Status and Trends of State Park Funding in North Carolina and the Southeast

North Carolina's state parks system has been chronically underfunded since its creation in 1916. Systemwide plans identify nearly $250 million in capital improvements and land acquisition needs in existing parks. Until 1993, state parks received inconsistent and usually meager appropriations from the General Assembly. Nationally, North Carolina has for decades ranked at or near the bottom in terms of per capita spending for state parks. Compared to 12 other Southeast states over the period 1989-1994, North Carolina finished at or near the bottom on all funding-related indices. A$35 million bond issue in 1993 and the approval of a dedicated source of funding in 1995 - the state's share of the real-estate transfer tax - will remedy the parks system's most pressing needs and provide a dependable revenue stream. Yet North Carolina will still rank low in per capita spending, partly because that statistic is computed from operating expenditures and North Carolina's parks are geared toward natural-resource preservation rather than providing costly, resort-style amenities.Master of Science in Public Healt