Following a contentious public meeting on Monday that drew concerns from numerous South Fork residents, leaders of Buffalo Bill State Park have decided to cancel their plans to install a temporary RV park at the Bartlett Lane Day Use Area.

“After considering an abundance of public concerns, we decided to scratch the temporary campsites near Bartlett Lane,” said Brooks Jordan, Wyoming State Parks District Manager. “Capacity and overcrowding will still be an issue at Buffalo Bill State Park, however we believe we can address these issues by offering temporary campsites at the North Fork Campground and near the South Shore boat ramp.”

When Jordan took control center stage at Shreve Lodge Monday night, he suspected he was in for a tough night. He was right.

Jordan called the public meeting to discuss the temporary plans for the facility, which was originally slated to open days earlier. But residents — who only learned of the plans after work began — staged a grassroots protest and the project was put on hold to give both sides time to talk.

Jordan’s goal was to provide information and to clear up misinformation about the 40 temporary campsites and capacity expansion efforts. Rumors were circling about the facility, which officials rushed to construct after receiving funds from the state to respond to capacity issues in the Yellowstone National Park gateway community.

With a full house, Jordan promised not to talk long “because I know we have a lot of folks here tonight that would like to be heard and offer your input.”

About 700 area residents signed a petition opposing the project and they organized a community barbecue at the day use area the day before the meeting with the state.

Patti Umphlett was asked to speak on behalf of the group Monday night. She stood in front of the crowd with several pages of issues to discuss after Jordan’s short 15-minute opening speech.

“We're not satisfied with the idea that the state decided that they would include the public on a plan that is already in motion,” Umplett said. “Once these types of developments are established, there's very little chance of reversing.”

The issues outlined by Umphlett centered on a new RV park’s impact on the neighborhood.

“In many cases, this is quite close to actually being in the backyard of residences,” she said. “This is not located down the road from people's homes. It's actually accessed through our neighborhood.”

The day use area is accessed on an off-camber curve with limited visibility on Wyo. Highway 291 (the Southfork Road) and down the narrow Bartlett Lane. It transitions to gravel as it reaches the state park and the entrance to the Big Horn Boat Club, a seasonal residential area on the banks of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

“The intersection from Bartlett lane onto the South Fork road is already hazardous,” Umphlett said, adding, “Especially if you're pulling a trailer or driving a big heavy vehicle.”

She went on to talk about the dangers of adding large vehicles traveling down Bartlett Lane. “I don't think anybody would want their children riding their bikes out on that road, I wouldn’t.”

She pointed out the dangers of campers having campfires, despite posts forbidding fires. “This area is a tinderbox.”

And she said the noise from barking dogs, generators and four wheelers would disrupt the neighborhood. She closed her arguments by saying expanded use of the area isn’t welcome, saying the effort to boost facilities for tourists at the day use area is “not what's best for the residents of the South Fork.”

One by one, more than a dozen other speakers questioned the state’s decision and the current level of care of the park. Residents cited water-damaged buildings and other infrastructure issues. They also questioned staffing levels, worried campers would be left unsupervised.

“Don’t build something new if you can’t take care of what you have,” one resident said to a round of applause.

Jordan responded that he thought Buffalo Bill State Park’s leaders and staff “do a tremendous job.”

“They do a lot with a little,” he said.

The state park system is strapped for resources, in part due to budget cuts, said state Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody.

“As we did budget cuts, state parks took a $3 million cut,” she said.

Meanwhile, the agency started seeing record visitation in 2019-20 across Wyoming’s state parks, and that trend hasn't slowed. As people have rushed to the great outdoors in response to social distancing recommendations by federal and state health officials, Buffalo Bill State Park has seen a 35% increase in visitation, Jordan said. 

“Weekend occupancy rates in the summer months have been over 95% for our existing campsites here,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the increased amount of travel and outdoor recreation that we're seeing because of the pandemic. People feel more comfortable getting outdoors.”

So when CARES Act funding became available, the park doubled capacity at its popular North Fork campground, opened some sites off Stagecoach Trail near the south shore boat ramp and quickly started on the temporary RV park off Bartlett Lane. But residents found themselves left out of the process and seething over what they considered an ill-conceived plan.

“We were trying to increase our capacity and address overcrowding issues that are happening now,” Jordan said, apologizing for leaving the residents out of the process.

In the coming months, park officials plan to revamp Buffalo Bill State Park’s 35-year-old master plan and it’s possible that the plan could eventually include RV campsites near Bartlett Lane. However, Jordan promised that any future campsites in the area will see “considerable” public comment periods. 

“If, through the process, the community and stakeholders determined that there should or should not be campsites in a particular area, that would be how the master plan reflects what we do,’” Jordan said.

In a Tuesday statement announcing the cancellation of the temporary campsite, Wyoming State Parks Deputy Director Dave Glenn said the master plan will look to balance “the needs of our visitors, the local community, and growing the local economy and tourism product”

“We look forward to working with all constituents, and local community leaders to create, and implement a plan we can all be proud of,” Glenn said.

The master plan process will begin this fall, Jordan said, at which time there will be several public meetings to thoroughly discuss any future plans.