The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) is a state-level government agency of
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
that manages
state parks
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
throughout Idaho as well as the registration programs for boats, snowmobiles and other off-highway vehicles.
History
Idaho's oldest state park,
Heyburn, was created in 1908, the first state park in the state and in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
.
[ For much of the park system's history, it was managed by the ]Idaho Department of Lands
The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is a state-level government agency of Idaho that manages State Trust Lands. IDL oversees forestry practices on state lands and some regulation of mining practices, as well as administering forestry programs and ...
, and briefly by the Idaho Transportation Department
The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is the state of Idaho governmental organization responsible for state transportation infrastructure. This includes ongoing operations and maintenance as well as planning for future needs of the state and it ...
in the late 1940s. A professional park management agency wasn't created until 1965, this being a qualification both for the donation of Harriman State Park and for federal Land and Water Conservation Fund
The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...
money. Those federal grant
In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purp ...
s, largely raised from fees charged to oil companies for offshore drilling
Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...
, brought $60 million into Idaho for city and county parks as well as state parks. In 1981, the Department of Parks and Recreation began charging entrance fees, which support park operations and maintenance.[ Total visitation across the system is more than 4.5 million annually.][
]
Programs and structure
The department's mission statement
A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...
is "to improve the quality of life in Idaho through outdoor recreation and resource stewardship."natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
s; recreation parks, which offer opportunities for outdoor activities; heritage parks, which preserve and interpret sites of cultural importance; and recreation trailways.City of Rocks National Reserve
The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and state park in south-central Idaho, approximately north of the border with Utah. It is widely known for its enormous granite ro ...
.
See also
* List of Idaho state parks
This is a list of Idaho's 27 state parks managed by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. IIdaho state code there are 30 state parks listed, including Mowry State Park, Veteran's State Park, and Glade Creek. While these three remai ...
References
External links
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
{{authority control
State agencies of Idaho
Natural resources agencies in the United States
1965 establishments in Idaho