Haley to state's children: Want state parks? Pay up.

If you live in NORTH Carolina, your access to all of North Carolina's state parks is absolutely free. Even after the new conservative legislature imposed some fees for some services last year, admission remains free statewide.

That's because in North Carolina, people regard some spaces, programs and services as necessary to promoting a high quality of life for all its citizens. So North Carolinians support those spaces, programs and services with tax dollars, and just as public libraries are free to visit, state parks are free to visit, too.

It's no wonder North Carolina ranks consistently high for its quality of life.

This is especially beneficial to North Carolina's working poor, and their children. Where else can they go for outdoor recreation, not to mention for sheer enjoyment of natural beauty, if they don't live happen to live at the country club?

But here in South Carolina, the working poor and their children -- indeed, all of us -- have to fork over several dollars per person just to get inside, which means the working poor and their children likely don't go to their state parks.

We have some beautiful state parks (and state historic sites) and a dedicated -- and tiny -- staff of park rangers and interpreters. I can see charging out-of-state visitors a fee to enjoy our parks. That makes perfect sense. But our own citizens? Don't the parks belong to us?

Now, even though admission fees pay for 83 percent of the cost of running our state parks already, Governor Nikki Haley says the parks cost too much of the state treasury. Rather than making our state parks a perk of living in South Carolina -- where perks are few and far between for the less-than-wealthy -- her goal is to make the parks completely self-sufficient. That means charging everyone -- even South Carolinians, as if we're just customers in our own state -- more. And if they happen, one day, to start turning a profit for the state, so much the better...

After a yearlong review, South Carolina's 47 state parks will remain within the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism with a goal of making park operations pay for themselves by the end of next year.

When Gov. Nikki Haley took office last year, she asked for a review of the parks system with an eye toward whether the parks might be more efficiently administered by the state Department of Natural Resources.

After traveling from the mountains to the sea visiting all the state's parks, PRT Director Duane Parrish recently presented the governor with a report on the status of the park system. The park system began during the Great Depression with 15 parks carved out of the wild by workers with the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Ah, the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program initiated under Franklin Roosevelt to create jobs for American's working poor, to help the nation get out of an economic downturn. Where have good ideas like that gone today?

The 80,000-acre state park system features 3,000 campsites, 144 cabins, 80 hotel rooms, two golf courses, and more than 300 miles of hiking and riding trails.

The report makes four main recommendations:

-- That state parks remain under PRT to better market and develop the parks.

Marketing in North Carolina: Letting people know that their state parks are free and open to the public, almost every day of the year.

Marketing in South Carolina: Letting people know that if you want free state parks, move to North Carolina. Ours cost money to visit. Poor folks might want to stay home, put some lawn chairs in the yard and string some tin cans together for the kiddies to play with.

-- That steps be taken so park operations, which last year cost about $24 million to operate, are self-sufficient by the end of 2013.

Self-sufficient: Run like a business, so that when costs go up, you either raise admission prices and other fees, or you fire some park staff, or both. Making parks self-sufficient brings us one step closer to privatizing them altogether.

-- That deferred maintenance needs be prioritized and other sources of money be found to pay for such maintenance.

"Other sources" means not public dollars. Spending public dollars to maintain public parks might send the wrong message; for example, that all of South Carolina's citizens are welcome to attend, when we all know...

-- That revenue bonds be considered for capital projects, such as water attractions at state parks that will produce additional revenue.

Which means Disney-fication of the state parks. Can you see it? Long lines at the Swamp Fox roller coaster ride? Maurice Bessenger could get the state concessions contract: Piggies in the Parks!

The report also found the state's parks have almost $155 million in deferred maintenance needs. It found five must be accomplished within five years to avoid closing some areas because of safety concerns.

Translation: We've done such a poor job of funding needed maintenance, repairs and renovations with existing revenues that our some of our state park features are in danger of being completely closed.

Oh, well. Those who live close enough to the border can cross and enjoy North Carolina's state parks. This year's theme: "Naturally Wonderful."

