FROM INDIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING

With only a few days left to finalize the state budget, Indiana’s state parks are expected to face a $10 million deficit.

John Goss, with the Indiana Parks Alliance — a group that advocates for funding the Department of Natural Resources’ state parks and nature preserves — says without more funding, the parks likely won’t have enough money to hire the seasonal workers they rely on. Those workers handle tasks such as cleaning restrooms, mowing lawns, serving as lifeguards at park pools, and collecting entrance fees.

“They will probably not collect at the gate as early and as late in the evening, and that’s going to hurt revenue too. So that’s a double whammy,” he said.

Goss added that state lawmakers may have assumed visitor fees would continue to rise, as they did during the pandemic. Instead, those fees have leveled off. When lawmakers shifted more than 90 percent of the parks’ funding to come from visitor fees, Goss says the system quickly began running out of money.

He says lawmakers could help by appropriating at least $10 million to offset the deficit. Another option would be for the DNR to raise park fees — but that hasn’t happened in a decade and appears unlikely before summer.

In a statement, the Indiana DNR said pools and beaches will remain open during regular hours, and nature centers will be open most days.