State Parks
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2020 Annual Report 29
Y O U T H , S U C C E S S S T O R I E S
I N C O R P O R A T E D I N T O P L A N F O R F U T U R E
The 2021-2025 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which evaluates
outdoor recreation opportunities across the state and provides guidance for sustainable
development into the future, was completed in 2020. New this planning period was a pilot
study survey of younger demographics, including both college-age and elementary school
students. Their responses, included in the report, led to a better understanding of their
outdoor recreation needs and trends for the future. Also included in the plan were success
stories from communities and from Nebraska State Parks and detailed information on
how to develop outdoor recreational opportunities within a community or state park/
recreation area. These tools will help readers turn their ideas for park development into
reality. The completion of the plan maintains the state's eligibility to receive funding from
the National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund grant program and secures
$3 million to $5 million in grants annually for communities and the state park system in
Nebraska. The plan helps assist in the allocation of those funds over the next five years.
Children spin on the merry-go-round at Wilson Park in Chadron. The park is one of many across the state that has been
enhanced by the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, a document created by the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission to meet guidelines for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
JUSTIN
HAAG,
NEBRASKALAND
MAGAZINE