You know what you could do for free in South Carolina?

Here the past, present and future of BMW come together in a one-of-a-kind building. See the cars, the speed, the innovation–all for free in the only BMW museum in North America. The Zentrum is more than just a museum; it’s a meeting and events center, a cafe, a gallery and a history lesson–all wrapped into one ultimate experience. Located next to the only BMW manufacturing plant in the U.S., this unique place offers something for everyone.

Thanks to massive corporate tax breaks -- courtesy of you and me -- BMW allows us to come and visit their museum in Greenville.

Poor folks, load up the kids and come to Greenville. And make it a two-fer! Greenville's close enough to the North Carolina border that you might spend half a day at some North Carolina state parks, for only the price of gas.

Did you know North Carolina's parks are free to attend?

One more example of South Carolina's lawmakers being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

The Sun-News of Myrtle Beach took note of North Carolina's General Assembly cutting appropriations for its state parks system this year. It's not a shock; the economy is bad everywhere, and the Old North State's legislature began to to resemble our own after last November's election.

North Carolina's state parks limp this week into a new budget year with a 25 percent cut from the legislature, growing hordes of visitors and a sense that things could be worse. As states struggle with deficits, the nation's parks are under siege. California will close 70 of its 278 parks. Washington State withdrew all state support. Ohio plans to allow oil and gas drilling in its parks. No N.C. parks are expected to close.

But visitors will pay more to camp, swim or picnic, because of fee hikes last year. They'll find fewer rangers and more peeling paint. The park system also will lose millions from the trust fund that has helped it grow by about 5,000 acres a year since 1996. The fund is still paying off two landmark additions, the Chimney Rock and Grandfather Mountain tourist attractions.

Little will be left this year. Legislators diverted $8.4 million from the trust, which gets income from real estate excise taxes, to help balance the state budget. They took an additional $6 million for park operations, effectively lowering the appropriations cut to 5.6 percent. The trust fund avoided an even bigger blow: a bill that would have cut revenue by half.

"We considered that a bigger threat than the budget because that would have shut down state parks," said David Pearson, a Swansboro real estate broker who leads Friends of State Parks. The group advocates and provides volunteers for parks.

But I took note of a different fact in the same article: Every single one of North Carolina's state parks, even after budget cuts, remains free and open to the public.

Despite the grim financial climate, park officials still show little appetite for a dollar stream that's long been taboo - entrance fees. North Carolina is one of only nine states that don't charge them. A recent study from N.C. State University found that the cost of installing and staffing fee stations would offset the revenue. The study predicted that visits would fall, hurting the parks' $400 million annual contribution to local economies.

The state savors its history of free parks. Many were created with grassroots support when development, logging and mining threatened beloved natural places. Most of their visitors live no more than an hour or two away.

"There's strong sentiment in North Carolina that people want their parks open," said parks director Lewis Ledford.

Look at that. In North Carolina, citizens want free and easy access to their natural resources, and their lawmakers provide it. Why don't ours?

Many states feel that parks should be as free as libraries, said Rich Dolesh, policy chief at the National Recreation and Park Association.
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Just across the state line, South Carolina's parks run on a different business model. Many have rental cabins and two have golf courses. Most of them charge entrance fees. Parks are part of the state tourism department - North Carolina's are in the environmental agency - and rely heavily on marketing.

The South Carolina system also has increased its dependence on fees, which now generate nearly 80 percent of its operating budget, compared to about 20 percent in North Carolina.

The shift "has allowed us to focus on what customers want," said S.C. Parks Director Phil Gaines. "The people who use the parks are literally paying for their parks."

So we're tourists in our own state.

Here's a thought: A lot of South Carolinians can't afford to pay entrance fees for large families. But if those parks were free and accessible, those families might use them. What's better: Having children sitting at home during summer break in front of the television, or out exploring South Carolina's natural resources?

Having free and accessible state parks seems to have worked well for North Carolina, where its citizens aren't considered paying customers...