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Next year will mark 100 years for Iowa’s State Parks, and many events are being planned across the state in 2020 to celebrate this.
Chad Kelchen, the District 4 Parks Supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), spoke to a group of 23 Johnston Rotarians at the Oct. 15, 2019, meeting at Hyperion Field Club.
Kelchen stated that he was a farm kid from eastern Iowa who graduated from Iowa State University. He has spent 25 years with the state parks, most recently as park manager at Big Creek and previously as park manager at Brushy Creek near Fort Dodge. Today he manages between 15-20 parks in central and southern Iowa.
Why do parks matter? Kelchen stated that their priority is to protect the land, water, animals, culture and history of the state. He also stated that he has a personal goal to help reconnect kids with nature.
Iowa has 90 sate parks, 70 which are managed by the DNR. These parks are on more than 95,000 acres and have more than 12 million visitors each year. The DNR has 109 full-time employees and 280 seasonal employees. Kelchen says he is constantly recruiting staff and encourages anyone to apply.
Big Creek has one park manager, one park ranger and five seasonal employees. More than 500,000 cars come through Big Creek each year. Interesting fact: Big Creek restroom facilities are stocked with enough toilet paper that would reach to Ames and back if rolled out.
The Neal Smith Trail is also part of the park system, and repairs on the trail will cost up to $6 per square foot. The playground at Big Creek is also a destination point, but the 30-year-old wooden structure is in need of repairs that could cost up to $1 million.
Kelchen stated that every person in Iowa has a state park within 30 minutes of them.
A recent change in the Iowa legislature now allows the DNR to charge varying amounts for various parks. This is what Kelchen says is called Dynamic Pricing. Camping fees have been the same since 2000, and although they are not necessarily announcing increases, they do plan to adjust pricing at various parks to level out the supply and demand.