Oneida County forestry committee OKs five-year outdoor recreation plan

Every five years the county must update its Outdoor Recreation Plan in order to remain eligible for state and federal grants they may wish to utilize in completing projects. At the December forestry and recreation meeting, Oneida County forester Paul Fiene said the plan was more of a “wish list” than a predetermined list off all project that would be completed in the next five years. The plan outlines all of the things the county would like to accomplish, should the necessary resources be available to complete them all. 

The needs of the county were identified primarily through the public input process using a survey open to all stakeholders. 

The county received 1,070 responses to the survey, according to the draft plan. Respondents were allowed to skip any question that was not applicable to them, which resulted in lower numbers of responses for some questions. Approximately 56% of respondents were male and 42% female, with approximately 2% stating they preferred not to answer. All age groups were represented in the respondent pool with stronger numbers in the Gen X and Baby Boomer groups of 35% or more.

“Although not statistically significant of the whole population, this survey does provide a much deeper understanding of the wants and needs for outdoor recreation than a public hearing, so the results are very viable,” the draft plan reads. Of those who answered the survey, 75% live or own a seasonal dwelling within the county.

Of those who responded to the question asking about their most frequent outdoor recreational activity, 79% chose hiking or walking, 69% boating, 62% fishing, and 59% for swimming and canoeing.

Respondents were asked what they felt the opportunities were for more recreation within the county. Of the 230 total responses under the bicycle category, 152 people wanted more bike trails. 

The majority of respondents also wanted more ATV/UTV trails. Only 69 people answered a question about swimming area needs, and half of them said they wanted a splash pad. More swimming beaches, a waterpark and a pool also got a few responses.

When it came to camping, 58 people answered that question. Of those, 33 simply wanted more camping opportunities, 15 wanted more rustic camping, 10 wanted more RV camping with water and electric in the sites.

There was also interest in several other activities including snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing trails, a skate park, better playgrounds, more public hunting land, a pickleball facility, dog sled trails, a shooting range, more disc golf and winter fat bike trails, in that order of importance.

Specific questions were asked about county parks. 

When asked about Almon County Park at Buck Lake, 60% of respondents said they did not use the park, with just over 30% saying they use it only occasionally. In overall satisfaction, approximately 55% of respondents reported a “good” level of satisfaction. Nature trails, the swimming beach and parking facilities were rated highest of those categories used. However, high numbers of parkgoers reported they did not use the pavilion reservation process, the disc golf course or the changing rooms. The two areas for improvement, based on the survey, were trails and the beach.

Respondents were also asked about Perch Lake County Park. Over 70% of 1,029 respondents to this question did not use the park. However, of those who did, over 45% said they were very satisfied with the park and over 40% rated their satisfaction as good. Categories that received a high number of “very satisfied” ratings included the recreation trails and the Judy Swank Shelter. A majority of the respondents, 67.77%, did not use the shelter reservation process. “Trails” was the word use the most when asked about additional improvements to this park.

Of the 1,012 respondents who answered whether they utilized Town Line Lake Park, over 75% said they had not used the park. Of the 234 who gave a satisfaction rating to the park, most rated it either good or fair. The parking facilities got the highest satisfaction rating and the most talked about improvements included the word “park.” 

Likewise, most respondents, 95%, said they did not use the Gillette-Wickham Lakes Recreational Area. Of those who did, however, almost 60% rated it good while almost 20% said they were very satisfied with the rec area. Better fishing opportunities was one of the main things respondents looked for at this park. 

Enterprise Campground was used only occasionally by slightly more than 10% of people with most saying they did not use the campground at all. Just under 10 people said they camped there 10 or more nights in 2022 with slightly more spending three to four nights there. The most popular length of stay was two nights. Overall satisfaction ratings were high, however, with over 50% rating their experience as “good,” and over 30% saying they were “very satisfied.” Among the  amenities to rate highly in the “very satisfied” category were individual camp sites, campground rules and regulations, firewood availability and adjoining ATV/UTV trails. Sites and trails were the two most used words when respondents were asked about areas for improvement.

Almost half of people, 48%, rated their water usage as “enthusiastic,” meaning they are regularly on the water during the summer and may be on occasionally in the winter as well. The most frequent activity for those who responded was canoeing, kayaking or using a row boat. Boating and water sports was a close second with swimming taking third.

Most respondents, between 66.81% and 80.02%, did not use the summer silent sports trails in the county. The Washburn Double Track Bicycle Trails had the highest number of non-users answer with 620 of 928 respondents indicating they had not used these trails. However, it had the most occasional users with 206. Satisfaction rating with all of the trails fell into the “good” category with those who have utilized the trails. 

Almost half of respondents listed themselves as “interested but concerned” when it came to biking. These respondents preferred to ride on separate facilities such as bike lanes rather than sharing the road with motor vehicles. Most were using roads and routes connecting to a trail network. 

Not surprisingly, the most popular winter sports were snowshoeing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. Winter silent sports trails also received high numbers of responses, from 77% to 88%, indicating respondents had not used those trails. Of those who did, however, most rated their satisfaction as “good” to “very satisfied.”

Forty-seven percent of those who answered the question regarding  snowmobile usage said they did not snowmobile at all. When asked how respondents were using trails, most were trail or route riding with very few using them for hunting and fishing, general transportation or commuting to work or school. 

Likewise, 46% of respondents said they did not use ATVs or UTVs and were not at all interested in motorized recreation. Most who did partake, however, were riding trails or routes with approximately 20% of respondents also using this mode for hunting and fishing purposes as well as for general transportation.

Goals and Objectives

The plan laid out several goals and objectives for the county for the next five years. The first is to protect, restore and enhance Oneida County’s natural resources for outdoor recreational purposes. This would include improving and protecting access to water with improved boat and kayak launching facilities, controlling both aquatic and terrestrial invasive species and following soil erosion control BMPs when creating recreational trails and facilities.

The second goal outlined in the plan is to support the development and connection of trails. This includes walking and biking trails and supporting development of both snowmobiling and ATV/UTV trails throughout the county. The county would also look to support local government or group development of trails for all forms of recreation.

The third and final goal is to continue to upgrade parks as well as to provide more ADA compliant facilities. This would mean including ADA accessibility into all future improvements and to bring all facilities into an accessible condition as repairs are being made to them. 

The remainder of the 100-plus page document highlighted countywide recommendations for improvements in the areas where respondents were most concerned about seeing increased recreational opportunities. 

The committee voted to recommend approval of the plan to the full county board. 

The full plan will be available on the Oneida County website upon approval of the full county board.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].