July 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 14

Who, What, Where & how Around the Parks

Reports from on-the-scene observers and public lands managers confirm
the dismaying news reports of fouled
beaches, oil-inundated wetlands, and
dead and dying wildlife, although broad
scale damage to parks and public land
had not occurred as of press time. One
of the most heavily impacted parks at
the time of publication has been Grand
Isle State Park in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. A sleepy beachfront town dating
to the 1700s, the Town of Grand Isle proclaims on its website, " No boat, no problem-fish the 'Old Fishing Bridge 24/7. "
Louisiana state park director Stuart
Johnson says that oil in many forms has
come ashore along Grand Isle, and by
all appearances " will continue to come
ashore for a long time to come. " Grand
Isle state park is still open, even though
the beaches are closed. But people are
still coming, although " visitation is way
down, " Johnson notes.
The attitude of residents is mixed,
Johnson observes. But traditional public support for the oil industry has largely evaporated as frustration grows as
the scale of the damage becomes more
known. " We have had a huge outpouring of volunteers, " he says, " Over 10,000
people already have expressed willingness to help. However, personnel at the
state parks are frustrated in that they cannot utilize the volunteer help since BP is
strictly controlling the clean-up activities.
" There is quite a bit of anger on the
part of those whose livelihoods are affected, " Johnson says. " The big question
for them is this a only a one-season event
or will it go on for years? "
Florida, fearing the worst, has mounted an all-out campaign not just to protect
the pristine beaches of the Panhandle
region, but to convey the message that
Florida Gulf coasts are still the desirable
tourist destination that they have always
been. More than 50 miles of boom have
already been deployed, and there is fear
that the stunning white sand beaches,
the economic life's blood of the region's

12	 Parks & Recreation

J U LY 2 0 1 0

tourism and recreation industry, may be
at significant risk. Oil sheen, the universal precursor to larger scale oil-contamination, has been spotted near Pensacola
and just a few miles from the beaches of
the Panhandle region.
In Alabama, Rob Grant, Recreation
Programs Manager of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community
Affairs, says Alabama officials originally had not expected oil to be washing
ashore this soon, but Dauphin Island, a
14-mile long barrier beach island at the
mouth of Mobile Bay is already being
impacted. The Dauphin Island Park and
Beach Board operates the public beaches, campgrounds, and other recreation
amenities on the island.
There is concern for other public
lands, wildlife areas, and beaches in Alabama in Mobile Bay. City owned parks
and beaches at Fair Hope, Daphne, and
other public recreation areas on the
Eastern shore of Mobile Bay are at risk,
as well as Gulf State Park.
The larger question of how the oil spill
will affect the economic health of the Gulf
region is yet to play out. Literally billions
of dollars of revenue from tourism and related industries are at risk, as well as the
vital fishing and seafood industry. Johnson as well as other park officials from
Florida and Alabama note that a significant portion of their operating revenue
comes from visitation, and their local
and regional economies are dependent
on this revenue. New Orleans, Johnson

w w w . N R P A . ORG

says, has not been affected at all by the
spill, and is " still blowin' and goin'. "
NRPA has had a longstanding interest in oil and gas drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of
Mexico, since royalties on oil and gas
drilling are the principal funding source
for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund. Already, the Gulf oil spill has directly affected national policy relating to
offshore drilling. The President has suspended or delayed lease sales for new
offshore drilling off the coasts of Virginia
and Alaska, the first such offshore drilling
planned outside of the Gulf in more than
25 years. In addition, drilling permits for
exploratory and production deep-water
drilling in the Gulf have been suspended
for at least six months while a bi-partisan
Presidential Commission investigates the
causes of the BP.
NRPA will examine and analyze the
continuing impacts of the spill not just
on the parks, recreation areas, and protected public lands of the Gulf coast
states, but also the larger scale impacts
on national energy policy and especially the implications for LWCF, the principal funding source for land conservation
and outdoor recreation in America.
Look for updates on the implications
of the spill on www.nrpa.org, in the NRPA
Advocacy Insider, NRPA's legislative and
policy e-newsletter, and in an upcoming
feature story in Parks and Recreation.
-Richard J. Dolesh, NRPA
Chief of Public Policy
July 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2010 - Parks & Recreation
