Officials invite public to share ideas for long-term plans for park system

~ Ideas will be accepted via e-mail through March 1.

ST. LOUIS -- For anyone who has ever longed to let Fido run off leash at a state park, here's a chance to howl that wish. Or for those who long to ride bicycles over asphalt on the Katy Trail, take heed.

The Missouri Division of State Parks has taken the unusual step of trying to plan for the years 2017 and beyond. And it has invited the public to weigh in on the park system's future.

Already, parkgoers have lobbied for dog parks, paving parts of the Katy Trail and inviting an African-American cycling team to ride the popular path.

Ideas from the public will be accepted via e-mail through March 1. Then those ideas will be included in a master list that will be given to future administrations for consideration.

"People ask me, 'Why plan that far into the future?' and my response is always, 'Why not?'" said Doug Eiken, the parks division director.

Eiken explained that he decided shortly after taking the helm of the agency in 1994 to launch a long-term "visioning" process that augmented the division's normal five- to-10-year plan. His hope was to establish a repository of ideas that his predecessor and others could tap.

"One thing that I have realized is that as administrators, we too often get caught up in the day-to-day business and don't do enough long-term thinking," Eiken said. "But there are a lot of good ideas out there, and we ought to find a way to bring them together."

Over the past year, the agency has been collecting comments from division staffers and others within the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Last month, the agency turned to the public for input.

So far, the ideas have ranged from the mundane -- more aggressive marketing of state parks -- to the downright specific -- build a Missouri Legends golf course at Mark Twain State Park commemorating the careers of Payne Stuart, Hale Irwin, Bob Golby and Tom Watson.

"Usually one idea might seem a bit crazy, but those ideas tend to trigger better ideas," Eiken said.

Many ideas are focused on boosting minority park attendance, while others address establishing a source of long-term funding for the park system.

Other ideas include:

• Allowing dogs in some park cabins.
• Working with the state transportation department to renovate the Route 66 State Park Bridge.
• Building a yurt or primitive cabin at Prairie State Park.
• Developing a plan to provide one mile of accessible trails in every park or historic site.

'Wishful thinking'

Ron Coleman, a former Missouri Parks Association president, said some members had already expressed their ideas. Still, those ideas "may be wishful thinking" unless the system receives additional funds in the future to maintain its 83 parks and historic sites, he said.

"Everyone can have a plan; it may not be implemented on the schedule everyone hopes for, but at least it's a plan," said Coleman, director of the Open Space Council for the St. Louis region.

Eiken acknowledged that the division's budget might hamper many of the ideas from coming to fruition. Still, at least one proposal has started to gel -- hiring employees capable of restoring historic structures such as statues and tombstones.

Also, Eiken said, the division is exploring whether it should develop resource-sharing agreements with groups that run small museums. The division is often asked to assume ownership of small museums, but it seldom has the necessary funding, he said.

Currently, parks receive half of one-tenth of 1 percent of a voter-approved sales tax. The parks' share generates about $42 million a year.