Oregon Blue Book: State Parks and Recreation Department

State Parks and Recreation Department: Present Duties

The mission of the State Parks and Recreation Department is to “provide and protect outstanding, natural, scenic, cultural, historic and recreational sites for the enjoyment and education of present and future generations.” The department operates Oregon’s state parks, recreation programs, community grants and heritage programs through a headquarters staff in Salem and three field regions. The department was initially created as a branch of the Highway Department in 1921. The 1989 Legislature created a separate Parks and Recreation Department effective January 1, 1990.

Oregon’s state parks are among the most popular in the United States. Their combined day-use and camping attendance of 44.2 million visitors (2009) consistently ranks the system among the ten most visited in the nation.

The department protects and manages out-standing resources statewide — the State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries, Recreation Trails, the Ocean Shores Recreation Area, Scenic Waterways, the Oregon Exposition Center and State Fair, and the Willamette River Greenway all fall under the agency’s umbrella. Department services are funded primarily by Oregon Lottery dollars, state park user fees and recreation vehicle license fees. Lottery funds were dedicated to parks by Oregon voters in 1998. The constitutional amendment for these funds will be automatically returned to the ballot for another vote in 2014.