Harrison Bay State Park tallies second-place voting in Tennessee parks' donation drive mid-month

Jan. 19—Chattanooga's Harrison Bay State Park is in second place in the second year of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation state parks donation campaign asking people to give $1 per vote for their favorite state park in a fundraiser that goes through the end of the month.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, $37 separated Harrison Bay from campaign-leading Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park in Fentress County, which stands at $3,647, while the park in Chattanooga stood just below at $3,610, according to results so far in the "My TN State Park Fundraiser."

Cindy Morgan, a board member of the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park group, was a little surprised with the park's mid-point tally, but not with people showing their love.

"I think us being in second place just goes to show the love people have for our state park locally," Morgan said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "That's great because the more people we can get involved with the state park at Harrison Bay, I think it benefits everybody."

State officials think so, too.

"We are seeing an incredible amount of support for the second year in a row," state parks' spokesperson Kim Schofinski said Tuesday in an email. "It's clear that people want to show support for their favorite state park."

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Compared to the same point last year in the campaign's inaugural year, donations are more than $8,100 higher overall, while the number of donors dropped by 475, according to Schofinski. The shift appears to show larger donations than the single-vote-getting dollar.

Totals from Tuesday showed more than 800 people voted with their dollars, raising more than $38,000 for all 56 state parks, according to state totals. Individual park donations ranged from $35 to $3,647.

"This fundraiser sprang from the surge of visitors to Tennessee State Parks at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," Schofinski said. "It was a way to show support for the park that 'kept them going' in 2020."

The idea behind the fund drive remains simple: Every dollar donated represents a vote to support a favorite state park, officials said.

"Last year, nearly 3,000 donations came in to support every state park in Tennessee with more than $96,000 donated," Schofinski said. "Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville brought in the most donations overall, receiving over $14,000 in support. Frozen Head State Park in Wartburg came in second, and Seven Islands State Park in Kodak came in third."

Last year, Harrison Bay stood at No. 7 in the state with $2,786, followed by South Cumberland at $2,660, records show. Fall Creek Falls in 2021 was down at No. 17 with $1,672, and Tims Ford was at No. 24 when voting donations were totaled.

State parks are grouped in the voting by annual visitation.

In Southeast Tennessee, second-ranked Harrison Bay, , Tims Ford and Hiwassee-Ocoee state parks are in the largest group — Group 1 with 750,000 annual visitors or more — with Fall Creek Falls ranking No. 6, followed by Tims Ford at No. 9 and at No. 16 among 18 parks in the group.

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The next group — Group 2 with 350,000-750,000 annual visitors — contains Southeast Tennessee's and state parks that by Tuesday had notched the No. 4 and No. 11 spots, respectively, among 19 parks in that group.

Southeast Tennessee has only one in the smallest group — Group 3 with fewer than 350,000 annual visitors — and that is Red Clay State Park in Bradley County near the Georgia state line, which comes in at No. 12 of the 19 parks in that group.

Donations are sought in part because Tennessee is one of only seven states across the U.S. that provide free access to public parks, according to officials.

"Part of the reasoning is that we believe people should have the chance to voluntarily support the parks they love," the Tennessee State Parks voting page states.

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The funds will "go toward projects identified by park staff that seek to improve the visitor experience and are either not budgeted for the year or fall outside a park's traditional budget," Schofinski said. "Specific items on the wish lists of some parks include adding benches, equipment for an aviary, panels for a museum exhibit and a solar telescope.

Dana M. Teasley, a member of the Friends of the Hiwassee-Ocoee State Park group and a fundraiser for the park, said her favorite features of her favorite park are the Appalachian Mountains surrounding the two East Tennessee rivers. Teasley admits she didn't cast a "vote," but she stays involved in other fundraising activities for the park and has also assisted Red Clay State Park in Bradley County to obtain grant funding for educational programs, she said Tuesday in a social media message.

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Though her current park love is in Southeast Tennessee, Teasley said she also is a fan of Big Hill Pond State Park in West Tennessee of which she has fond childhood memories "because Travis McNatt — [namesake of] Travis McNatt Lake — was my uncle and we shared a birthday," she said. "I remember as a child him forming the lake and watched as it was being filled with water. It's just a fond memory, but I haven't visited Big Hill in a long time."

The campaign continues through Jan. 31.

Contact Ben Benton at or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.