Cliff Buchan
News EditorChallenges are nothing new for Courtland Nelson, a Forest Lake High School graduate of 1968.
He has found them on different levels of public work, first as a park ranger in Utah and subsequent jobs as deputy director of the Arizona State Park system and as director of the Utah State Division of Parks and Recreation.
Nelson held the latter job from 1993 until February of this year, and in 2002 was the Utah state official in charge of the development of Soldier Hollow at Wasatch Mountain State Park, the Nordic venue for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. More than 200,000 fans came to the park and millions more watched on television worldwide.
Now Nelson, has come home looking for new challenges and a possible final stop in his lifeís work. In February, Nelson, 53, was appointed director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation.
He replaced Bill Morrissey who retired late last year and has since been named director of the Wisconsin DNR parks system.
Transition time
In his first six months on the job Nelson has been gradually settling in, touring facilities and studying the state parks system and how it can be improved. He has been on the road visiting one-third of the 66 state parks and the 45 state forest campgrounds managed by the division of parks and recreation.
In his early months on the job Nelson has come to one clear conclusion: the state has many excellent park facilities that are ìunderutilized.î
During a weekend stop at William OíBrien State Park east of Forest Lake in Scandia, Nelson saw a full campground and large crowds taking in educational programs at the parkís small amphitheater.
But on a week day visit with a reporter, Nelson saw plenty of empty campground sites and only a handful of park users fishing from a pier and launching a boat on the St. Croix River.
Underutilized, Nelson said, repeating a common theme spoken often during the morning visit.
It was much the same earlier in the day during a stop at Interstate Park on US-8 in Taylors Falls. Interstate Park, a relatively small park at 290 acres that was founded in 1895 as the second park in the state system behind only Itasca State Park.
But with its location in a busy tourist area served by the St. Croix River, the park remains the fifth busiest in the state system with 350,000 visitors a year. Some come for canoe outings on the river while others are there to camp, hike or rock climb.
Still, on this weekday visit, Nelson sees a facility that is underutilized.
The challenge
As he tours state facilities like William OíBrien and Interstate, Nelson is quick to recognize one of the key challenges facing the system: Improving the seasonal utilization of parks on a statewide basis
ìWe have some largely unknown parks,î Nelson said, referring to many of the seldom used facilities as ìlittle jewels.î
While parks like Interstate record robust use, particularly on weekends, others in the state system are underutilized, Nelson says.
One of the divisionís goals, he says, is to expand park use. The objective, Nelson said, is to help people break habits and explore new facilities and see new things.
And there is the additional challenge of expanding park use statewide, Nelson says.
Over the past five to seven years, state parks have attracted 8 million visitors a year, but participation has remained flat.
During the five-to-seven-year time period, the division has sold between 105,000 to 108,000 annual permits at $25 apiece. The balance of usage comes on the daily park entrance fee of $7 per vehicle.
As the state continues to grow in population, Nelson said he wonders why usage is not increasing but remaining flat.
ìPeople do like parks,î Nelson said. But he adds the challenge facing the division is to make sure the quality of experience and personal service of park employees are at levels that will keep visitors returning.
Steps to take
As he continues to evaluate the system, Nelson said he is exploring ways the system can be improved. He has outlined some possible areas for change.
Nelson said heíd like to expand cooperative steps with border parks such as Interstate facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin where joint programs might help both states. There are other possibilities of cooperation with county and regional park facilities, he says.
In addition to encouraging current state park users to try other state parks, he also believes internal changes and improved facilities may attract park users. While many residents might not come to spend a night in a tent, some may come if the park had a cabin available to rent, Nelson says.
Allowing a season pass buyer to utilize the pass on more than one vehicle may also enhance use, Nelson says.
He also believes there can be more recreational opportunities for the public in state wildlife areas, trails, waterways and state forests in addition to state park facilities.
Tough times
But Nelson concedes that making many of the changes may be difficult in a time of tight budgets and limited resources for capital improvements and programs that will attract visitors.
When he was hired by DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam early this year, that message was made clear, Nelson said.
The division benefited from a $23 million capital bonding program several years ago but has seen operational cuts in recent years. Nelson expects two more ìtough yearsî for park operations.
Many of the visitor centers and interpretative centers have seen reduced hours of operations. Vacant positions have gone unfilled and other budget reductions have included a $240,000 administrative cut at the main office in St. Paul.
Nelson hopes more internal moves can avoid even harsher cuts.
ìItís a fairly difficult time right now,î Nelson said. ìWe may have to look at seasonal park closings.î
But Minnesota is not unique with its budget problems. Prior to leaving Utah, Nelson said similar problems were encountered. ìThere were rollbacks in Utah and worse,î he said.
A good move
The challenges that Nelson faces in Minnesota and the chance to return to his home state are positives he has willingly accepted in his new job.
Heís impressed by the staff and the facilities under his direction. His charge is to manage a $32 million annual budget and the divisionís 250 full-time employees, 700 seasonal workers and just under 200 active volunteers.
He looks at the challenges as opportunities, reflecting a positive attitude in the changes that can be made during tough budget times and those changes that can increase participation and use of state parks, campgrounds and historic sites.
ìThere are a lot of reasons to be optimistic.î he said.
There is bonding money still to be used and the division will secure another $2 million if the current bonding bill can ever pass through the legislature. A land purchase to expand Interstate Park is one of the projects in the hopper, he says.
In his first half-year on the job Nelson said he likes what he has seen to date. ìIím just impressed,î he said.
He is experiencing the change of geography, for sure, Nelson says. After working in the deserts of Arizona and the mountain ranges of Utah since 1977, the return to the lakes and forests has been different, but enjoyable.
ìI left as a pretty young guy,î Nelson said. In 1972 he earned a B.A in sociology and history from Augustanna College, Sioux Falls, SD. His M.S. in outdoor recreation education was earned at Utah State University, Logan, in 1981.
He has never lost track of his roots, however, and Courtland and his wife Mitzi are living in Forest Lake. His mother, Dorothy, lives in Cambridge, and Nelson has returned home for regular summer visits. His father, Neal Nelson, a former coach and teacher in Forest Lake, died in 1984.
Nelsonís wife, a teacher by profession, is a Salt Lake City native with parents still in Utah. Mitzi and Courtlandís daughter, Sarah, has returned to college in Utah.
Moving to Forest Lake was a big step for the family, but one the Nelsons have accepted.
ìI wanted to relocate for the last decade of my work,î he says.
ìEleven years (in Utah) is a long time. The system in Utah is in good shape. It was just time.î
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