vehicles (144,000 in 2020; 148,000 in 2021) and 22% for out-of-staters (11,000 to 13,700).
But there’s also another driver. The pandemic taught people they can work from home, so why can’t they work from their RV?
In the past couple of years, the commission built nearly 50 campsites at Platte River Park with Wi-Fi and upgraded amperage. “People are seeing this is a great opportunity to get outdoors. They find they can work remotely.”
The state’s parks and recreation areas did see a decrease in day passes. Nebraskans bought nearly 189,220 in 2021, down 9% from the year before. And nonresidents bought about 158,240, a 14% decrease.
Some of that could be explained by the return of youth sports, and families’ schedules losing flexibility. Or more people returned to their offices. But Swenson — who pointed out that overall park pass sales increased by 1% — had another thought.
“I think our customers were coming to the park more often, and it was a better deal to buy that annual pass.”
Sales of hunting and fishing permits in 2021 didn’t surpass 2020’s numbers, with the sharpest drops in resident and nonresident one-day fishing passes — each fell 27%. Resident annual permits dropped 18%, and nonresident annual permits fell 10%.
But there could be a simple reason for that, said Dean Rosenthal, fisheries division administrator. People returned to more traditional work and school schedules last year.
“I think in 2020, people had more time available,” he said.
But there were promising trends in hunting and fishing, said spokeswoman Christy Firestone. Permit sales remained above the five-year average. And there was what she called reactivation: The number of people who had hunted and fished earlier — but not in 2019 — who returned in 2020 and remained active in 2021.
For anglers, 67% reactivated. For hunters, 52%.
Staffing shortages
In August, in a year when park use was more popular than ever, the commission cut the hours for many of visitor centers, stables, swimming pools and other services.
It just couldn’t find enough employees, Swenson said. At some properties, their staffing levels fell to 60%.
“That was a big challenge last year. Our team was doing a large amount of work with limited-sized team.”
The commission is trying to address that, he said, looking at ways to improve job offerings and wage scales while staying within its budget.
The agency has several projects planned for 2022, Swenson said. An improved visitor center at Fort Atkinson. An education treehouse at Schramm. And moving Dead Timber’s flood-prone campsites to higher ground.
But it’s also going to keep building and improving campsites across the state, to try to keep up with demand.
Last year, it upgraded 200 and built 50. Now it’s launching a five-year plan — to upgrade 1,000 of its existing 3,700 RV sites, and build 500 more.
“We’re a little bit limited by the landscape sometimes, but any chance we get, we’re trying to expand. The feedback we get from the camping public, they’re continually telling us to develop more sites.”