A union representing nearly 600 Iowa law enforcement officers has filed a grievance with a state labor relations board, challenging the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' decision to boot park rangers from state-provided housing.

The Iowa State Police Officers Council, whose members include park rangers, filed the grievance Friday with the Iowa Public Employees Relations Board, saying the DNR is violating its contract with the rangers to provide state-owned housing.

The union said in a news release about the grievance that housing for rangers "falls under the category of supplemental pay and is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining." It said the DNR as of Friday was no longer willing to discuss a compromise.

Sue Cave, the council's executive director, said in a statement that "state park rangers and employees are disappointed the DNR has decided not to prioritize community safety and visitor assistance and access for our state parks as attendance and the popularity of Iowa’s state parks continues to rise."

The Iowa DNR on Tuesday declined to respond, saying it does not comment on grievances.

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Last month, the DNR said it planned to evict more than two dozen rangers and other state workers from government-owned houses in the parks, saying the state would otherwise need to spend $1 million to renovate and maintain the aging homes.

Critics said moving rangers from the parks would mean park visitors would have to wait much longer for help to arrive in the event of crimes, medical emergencies and other crises.

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"Having a full-time staff person residing in a state park not only deters criminal activity from occurring in the first place, but also saves precious minutes of response time if an emergency occurs outside their normal shift," Cave said in a statement.

DNR said moving rangers and other workers out of parks, where they live rent-free, will not affect the parks' safety because staff will continue to work their regular shifts and be available for emergency response.

Cave said it would cost the state less to fix the homes than to triple the number of park rangers it employs "to fully cover all of the state parks all of the time.”

The union said Iowa has had a policy since the 1960s of having at least one full-time employee living in parks that have houses available to provide public safety and visitor assistance.

The DNR has given park rangers until November to vacate the state-owned housing.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Union challenges DNR decision to evict Iowa park rangers from housing