LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – As many share and begin executing their 2023 New Year’s resolutions, a division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Parks and Recreation Division, has shared their new strategic plan for state’s parks and recreation resources for the next five years. 

The 19 page Parks and Recreation Division Draft Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027  will serve as a guide to the division in carrying out its mission to “acquire, protect, and preserve the natural and cultural features of Michigan’s unique resources, and to provide access to land- and water-based recreation and educational opportunities” for the next half of a decade. Furthermore, the agency wants the public to share feedback with them so they may consider input in the next draft of the plan.  

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“In Michigan, our diverse natural, cultural and recreation resources have always played a defining role in residents’ quality of life and, in a sense, our very identity as Michiganders,” DNR Parks and Recreation Division chief Ron Olson said. “People come back year after year, making memories at state parks, trails, campgrounds and harbors, and it’s vital that we have a clear plan to protect these unique resources while anticipating and meeting customers’ expectations.” 

The DNR has been caring for Michigan’s outdoor spaces since 1921, but now its Parks and Recreation Division (PRD) helps manage 103 state parks that cumulatively have more than 300,000 acres of public land, 140 state forest campgrounds, and the state’s motorized and nonmotorized trail and boating programs according to the plan.  Part of the impetus for the long term Strategic Plan came from the $250 million from the American Rescue Plan Act funds which will be allocated to updating infrastructure across the state park system.  

“While the $250 million in funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act is expected to address a significant portion of the state parks’ infrastructure needs, inflation, material shortages and implementing many large projects in less than five years will be a challenge,” the DNR said in the plan.  

Before and after COVID, the state experienced a roughly a 30% increase in use of Parks and Recreation facilities as part of Michigan’s tourism, an industry that as of 2021 contributed $26.3 billion to the state via more than 30 million state park day-use visits, 1.4 million state park camp nights annually, 24,483 harbor nights annually, more than 100 concession and vending contracts, and more than 400 operating agreements for management or commercial use of state park facilities according to the report.   

There are five chief goals that the Parks and Recreation Division will work toward achieving over the next few years, while reporting on their progress at the end of each calendar year: 

• Goal 1: Preserve, protect, maintain and restore Michigan’s natural and cultural resources on PRD- administered lands.
  Goal 2: Foster appreciation for natural and cultural resources by providing inclusive and diverse recreation and education experiences.
  Goal 3: Sustainably fund PRD programs, operations and facilities.
  Goal 4: Foster efficient business practices that support division priorities, staff retention and recruitment.
  Goal 5: Integrate environmentally sustainable practices into PRD culture.

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The PRD has also expanded on each particular goal in the Strategic Plan to implement over the next five years, while also prioritizing other concurrent plans listed in Appendix A of the report. 

The public may review and comment on the plan for a three week period until Jan. 20.  To share comments, send them to DNR-PRD-Plannning@Michigan.gov.  The DNR anticipates implementing the plan beginning this spring.