ILLINOIS BUDGET CUTS MAY CANCEL ENCAMPMENT AT FORT MASSAC

FORT MASSAC, Ill. - If legislation now before the Illinois legislature in Springfield is approved this month, visitors to all Illinois state parks and sites operated by the Illinois Department of Conservation (DOC) will begin paying an entrance fee starting in early 1993.

Parks and sites affected in this area include: Fort Massac State Park and Historic Site and the Mermet Lake Conservation Area, both located near Metropolis; Horseshoe Lake, near Olive Branch; Lake Murphysboro, near Murphysboro; Trail of Tears State Forest, located near Jonesboro; and Turkey Bluffs park site, located south of Chester.

If the legislation isn't approved before the current session ends June 30, DOC officials have said they may close nearly two dozen state parks or sites in the state, cancel special events in some of those parks, and operate other parks and sites on a seasonal, rather than a year-round basis.

A major casualty of the cuts in this area would be cancellation of the annual Fort Massac Encampment that draws thousands of tourists and visitors to the historic site along the Ohio River each October.

In addition to canceling the encampment, the DOC says it would only operate Fort Massac State Park on a seasonal basis, from mid-May to mid-October. After mid-October, the gates to the park and fort would be closed to the public until next spring because there would be no money to keep the site open.

Debra Watkins of the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce says canceling the encampment would be a major blow to the local economy.

"People are just devastated about the possible cancellation of the encampment and the closure of the fort and state park during the fall months and early spring," she said.

"I have already received a lot of calls from people who live out-of-state who plan their vacations around the fall encampment. They've heard about the possible cancellation and are very concerned about it."

Watkins said businesses in Metropolis and neighboring Paducah benefit economically from the thousands of tourists that visit or camp at Fort Massac during the year, and those who attend the October encampment.

"I've talked to several Paducah area merchants. They tell me during the encampment, the restaurants and motels over there are all full, and there is a noticeable increase in business in the area shopping malls." Watkins said at the end of one Fort Massac encampment, all of the town's gas stations had ran out of gasoline.

Terry Johnson, supervisor at Fort Massac, says overall attendance at the encampment has risen since it began 19 years ago. "During the last three years, our encampment attendance has grown from 56,000 in 1989 to last year's record-breaking, 69,500 people," he said.

During the week preceding the weekend encampment, Johnson says all park facilities, campsites and picnic areas are filled to capacity.

"We get people who come in here as much as two weeks ahead of the encampment to set up camp. We have 50 campsites, plus an overflow area, and a youth group camping area," he said. "Last year, our attendance at the encampment was so large we had to park cars at the Massac County Fairgrounds and shuttle our visitors back and forth to the fort."

Johnson said it costs the DOC about $6,000 to stage the encampment. Most it helps defray the expenses of the musical groups and other entertainment that perform at the encampment. The DOC receives no money from the encampment, he added. All goes to the traders and organizations that sell crafts and food at the fort.

Johnson said annual attendance at Fort Massac has also increased considerably during the past decade. According to figures provided by the DOC at Springfield, the number of visitors at Fort Massac rose from 768,538 in 1981 to 1,510,296 in 1991.

The DOC may also be forced to close the Mermet Lake Conservation Area, a 2,800-acre water and uplands area that was used last year by over 212,000 hunters and fishermen. Johnson, who was the former ranger at Mermet before moving to Fort Massac, says the area abounds with fish, waterfowl, deer, quail, rabbit and other game animals.

Watkins said people from both Illinois and out-of-state residents come to Mermet throughout the year to hunt and fish. Many use motels, restaurants, and other businesses in Metropolis while they are in the area.

Although Horseshoe Lake, in Alexander County, would remain open, the DOC says all campsites, including primitive and those with utilities, would be closed permanently.

Lake Murphysboro would revert to seasonal operation.

Other sites in the area that would be closed permanently include: Trail of Tears State Forest camping and day-use picnic areas, near Route 127, and the Turkey Bluffs scenic outlook and day-use picnic area, south of Chester, in Randolph County.

While there is widespread opposition to the closures and cutbacks in the extreme Southern Illinois area, Watkins says there is even more opposition to imposing entrance fees to the parks and sites. "I really question if people would be willing to pay to get into a park or site," she said. "From what I have heard around here, there is a lot of negative feeling about entrance fees."

Watkins said an entrance fee could still have a serious impact on the October encampment, even if it is not canceled. Johnson concedes imposing an entrance fee at Fort Massac would likely cause a drop in annual attendance for the first few years, but he expressed hope it would go up again after people got used to the entrance fee.

Fred Tetreault, spokesman for the department of conservation in Springfield, says the department doesn't like the idea of entrance fees any more than the public, but he added, "We have no other choice because of the cuts in the state budget. We would prefer not to impose entrance fees, but without them, we're dead. We need both the entrance fees and the increased funding for the DOC that is in the senate bill and is now awaiting House approval," he said. "We need this money to cover our payroll, operation, and maintenance costs."