Governor Hutchinson Directs State Parks
To Implement New Measures for Public Health
To Implement New Measures for Public Health
LITTLE ROCK – Opportunities to spend the night under the stars are now pretty much limited to camping in your own back yard after an announcement by Governor Asa Hutchinson closes all state parks to overnight camping.
Governor Hutchinson approved temporary changes to Arkansas State Parks’ operations to protect public health during the COVID-19 crisis, he announced at a news conference April 1.
According to a press release distributed by the Governor’s office, the Governor has directed that Arkansas State Parks implement “day use” operations only, effective 8 a.m. on Friday, April 3, a decision he made in consultation with Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst.
The Governor and Secretary Hurst both stated that the measure should cut down on the number of out of state visitors in the state, thus decreasing the risk of COVID-19 being brought in from outside the state.
“Arkansas State Parks will remain operational,” Governor Hutchinson said. “Arkansas is known for our outdoor recreation, and we want to allow Arkansans to safely enjoy what our state has to offer. These new safety measures will reduce the risk of overcrowding at our parks and discourage visitors from out-of-state until the threat of COVID-19 has passed.”
“This Friday, we will move to ‘day use’ only across our state parks system, eliminating all overnight stay opportunities,” Secretary Hurst said. “This is consistent with 28 other states, and we believe it will further reduce the number of out-of-state visitors. We are staying on top of the data and best practices and will adjust if further limitations are needed.”
Under the new “day use” directive, Arkansas State Parks will close overnight facilities, such as cabins and campgrounds.
The state park system moves closer to full closure policies recently implemented by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission regarding facilities.
In addition, Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism is temporarily implementing safety measures to prevent visitation surges in state parks. Arkansas State Parks will deploy park rangers to enforce social distancing, disperse gatherings of more than 10 people, and implement parking restrictions to limit overcrowding at popular parks.
Secretary Hurst will closely monitor problematic areas such as trails that are overcrowded or too narrow for proper social distancing and close such areas as needed.
Information on the park closings can be found at https://www.ArkansasStateParks.com/covid-19-update.
