The House Ag Committee is rejecting a campground expansion for Custer State Park.
The majority Republican panel voted 9-3 against the proposal, even after Game, Fish and Parks officials scaled back and relocated the project.
Concerns range from park overdevelopment to impacts on wildlife. Others are concerned about the government building more campsites.
Steve Saint is a campground owner with Fort Welikit, which is down the road from Custer State Park. Saint says the rejection of the proposal is a win for private campground owners.
“People like Custer State Park the way it is. They don’t want anymore commercialization. They see what’s going on—Yosemite was brought up today, Yellowstone was brought up today—about how commercialized they’ve become and how crowded they are because of commercialization. They don’t want that for Custer State Park.”Steve Saint, private campground owner
“People like Custer State Park the way it is,” Saint says. “They don’t want anymore commercialization. They see what’s going on—Yosemite was brought up today, Yellowstone was brought up today—about how commercialized they’ve become and how crowded they are because of commercialization. They don’t want that for Custer State Park.”
The original proposal was slated for Barnes Canyon, which is an elk migration area.
Opposition to the proposal led park officials to scale down the proposal to half its size and move the campsite expansion to another part of the park.
Game, Fish and Parks officials say there are no other immediate plans for any campsite expansion project.
