Are Wyomingites Being Pushed Aside in Favor of Out of Stater’s at State Parks? [POLL]
If you've ever tried to reserve a campsite at a Wyoming State Park, then you know how crowded our beloved outdoors are becoming and holiday weekends fill up FAST. But are Wyoming campers getting pushed aside by Wyoming State Park Officials in favor of visitors from out of state? Some Wyoming residents think so... What about you?
Regardless of what stretch of water I'm on, I hear it from locals all across the state "Damn Greenies! Wish they'd go back to Colorado!!"
I've often wondered why Wyoming has such a love-hate relationship with our southern neighbors? But anyone who has ventured out to go camping or fish at one of our many state parks can tell you, if you take a second to look around, many of the vehicles in our state parks are sporting out of state license plates and a majority of those plates are from Colorado.
Can you blame them? Wyoming's parks are beautiful and for the most part, quiet!
But why the hostilities? Well in my years of visiting state parks in Wyoming, I've had only a couple of run-ins with out of state folks who either don't know or understand Wyoming park rules or even state laws (like quiet time). Or folks that are just plain RUDE and think they are entitled to something!!!
On two different occasions I've had someone from Colorado instigate a confrontation with me and threaten to "whip my ass" - while I was fishing on my boat. (BTW it's easy to know what state a boat is from by the registration numbers on the bow - WY is Wyoming and CL is Colorado.) And on a third occasion, I had a "Greenie" take my camping spot and refuse to leave it after I had returned to my camp spot, after taking my truck and my attached popup camper to the boat ramp (I had left all my gear around the camp's picnic table, but they told me they didn't see it and then told me to "F-Off"!!)
So I understand the frustrations of locals who want to enjoy our beautiful parks, in camping spots around local waters or area lakes and the peace and tranquility that surrounds us in the Cowboy State. But on the other hand I also know that those "Greenies" and other out of state visitors bring millions of dollars in tourism business which our state's economy depends on.
But then I see things like this -
The reservation system is available to everyone, both Wyoming residents and would be visitors alike. Reservations are available for any Wyoming State Park both online or by phone, 120 days in advance of the dates you are wanting make to reservation on.
By the way, according the Wyoming State Parks Department, a majority of camping spaces in each state park are 'First Come, First Serve'. But most of those campsites are without power or water. If you want 'hook ups' for your camper, you really need a reservation!
A couple of years ago while hunting near Encampment, I heard locals grumbling from other sportsman who accused state officials of giving out more hunting tags to out of stater's versus residents all in the name of state profits. Now it appears that those grumblings have crossed over into our state parks and the increased fees being charged to out of state campers.
But I have a potential solution to this camping issue. Give Wyoming Residents an extra 30 days to secure reservations at Wyoming State Park Campgrounds before opening them up to out of state residents. Simply allow Wyoming residents the ability to make Reservations at our own state parks 150 days prior to the dates they are hoping for, then continue to allow out of state visitors the chance to make reservations at the usual 120 day advance reservation opening date. Another solution would be to raise the fees for out of state camping?
Tell us your thoughts...
Are Wyomingites being pushed aside in favor of out of state visitors, like our beloved "Greenie" friends? Tell us your opinion and answer our poll question above and we will publish the results next week.