Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire State Parks

A Study on the Impacts of Public Funding and Specialized Parks Departments

Prepared by:

Travis Blalock

Daniel Van Deusen

Christopher Whitehead

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Goals of the Presentation:1. To provide a benchmark comparison of New Hampshire's state park system compared to those of other similar states.

2. To assess whether the type of funding affects the quality of state parks, based on empirical evidence from the states.

3. To assess whether the organizing body of the state park system affects the quality of state parks, based on empirical evidence from the states.

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Part I – Background of New Hampshire State Parks

• New Hampshire is the only state in the nation that has an exclusively self-funded state park system.

- What are the problems faced by the New Hampshire state park system?

- How does New Hampshire’s state park system compare to those of other states?

- Is this funding scheme sufficient to maintain park quality?

• Our report examines how various funding schemes affect the quality of state park systems.

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Number of Parks 73

Acres of Parks 231,554

Total Operating Expenses $7,370,936

Total Operations Revenues $4,324,297

Attendance - Total 1,625,683

Total Attendance in Fee Areas 1,043,338

Total Attendance in Non-Fee Areas 582,345

Total Day Attendance 1,414,266

Total Overnight Attendance 211,417

Total Personnel 487

Permanent Personnel 47

Seasonal Personnel 440

New Hampshire State Park Inventory Information, 2008

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire State Park System’s Operating Budget Per Visitor

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire State Park System’s Operating Budget

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire State Park System Attendance

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Discussion of Quality Metrics

No universal standards exist to determine the quality of state parks.

Several proxies were determined that would best assess the quality of a state park system:

- Attendance:Observing long-term trends, in addition to yearly variability of state park visitors -Weighted Operating and Capital Expenditures: Greater amounts of money spent per visitor or per acre might indicate a higher quality of a state park system

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Discussion of Comparison States

• Vermont– Similar geography, similar park characteristics and size, similar budget

structure, statistics of similar magnitude

• Maine– Similar geography, similar park characteristics and size, contrasting budget

structure, statistics of similar magnitude

• New York– Similar geography, similar park characteristics, contrasting park size,

contrasting budget structure, statistics of contrasting magnitude

• Alaska– Similar geography, similar park characteristics, contrasting park size,

contrasting budget structure, statistics of similar magnitude

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Part II – Relationship Between Funding Scheme and Quality

StatePark-Generated

RevenueGeneral

FundDedicated

FundsFederal

Funds Other

New Hampshire 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Alaska 29% 63% 2% 0% 6%

Maine 0% 80% 18% 2% 0%

New York 28% 66% 4% 2% 0%

Vermont 88% 12% 0% 0% 0%

Funding Composition of Operating Budget by State, 2008

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Key Park Statistics Weighted by Park Acreage, 2008

State Visitors Per AcreEmployees Per 1000

AcresDollars Per Acre

New Hampshire 7.02 2.103 31.83

Alaska 1.48 .045 2.36

Maine 2.12 .307 8.81

New York 45.97 5.317 151.68

Vermont 10.13 5.907 111.26

• Vermont and New York have over twice as many employees per acre as New Hampshire does

•Vermont spends more than three times as many dollars per acre as New Hampshire does

•However, Maine spends far fewer dollars per acre, and employees fewer employees per acre than New Hampshire does

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire and Comparison States - Operating Budget Per Visitor

Conclusions?

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire and Comparison States - Attendance

Conclusions?

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Comparison of Attendance in Fee and Non-Fee Areas

New Hampshire New York

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

New Hampshire Maine

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Analysis of Capital Expenditures Information

• Capital Expenditures: Expenditures allocated for land acquisition or park construction

• We use capital expenditures as a metric for the quality of a state park system – the greater the amount of capital expenditures, the more money is being reinvested into the park system. – Greater amounts of capital expenditures per visitor or per acre might

indicate a higher quality of a state park system.

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Average Capital Expenditures as a Percentage of Total Budget (2001 – 2008)

New Hampshire has a greater average capital expenditure as a percentage of its total annual budget than both Vermont and Maine. However…

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Capital Expenditure as a Percentage of Total Budget (2001 – 2008)

State 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

New Hampshire 46% 21% 19% 10% 33% 0% 0% 20%

Alaska 31% 6% 36% 27% 41% 41% 57% 30%

Maine 16% 38% 24% 11% 13% 21% 11% 4%

Vermont 2% 5% 21% 11% 8% 22% 22% 7%

…We must also consider the volatility of the New Hampshire state park system’s capital expenditures.

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Average Capital Expenditures Per Acre (2001 – 2008)

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Capital Expenditures Spent Per Acre (2001 – 2008)

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Average Capital Expenditures Per Visitor (2001 – 2008)

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Part III – Organization of State Park Systems • Different models for state park governance:

– Often under a specific department focusing on environmental preservation issues

– 14 states, including New Hampshire, are under a more general department

• Examples of more specialized departments include:

– Department of Tourism, Department of Cultural Preservation, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Resources and Economic Development

• Examples of more standard departments include:

– Department of Natural Resources, Department of Conservation, Department of Parks and Recreation

• Analyzed differences between state park systems with and without specific parks departments

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Organization of State Park Systems - Analysis• Revenues and Operating Expenditures

– The change in revenue generation for 2001-2008 in states with and without parks departments is approximately the same.

• Attendance– There is a strong relationship between the organization of state park systems and changes

in attendance

– State park systems with a specialized parks department have seen significantly less of a reduction in attendance from 2001-2008 compared to those with a more general department

State Park Systems With a Specialized Parks Department

State Park Systems Without a Specialized Park Department

Revenue Generated 26% 27%

Operating Budget 26% 26%

Attendance -13% -19%

Percent Changes from 2001 - 2008

Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research ShopThe Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences

Conclusions and Closing Thoughts1. New Hampshire and Vermont, the states most reliant on self-funding have the most

volatile operating budget per visitor. New Hampshire consistently has one of the lowest annual operating budgets per visitor of the states studied.

2. While Maine, Vermont, and Alaska had consistent attendance figures over the time period studied, New Hampshire’s has varied considerably, and has been sharply decreasing in recent years.

3. New Hampshire has a greater average capital expenditure as a percentage of the total budget than does Vermont or Maine. However, this figure is more variable for New Hampshire on a yearly basis than it is for the other two states. Also, New Hampshire has the lowest average capital expenditure per visitor of the states studied.

4. The existence of a specialized parks department does not impact revenue or operating expenditures. However, it does appear to have implications for changes in attendance.