BY THE NUMBERS Paying for State Parks As this month's cover story (page 34) relates, private businesses operating in public parks can take away much-needed revenue from parks' operating budgets. But how much do parks really cost? A report by Resources for the Future, examined more fully starting on page 10, shows the breakdown of costs. 14 million: 39: Average percentage of total .001 to .00375: 720 million: 20: Average percentage of total Number of acres of state park land in the United States. Number of visitors to state parks each year. $14 billion: Conservative estimate of the social benefits of recreation that state parks provide per year. $2.3 billion: Annual costs of operating America's state parks. state park operating costs covered by park-generated revenues in FY 2011. state park operating costs covered by dedicated revenues in FY 2011. 34: Average percentage of total state park operating costs covered by general-fund revenues in FY 2011. 59: Average percentage of total state park operating costs covered by general-fund revenues in FY 1990. $31 million: Average cost per state for the state parks budget. $3.25: Average cost per visit across all state parks in the United States. Source: Paying for State Parks, Evaluating Alternative Approaches for the 21st Century by Resources for the Future (www.rff.org/RFF/Documents/ RFF-Rpt-Walls-FinancingStateParks.pdf). 80 Parks & Recreation | MARCH 2013 | WWW.NRPA.ORG Sales tax percentage dedicated to state parks in Arkansas, Minnesota, and Missouri (averaging $20 to $30 per person annually). $6: Annual fee per vehicle for a state park entrance pass in Montana. $30: Annual fee for two vehi- cles for a state park " Discover " pass in Washington State. 27.3: Percentage of vehicle owners in Michigan who purchased a " Recreation Passport " state parks entrance pass ($10 per vehicle).