Trail of Tears officials discuss attendance dip, projects

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct the park's operating hours.

Saturday was the annual information meeting for the Trail of Tears State Park, which discussed plans, projects -- including a new restroom building -- and some of the numbers with the park's operation.

Attendance at the park has taken a small dip since last year. In 2013, attendance rose 3 percent over the 2012 number, which was 155,401. In 2013, 160,262 people visited.

Numbers this year show attendance down from January to June. The number stands at 68,560, versus the 70,581 visitors the park had in the same six months in 2013.

Reflecting these numbers in 2013, revenue rose 3 percent from 2012. But from January to June of this year, revenue is down about 10 percent -- $11,979 versus the $13,155 the park was at last year.

The decrease in the first half of the year may have something to do with the harsh winter Southeast Missouri experienced, park rangers said.

Also since last year, the state parks' budget system changed. Instead of allocating for individual projects, funding now gives state parks and historic sites a sum of money to be used immediately instead of submitting allocation forms.

Denise Dowling, Natural resource manager for the Trail of Tears State Park, said the new method is much easier.

"What I would had to do previously is put in a request to replace it, and then maybe a year from now, I get the request approved. So they definitely untied my hands in what would be easy, no-brainer kind of stuff," she said.

Citing an example, Dowling said a refrigerator broke last week. Instead of waiting months to get a request for a replacement approved, she can use money from the operations budget to buy a new one quickly.

The fiscal year budget for 2014, which runs from July 1 to June 30, is set at $146,511. On July 1, the budget for fiscal year 2015 was released, giving the park $162,683.

Dowling's immediate projects include park maintenance such as fixing campfire grills and lantern posts.

Between 54 campsites, 40 lantern posts were installed and 18 grills replaced, costing about $19,000. Dowling also plans two sets of gates to use during winter and flooding season to stop drivers from potentially harming themselves.

A large project Dowling said the park is moving forward on is construction of a new restroom. The $400,000 project includes demolition of the current restroom, installation of four vault toilets, running electrical and sewer lines, building a parking lot and receiving approved dirt to keep non-native plants from growing in the area.

To maintain the park and stay within budget, Dowling hires seasonal employees and continues working with what she called an "inmate crew," which is four people from the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Missouri, to work four days a week.

Dowling said the program is a good opportunity for both parties. The park is required to pay the inmates only $9.32 a day, and in turn they learn skills they can use when they get out of prison.

Ben Mayfield, park ranger for Trail of Tears, said this past year there was a high number of law-enforcement issues -- 502 -- which was the highest in Southeast Missouri's zone and the second-highest in the state. Mayfield said the majority were speeding tickets. He said people often exceed the speed limit and run the four-way stop near the playground near the main restroom.

Since stricter enforcement began, Mayfield said issues have been less frequent this year.

People at the meeting also discussed the safety of swimmers at Lake Boutin because of E. coli. Park staff agreed the water is safe, and things like heavy rain and the number the geese that use the water that week greatly affect its levels. Every Wednesday, E. coli levels in the water are posted on the bulletin board near the beach, Dowling said, for the use of concerned swimmers.

It also was noted in the last year, there have been no bear sightings in the park.

A positive for the park this year is the large amount of prescription burns completed, all with in-house staff. Approximately 360 acres were burned last year, which is impressive, according to Steve Schell, interpretive resource coordinator at the park. Prescribed burns are a way to maintain the park's ecosystem.

"... We use that to get rid of plants, like some of these exotic species we were talking about, [and it affects] some of the ecological components of the forest ...," Dowling said.

Plans for the burns take place in September, with the actual burning in November through March. Dowling said the planning process for the prescribed burns takes nearly a whole year.

Park hours fluctuate, but from May through September, the visitors center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, the park grounds are open daily year-round, the overlook is open from 7 a.m. to dusk daily and the beach is open May 9 through Sept. 14 from sunrise to sunset daily. For more information, visit mostateparks.com/park/trail-tears-state-park.

smaue@semissourian.com

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