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STATE PARKS IN COUNTY FARE BETTER THAN MOST
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
08-13-09 – 11:45 a.m. - Attendance at area state parks and historic sites is down from last year, but our parks are faring better than those in much of the rest of the state. In spite of this relatively good news, local parks, along with parks across the state, could still face further cuts.
A report from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation shows attendance at parks in the Taconic Region of the state park system, which includes Columbia County, is down 3.7 percent in the period from July 2008 through July 2009. Statewide, park attendance is down 4.5 percent, to 27.2 million visitors.
The biggest decline locally was at the Clermont State Historic Site, where attendance was down 18.5 percent, to 43,456 visitors as of July 22. At the Olana State Historic Site, attendance dropped 14.1 to 61,896 visitors as of July 22, while at Lake Taghkanic State Park, attendance is down 5.2 percent, down to 95,862.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the Taconic State Park in Copake, where attendance was actually up 12.9 percent to 13,313, and nearby Copake Falls, where attendance was up 5 percent to 73,066 visitors.
Olana Site Manager Linda McClean told ccSCOOP that visits to Frederic Church’s house on the historic site are up, while visits only to the grounds are down. |
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"We've been one of the fortunate ones as far as the house is concerned," said McClean. "The interest in the house has remained strong. While everyone else has reported decreases [in attendance] last year and so far this year, we’ve held strong."
This year, McClean said, there were 8,470 visitors to the house through June 30, a 28 percent increase from the 6,598 visitors at the same point last year.
People, she said, are very interested in house and the newly opened second floor gallery. McClean added that the house provides an option to area tourists who need to alter their plans because of poor weather.
While the excessive rains are likely to blame for much of the decline at the parks and historic sites across the state, it should be noted that the decrease in attendance is taking place the same year that the state implemented cost-saving cuts at many of the local sites, as well as dozens of sites across the state.
The cuts included a delayed weekday opening of the West Beach at Lake Taghkanic until June 27--well past the Memorial Day typical start of daily swimming at the lake. (The beach did open for weekends starting on Memorial Day.) In addition, the East Beach is closed for the year and the opening of campgrounds and cabins at Copake Falls were delayed several weeks. Other cuts, including the closing of the Clermont State Historic Site for three months starting in January, will be implemented later this year.
Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the weather is largely to blame for the poor attendance.
"We had the rainiest July on record—which is right in our peak season—and if it's not nice weather, people aren't going to come out," he said.
Keefe said the cuts were implemented to have as little impact as possible on attendance, though he admitted that there was likely some impact.
The declining attendance not only affects the state parks but also nearby businesses. Local businesses that draw on the tourist attractions say the decline is noticeable.
At Taconic Orchards, located on Route 82 in Taghkanic, a couple of miles from Lake Taghkanic, owner Arnold Feller said business on the weekends has been steady, but the weekday business has been way down from years past.
"They are here on Saturday and Sunday, but as soon as Sunday night hits, they all go home. The weekday business that we typically have in the summer isn't there," he said. "I think the weather plays a big factor. They hear a forecast for rain, and they head home rather than spend the week camping or in a cabin."
The decline in attendance also means less revenue for the state, which was already reeling from a fiscal crisis.
Keefe said it "is too early to tell" whether there will be further cuts implemented at state parks locally this year to reduce costs.
"August has started out nice, so maybe things will turn around. We'll have to wait and see," he said.
That's the same tone taken by Columbia County Tourism Department Director Ann Cooper. "The summer is not over. Maybe we'll have a nice rest of the summer and fall," she said.
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