George Bristol, author of On Politics and Parks, is founder of the Texas Coalition for
Conservation, a nonprofit alliance that has coordinated efforts to maintain
funding for Texas state parks. He also served as a board member of the National
Park Foundation and as a consultant on the Ken Burns PBS series on national
parks.
Here Bristol discusses the implications of recently passed
legislation directing funds to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Texas A&M University Press:
Why is this new funding appropriation important for Texas Parks and Wildlife?
George Bristol: With the
passage of HB 158 the Texas Legislature has guaranteed a substantial and
reliable flow of funding from the "Sporting Goods Sales Tax" for
the foreseeable future. Both from a budget planning standpoint, as well as
a method to keep our parks attractive and attracting visitors, such a
commitment is essential. That has always been the case, but now the
legislature has recognized, honored, and fulfilled that obligation. It
will mean millions of dollars to repair old parks and plan and develop new
parks that have recently been added to the system. Hopefully much of this work
can be accomplished by 2023—the centennial of the Texas State Park
System.
TAMU Press: Can you shed any
insight into how it all came together?
GB: For the past 14 years,
principally through the constant work of the Texas Coalition for
Conservation, there has been a growing groundswell of support for consistent
and reliable funding from the revenues generated by the "Sporting
Goods Sales Tax" which is not a separate tax, but part of the existing
sales tax structure of Texas. Not only were like minded organizations recruited
to join the effort, but tools for advocacy were created: economic impact
studies of state parks on local communities and businesses, public opinion
surveys before each session of the legislature and materials to be used
for op-ed pieces in the news media, as well as for letters and emails to
elected officials. Slowly but surely the accumulation of fact and
persuasion caused leaders like Speaker Joe Straus and Representatives
Hilderbran and Larson to lend their support to efforts to correct past
wrongs. HB158 is the last and hopefully conclusive monumental achievement
of all those efforts over all those years.
TAMU Press: What are some of
the challenges, in your view, that Texas Parks and Wildlife will face long-term
from a funding perspective? How might those needs be met going forward?
