Michigan state parks officially celebrated their 100th birthday earlier this month, May 12. With the establishment of the Michigan State Park Commission on that date in 1919, the story of our state parks system – today 103 parks strong, with 28 million annual visitors – began.

It’s a story that can’t be told without talking about cars, as the automobile industry drove development of Michigan’s state park system.

Early in its history, the question of how to finance continued growth of that system – and whether funding should be tied to the vehicles traveling to parks – was raised.

Initial state park development was dependent on gifts of lands by donors, but if expansion was to continue, there was a realization that the state would need a long-term funding source to purchase more land.

On the topic of financing state park lands, the Biennial Report of the Michigan Department of Conservation for 1925/1926 said, “…since our State Park system is almost entirely an outgrowth of the automobile, it appears that the cost of sites could be best and most fairly met by revenue from car licenses or gasoline.”

Michigan residents and visitors loved the state’s developing system of parks.

As automobiles and the interstate highway system connected parks and tourists more than ever before, the state parks system was unable to meet the demand of growing attendance and needed more funding.

In 1957, the state Conservation Commission asked the Michigan Legislature’s permission to set up a park fee system – an annual vehicle sticker, the predecessor of today’s Recreation Passport.

These windshield stickers, priced at $2 a year or 50 cents for a daily sticker, allowed unlimited vehicle access to state parks and replaced the previous per-individual park entry fees. Sticker sales were intended to help finance improvements to the parks system, as well as add more parks.

Two of Michigan’s neighbors, Minnesota and Ontario, had pioneered similar sticker plans that were the inspiration for Michigan’s vehicle permits.

In 1960, the Legislature passed yet another version of the bill, which was not vetoed. By 1968, the annual vehicle permits had become an important source of revenue supporting Michigan state parks.

By 2010, it cost $24 to get an annual vehicle sticker.

Back then, the parks system was in dire straits, having stopped getting support from tax dollars when state parks were removed from the General Fund in 2004.

“At that time the parks were facing a $300 million-plus infrastructure deficit – meaning it would cost more than $300 million to make the needed restorations to existing buildings, campground utilities, roads and historic sites,” DNR Parks and Recreation Division Chief Ron Olson said. “Camping fees were unable to generate enough money to sustain operations, and combined with the infrastructure deficit, many historic facilities began to fall into disrepair.”

The Citizens Advisory Committee for Michigan State Parks, created in 2005 and charged with finding a long-term funding solution to ensure Michiganders could continue using the parks, was instrumental in developing and advocating for the current state parks funding model. 

In partnership with the advisory committee, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources proposed the Recreation Passport. The passport would be tied to the vehicle registration process and required for vehicles entering state parks.

Olson said that the theory was that reducing the cost of the annual state park pass and offering it to all vehicle owners when they renew their license plates would lead to an increase in the number of people who chose to support parks and in funding.

“And it worked,” he said.

In October 2010, Michigan residents saw the last of the previous $24 window stickers in favor of the new Recreation Passport. Priced at just $10 and providing year-round access to all state parks, the Recreation Passport was a success. In its first year, the passport was purchased for almost 25 percent of the vehicles registered in Michigan, generating $7 million more for state parks than the previous year.

Today, the $11 Recreation Passport – the purchase price was raised in 2013 based on a statutory requirement that it must keep pace with inflation – helps fund maintenance and improvements at Michigan’s 103 state parks, state forest campgrounds, trails and boat launches.

Passport sales also provide funding for local park improvements via Recreation Passport grants, historic sites within state parks, and outdoor recreation facilities and opportunities.

Recreation Passport sales make up 23 percent of state park funding. Other funding sources include camping and lodging reservations (39 percent); oil, gas and mineral royalty revenues (30 percent); concessions and shelter reservations (3 percent); and miscellaneous other sources (5 percent).

More than 30 percent of Michigan’s drivers check “Yes” for the Recreation Passport when registering their vehicles.

"The Recreation Passport really is a tremendous value for Michigan residents," Olson said. "For just $11, you get year-round access to more than 103 beautiful, spacious and scenic places to explore the great outdoors, reconnect with family and friends, and get reacquainted with Michigan's incrediblenatural and cultural resources."

In this centennial celebration year of the Michigan state parks, despite creative efforts to develop a new revenue stream, a funding gap continues between money available to make park improvements and the cost of needed upgrades and repairs.

DNR Director Dan Eichinger cites finding solutions to this problem among his top-drawer priorities.

Eichinger said the centennial reminds us of the century-old heritage of state park development across Michigan. The downside of that benchmark is a reminder that Michigan has a 100-year-old park system with a bulging backlog of unfunded park maintenance and improvement projects.

“I’m concerned that at some point that’s going to crush the park system,” he said.

In addition to looking back on state parks’ storied past and celebrating how far they have come in the last 100 years, the centennial also offers an opportunity to look toward the future of state parks and how to ensure they continue to thrive.

During the centennial year, the “Give 100” fundraising effort offers those who love Michigan’s state parks a chance to contribute toward improvements at their favorite parks.

There are also opportunities to buy products that help raise awareness and support for state parks, trails and waterways – posters, T-shirts, ice cream, Stormy Kromer hats, totes, patches and more, some highlighting the centennial – through These Goods Are Good for Michigan.

Read a story on the centennial celebration to learn more about the many ways the DNR is celebrating 100 years, and looking towards the next 100 years, of Michigan state parks.

From its nascent beginnings, with the development of auto-touring and public demand, Michigan’s state parks have faced funding challenges which have been at least temporarily met through new ideas.

Looking ahead, the challenges are significant, but Michigan has been down this road before. The future holds hope that these funding shortfalls will be surmounted, allowing the Great Lakes State to one day celebrate a glorious bicentennial of its beloved state park system.  

For more information about the Recreation Passport, visit Michigan.gov/RecreationPassport.