During the Lincoln South Rotary Club zoom meeting on January 14, Jim Swenson, Deputy Director of Nebraska Game and Parks, took us on an amazing adventure through the Nebraska Game and Parks system.
Jim titled the presentation Your Memories - Your Adventures - Your Parks. He said that the Nebraska parks are ours - they are responsible for taking care of these treasures for all citizens.
In 2021 Nebraska Game and Parks celebrated the Centennial. From the website: The first State Park was Chadron State Park opened in 1921. There are now 78 parks, historical parks, recreation areas and trails. The system includes 72,000+ acres of land, 67,500+ acres of water and 322 miles of trails. Jim shared information about how the system has grown and changed over the years.
During the centennial celebration there were 4 signature events including:
- Chadron State Park (the first park in the state system) Centennial Birthday Bash
- Victoria Springs trip back in time with a vintage baseball game and walking tours of the historic cabins and the namesake springs
- Arbor Lodge State Historical Park event featuring interactive educational activities, living history demonstrations, tours of the Arbor Lodge mansion, and the commemorative sealing of a parks time capsule
- Ponca State Park event included food, wine storytelling, Ashfall – Paleontological Dig, reenactments and more
Swenson talked about the partnerships that the Nebraska Game and Parks has to help promote activities.
The Nebraska Passport program of Nebraska Tourism includes a number of stops at Nebraska Game and Parks locations. There is a similar program called The Great Park Pursuit. The joined Nebraska Lottery and created a Nebraska Game and Parks scratch ticket. And, they joined Grow Nebraska that supports organizations in the state. With that partnership they are able to offer their merchandise for sale through the Grow Nebraska website.
They created a "Your Parks Adventure" program that includes a challenge to explore the State to find “Your Parks” with over 100 selfie stations. Participants are asked to submit their photos to the website and are included in a contest. Last year the winning prize was an RV donated by AC Nelsen RV World in Omaha. To read the newspaper story about the winner receiving the RV, click here.
Like most employers, they are challenged right now to find employees. They were fortunate that they did not close down during the pandemic. They had to make adjustments to ensure distancing and comply with health directives - but they did not have to close. Last year, they system netted over $300,000 partly because people were finding safe, healthy activities. That included a major increase in RV activities. They are expanding on their camping pad sites to keep up with the increased demand.
Outdoor activities are critical to our future. Making family memories, getting exercise, learning - that is all available at the Nebraska Game and Parks facilities.
Parks provide an opportunity for family time with a number of activities. There is canoeing, swimming, sledding, horse-back riding, camping, skating, treetop challenge, hiking, historical reenactments, fishing and more.
They are challenged to be thinking about the future. What are the new ideas - different challenges - what will the youth want in the future? Outdoor recreation is a vibrant and ever changing industry. New trends, new expectations, changing demographics; age old traditions are evolving as a new generation of park user ventures into our park environments.
Jim introduced us to the Venture Park Project - the Platte River Valley Complex. They define it as "A Diverse Menu of Activities Blended Into 4 Popular Park Locations". Those locations are:
- E. T. Mahoney State Park
- Platte River State Park
- Louisville State Recreation Area
- Schramm Park State Recreation Area
There will be 5 different zones in each park. There may be some specialized zones in each park but they will all have some of each of thess:
- Discovery Zone
- Exploration Zone
- Excitement Zone
- Imagination Zone
- Serenity Zone
We learned that Schramm has been renovated and includes new large fish displays. Mahoney Park is a year-round destination because they offer activities inside and out in all seasons. There are glamping cabins at Platte River State Park that are more than tents - to avoid the bugs and raccoons that often invade camps, they build "hard-shell" glamorous camping facilities. At Pawnee State Park there is a new conference and meeting facility that can accommodate over 300 - ideal for conferences and weddings. And, we learned so much more.
Visit http://outdoornebraska.gov/ and take a look around. Time Outdoors is Time Well Spent!
To view some of the amazing photos that Jim shared, click here.
BIO:
Jim a. Swenson (Jim) was recently promoted to Deputy Director of the Nebraska Game and Parks.
He was born in Oakland, Nebraska and is a small-town kid, raised to enjoy the outdoors. He
graduated in 1980 from Oakland-Craig High School and was a member of 1979 and 1980 Class C State Champion Golf teams.
He attended Community College at Northeast Tech Community College of Norfolk, studied Criminal Justice and was a member of varsity golf team.
Jim transferred to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and graduated with honors in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources/Wildlife Management and a minor in Life Sciences.
His employment at Nebraska Game and Parks started at Dead Timber State Recreation Area near Scribner, and Fremont State Recreation Area. Other positions include District 5 Resource Services at Osage Wildlife Management Area near Tecumseh, and the controlled waterfowl hunt at Randall W. Schilling Refuge.
He became a full-time employee in August 1986 as Park Superintendent 1, assigned to Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area near Imperial, Nebraska and managed Rock Creek SRA near Parks, NE.
At Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, he became a Supt IV in charge of the park operation and administration in 1995. From there he became East Region Parks Manager, stationed in the Lincoln Game and Parks office where he oversaw park operations in the eastern portion of the state including; Mahoney, Platte River, Niobrara, Ponca, Indian Cave State Parks
Arbor Lodge, Ash Fall and Fort Atkinson State Historical Parks
Fremont, Two Rivers, Louisville, Willow Creek, Dead Timber, Summit Lake and Lewis & Clark State Recreation Areas.
He earned the 2006 Supervisor of the Year award for Game and Parks and in 2014, he was promoted to Parks Division Administrator – Lincoln, overseeing park operations statewide; including eight State Parks, 58 State Recreation Areas, 10 State Historical Parks and two Recreational Trails.
On December 27, 2021, he was promoted to Deputy Director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, to serve alongside Director Tim McCoy in leading the agency.
He served as Executive Director to the Nebraska Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commission 2001 through 2007. He represented Nebraska on the national advisory panel; Circle of States Advisors (COSA) for National Lewis & Clark commemorative activities and represented the State during tribal negotiations with Nebraska and Oklahoma Native American tribes relevant to the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial commemoration.
Jim is a member of the Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame and was a cast member “extra” in the 1985/86 television mini-series “Amerika”