State conservation Areas

Protecting 30% of America by 2030 will require a wide variety of land protection mechanisms, from vast national parks to urban parks and greenspaces. Every level of government has a role to play in reaching the 30x30 goal, and state governments are uniquely positioned to protect additional natural areas while benefiting local economies and increasing access to recreation.

What are state conservation areas?

State conservation areas are parcels of land managed by state agencies for conservation, wildlife habitat, and recreation. In the West, types of conservation areas depend on the patchwork of federal, state, and private land, as well as the needs and priorities of the state. Here are the different types of state-managed protected land in the West:

State Parks

State park systems are ubiquitous across the West, providing open space for visitors and local communities alike. State parks are often located closer to population centers than national public lands, and feature opportunities for recreation, gathering outside, and education.

Wildlife areas

Every state in the West has its own version of protected wildlife habitat. These parcels are managed for the benefit of wildlife, often including active management such as stream restoration and invasive plant removal. In many states, hunting and fishing is a priority in these areas.

Fish Management Areas

Areas protected for fish management are similar to wildlife habitat, conserving wetlands and streams and often including hatcheries.

Natural Areas

State Natural Areas preserve significant natural features, from geologic formations to rare plants.

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States across the West have a variety of other designations, including recreation areas, historic parks, and trails. These are generally managed similarly to state parks, prioritizing recreation and access to the outdoors.

Why state conservation areas?

State conservation areas allow for agencies to execute the vision and priorities of residents of the state. The 30x30 initiative must be a grassroots, locally-led effort, and state parks and conservation areas can bring these local priorities to fruition.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of state parks for local communities. As the pandemic limited safe indoor activities, people across the West turned to the outdoors for recreation and safe ways to spend their time. In 2020, visitation to state parks soared in almost every state in the West. Colorado and Utah had the highest state park visitation, with 18.3 million and 10.6 million visitors respectively. Wyoming had the largest increase in state park visitation, an increase of 36% from 2019.

State parks are an important tool in closing the “nature gap”—the unequal distribution of nature in the U.S. based on racial and socioeconomic factors. Strategically-planned state parks can work to close that gap, especially if states prioritize proximity to communities that have traditionally lacked adequate access to the outdoors.

What are states doing?

State Snapshots

Arizona’s conservation lands, managed by Arizona State Parks and Arizona Game and Fish, consist of state parks, state historic parks, and state natural areas, as well as a state recreation area, a state wildlife area, and a state fish hatchery. While just 0.27% of the state is managed by these agencies, Arizona’s state parks and natural areas hosted nearly 3 million visitors in 2020. Arizona’s Heritage Fund contributes to Game and Fish, but no longer funds State Parks. Current funding comes from general fund allocations and grants.

Colorado’s land management agency, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, manages over 5 million acres of state parks, wildlife areas, and fish units. Colorado’s state parks have the highest visitation in the West, hosting more than 18 million visitors in 2020—a 23% increase compared to 2019. Colorado is working to expand its state park system, and is currently going through a planning process on how to execute this vision. Half of the agency’s funding comes from licenses, passes, fees, and permits, while the rest is from federal and state grants and loans, lottery revenue through Great Outdoors Colorado, donations, registrations, severance tax, and small general fund allocations. In addition to state-owned land, Colorado Parks and Wildlife enters into management agreements with other agencies and willing landowners to protect areas of public or private land that contain unique and significant natural features. Ranging from geologic features to habitat for rare or endangered plants and animals, Colorado has 95 Natural Areas covering 178,275 acres.

Idaho’s conservation areas, managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation and Idaho Fish and Game, consist of state parks (including state recreational trailways) and wildlife management areas. 7.7 million people visited Idaho’s state parks in 2020, an 18% increase from 2019. Funding for managing these lands comes from general appropriations, revenue from hunting license fees and tag fees, oil and gas reserve funds, and donations. Past land acquisition has been through general fund allocations.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks manages the state’s 55 state parks—the largest number of state parks in the West—as well as two types of protected wildlife habitat. Wildlife Management Areas protect habitat at the landscape level, while Wildlife Habitat Protection Areas generally preserve smaller parcels that are important to wildlife. Like many states, Montana experienced an uptick in state park visitation in 2020, with a 30% increase to 3.4 million people. Funding for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks comes from hunting and fishing license revenue, Habitat Montana, grants, and general funding. The largest source of state parks’ funding is vehicle registration fees.

In New Mexico, state parks and wildlife areas are managed by New Mexico State Parks and the Department of Game and Fish. New Mexico State Parks has established an intention to expand the state park system through their Next Generation of Adventure initiative, however New Mexico has not yet acquired new state park land since this goal was created. Funding comes from general appropriations, donations, and the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department through the Heritage Conservation Act.

Although just 1% of Nevada is managed by state agencies—with 86% managed by federal and tribal governments—Nevada State Parks and the Department of Wildlife manage land for recreation and wildlife habitat. In addition, these agencies work with federal agencies and private landowners to execute their conservation goals. Conservation in Nevada is largely funded by their conservation bond program, as well as general funds and mitigation fees for disturbing wildlife habitat.

Utah’s state conservation areas are managed by the Utah Department of Natural Resources’ State Parks and Division of Wildlife. Utah’s state parks have the second highest visitation in the west, with 10.6 million visitors in 2020. Funding comes from general fund allocations and inputs into a wildlife trust fund.

Wyoming’s state parks and wildlife areas are managed by Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites, and Trails. Wyoming saw the largest increase is state park visitation in 2020, growing 36% to 5.8 million visitors. Funding comes from the general fund and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Acquisition

Despite widespread popularity and high visitation, most Western states do not have an established mechanism for adding new state conservation areas. Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico included expanding their state park systems in each states’ most recent planning reports. The rest of the states have not established expansion goals or have instead directed agency focus to maintaining and managing current state lands.

Colorado has made expanding the state park system a priority. The newest state park—Fishers Peak in southern Colorado—was acquired in 2019 through collaboration between state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations. Building on its success, Colorado Parks and Wildlife created a community-driven process to gather input on expanding the state park system. After establishing criteria, including providing nature-based recreation, conserving natural resources, and providing community value, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is now accepting nominations from the public. New Mexico and Utah set intentions to expand their state park systems in recent planning processes. However, funding challenges seem to have paused acquisition efforts.

In other states, past funding for land acquisition has come through general budget requests or donations. However, state budget problems in recent years and legislatures in some states that do not prioritize conservation efforts have led to little progress in land acquisition in these states.

Takeaways

Rising visitation is expected to continue on public lands, including state parks and wildlife areas. To keep up with demand and provide outdoor opportunities for residents and visitors alike, state agencies should look for ways to expand state park systems, prioritizing accessibility and proximity to communities that stand to benefit the most from nearby nature. Establishing goals and planning processes is a great starting point, but supporting this with dedicated funding is vital to ensure the state’s conservation priorities are executed.

Where land acquisition opportunities are unavailable due to funding constraints or current ownership, establishing voluntary partnerships with other agencies and private landowners can be an important intermediate conservation measure. Agencies can lend important resources and expertise to protect significant habitat and natural resources.

As the country makes progress toward reaching 30x30, states can lead the way by protecting conservation areas while benefiting communities and increasing access to recreation. State conservation efforts can bring to life the priorities of local communities and build grassroots momentum for the bold 30x30 conservation goal.