Public used to mean for the use of the public . Oregon State Parks are not always public many require day use fees or fees and reservation for camping rather than the state accomdating the people on public property. This is about to change.

Public Parks 4 People is an organization lobbying for a return to the era when Oregon's state parks were actually public property for public use with out fees , unnecessary restrictions of use and camp grounds were free to use without fees or requirements of reservations.  Oregon's state parks system has increasingly become an anti -public anti public use organization that instead of accommodating the maximum number of people who want to enjoy the public spaces set aside seeks to limit access and instead of running the parks "like a business" have a tendency to run them "as a business" where the public no longer retains the maximum benefits as originally intended.  As the state acquires more and more land for the public park system not only do they move to what is called a "resource emphasis" which means keeping people out or limiting their numbers and general access , we begin to see No Trespassing signs go up on public properties which really means that the state has no business owning them as public parks.  The agency running the parks then complains that areas have to be "developed" for public use frowning on leaving the lands in a primitive state.  The nonsense goes on and on and the only real beneficiaries are the bureaucrats who seem to think of these lands as if they are custodians of private hunting parks in the Europe of ancient monarchies.  The whole idea of public and private is intentionally blurred by the state for the purpose of expanding what is becoming a business empire which would be better owned by private interests for purposes like that.

Public Parks are for people came about as the state of Oregon working with the federal government stated putting up gates to collect tolls and to exclude automobiles from one of the top tourist attractions in Oregon--Multnomah Falls.  Anyone who knows how government really works realizes that once gates go up they will be collecting tolls eventually regardless of all the nonsense they have to tell you that it is just to control traffic.    Their real goal is to get $5 per car  and make money as if they in a business.  Instead of keeping Benson Park open as a fee free park helping to give access to more people to go the most popular spot in Oregon for tourists and locals alike they systematically limit parking as a precursor to having a reason to put up the  gates and soon there after we will see the tolls imposed.    Joining Public Parks are for People you can help turn back the clock and make our public parks free and open for all uses including camping, boat launching, picnicking , day use, hiking and more.  If the Oregon State parks division were closed up and everyone working there laid off permanently the parks would be even more pristine than they are today, maybe a little more primitive and a much greater recreational amenity to Oregon and the people..  A much more limited budget with much less expansion and perhaps more private donations of land and even toilet paper probably means better parks overall.  Some of us remember when parks  were for the people and see what has been lost .  We also see that government controls and excessive regulations backfire or are intended to backfires just as limiting parking at Multnomah Falls has caused a parking over flow mess.  I was at the meetings about limiting parking there years ago and warned that this would happen so no way was it an unexpected consequence.  The dream of the people in charge always was to turn Multnomah Falls into a windfall profit center collecting tolls.  Watch out here it comes ...at least it was before Parks Are For People got involved.

 

*

 

 

Camping, which began in 1951 in Oregon's state parks, has never been free*. A fee to park during the day at some state parks started in 1981. Then, and now, you can enter any state park on foot or by bike for free -- the fee is to park.

 

We have about 300 properties in the state park system; 26 charge a parking fee. We are not funded by taxes. Revenue from people who directly use parks makes up more than a third of the money needed to staff, clean, and protect each park in the system.

 Yes but...camping was much cheaper with much less emphasis of keeping cars out.

 

--

* There is one state park campground, Succor Creek, where it's not practical to charge a fee, so it's free.