Arizona State Parks and Trails this week won the Gold Medal for best managed state park system in the nation. KAWC’s Maya Springhawk Robnett reports…
The award, presented by the National Recreation and Park Association, honors state park systems considered to have demonstrated qualities such as long-term planning, resource management, and fiscally sound business practices.
Sue Black, the Director of the Arizona State Parks and Trails, told KAWC it took effort to recover from five years ago, when the Arizona parks system faced budget shortages and possible park closures.
“It wasn’t one thing,” Black said. “It was partnerships. It was reinvesting in our historic places and then our recreation and understanding what the customer wants out of their state parks.”
Black said each park, including Yuma’s Quartermaster Depot and the Yuma Territorial Prison, has played a part in ensuring the state parks system has flourished.
“We don’t do it by ourselves. You know, we get no general fund, we run it as an enterprise,” Black explained, “and I just couldn’t be more proud of everyone’s efforts.”