Outdoor recreation group meets to discuss priorities

WORLAND – Representatives from the Wyoming State Parks Outdoor Recreation Office hosted a meeting in Worland on Saturday, bringing community leaders and state agency professionals together to evaluate outdoor recreation opportunities in the Big Horn Basin.

As indicated by Domenic Bravo, administrator for State Parks, who lead the meeting, the meetings will begin in the Big Horn Basin, due to the nature of the terrain and many outdoor opportunities the area provides.

“We are really trying to get ideas from Wyoming communities on priorities that they may have for outdoor recreation, and take those back to see how we can help at a state level,” said Bravo, in opening remarks to the 60 people gathered at the One Oak Activity Center.

The community meetings coincide with a report finalized in 2017, at the governor’s direction, after a 26-member Outdoor Recreation Task Force made 70 recommendations to strengthen the state’s outdoor recreation economy.

Part of the task force’s plan was to identify existing

agencies, such as Game and Fish and State Parks, and determine how they could coordinate with communities to strengthen outdoor recreation opportunities in each region.

The audience then broke into groups of four to six, to determine priorities for the area. The most common were tourism, economic development, cooperation between agencies, conservation and maintaining the current opportunities to provide quality of life to residents and visitors alike.

Led by Victoria Deero with the State Parks division and Outdoor Recreation Board, the groups presented their priority lists, and voiced concerns.

“Believe it or not,” noted Deero, “we [at the board] found many of the same priorities that you have.”

One major topic of discussion was improving maps for the state, specifically the state’s trail system.

“The BLM [Bureau of Land Management], State Parks and Game and Fish all have maps, but no one group has gotten together to combine them into a comprehensive trail map for users,” said Bravo, who noted that he would bring that up with the state board.

Bravo also heralded local boosts to outdoor recreation, including the expansion of Medicine Lodge and the Hot Springs State Park Master Plan completion. Bravo also mentioned summer renovations at Boysen Reservoir, which will include additional fishing areas and shelters.

Under the bill passed earlier this year, Medicine Lodge State Park would gain 52 acres from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, specifically, “A parcel of land of approximately ten (10) acres in Dry Fork canyon; A parcel of land of approximately fourteen (14) acres of the pasture parcel in the hay meadow.

“A parcel of land of approximately twenty-eight (28) acres west of park headquarters.”

Originally purchased in 1972 by Game and Fish, the Medicine Lodge Wildlife habitat Management Area consisted of 12,000 acres, including the archeological site. Later, the archeological site, home to petroglyphs and native ceremonial sites, was put under control of the state park department.

In April 2017, a combined committee from the State Parks and Game and Fish conducted an independent review of the holdings, and presented their recommendations, to expand Medicine Lodge, to the state’s Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Interim Committee in August.

The Hot Springs State Park Master Plan, finalized in November 2016, would add additional walking trails, an economic zone, and expanded water access to Hot Springs State Park.

The Outdoor Recreation Board will take their community recommendations back to the state, and compile an action plan to present to the Governor’s Office later in the year.

The full Outdoor Recreation report is available for review at wyoparks.org.