Article: Parks draw tourists.

Byline: Kevin Welch

Nov. 29--State park officials see poor funding as bad business.

"Parks generate $1.2 billion annually," said Walt Dabney, state parks division director at Texas Parks & Wildlife.

The department does not have enough money to maintain facilities and equipment and needs more personnel. With restrooms in bad shape and a lack of law enforcement presence in parks, out-of-state visitors could turn away.

"They're going to say, 'You might want to stop in Arkansas,'" Dabney said.

In Randall County, the economic impact of Palo Duro Canyon State Park includes $9.8 million in sales to non-local visitors, according to ...

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