A Happy New Year from WOODALLSCM.COM!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!WOODALLSCM.COM is taking time off through Sunday, Jan. 3. We’ll be back on Monday to provide you all the breaking news from the RV park and campground sector. Happy New Year!  Read More →

Colorado Ups State Park Camping Fees for 2010

Fees at Colorado state parks for camping, reservations and boat registrations will increase Friday. But daily entry fees and the cost of annual passes will stay the same, according to The Coloradoan, Fort Collins, Colo. Camping fees will rise by $2 per night and reservation fees will go up $2. Boat registration fees will rise by $10 to $25, depending on the size of the boat. The Colorado State Parks Board approved the increases to help cover a $3 million funding shortfall. The parks will rely more... Read more

Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc. Looks to Future

Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc. (ELS) recently participated in a real-estate equities conference and its executive vice president and CFO, Michael B. Berman, provided a presentation on the ELS properties and customers. The presentation goes into some interesting demographic data of its customers for resort homes and those who are recreational vehicle owners. The most interesting data on the company’s target market is located on pages 11-20 of the power point presentation. Click here to read this... Read more

Colorado County Enters the Camping Business

Mary's Lake Campground and RV Park, Estes Park, Colo. Colorado’s Larimer County is now in the camping business with the Estes Valley Park and Recreation District. The county commissioners approved a contract Tuesday (Dec. 29) for county staff to manage two Estes Park campgrounds that the district leases from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, according to the Loveland , Colo., Reporter Herald. The profits will be split by the two, with 65% going to upgrade the facilities at Mary’s Lake... Read more

Pioneer Park Owner, RV Dealer Marks 90th Birthday

Jimmy Crain,a pioneer South Carolina RV dealer and campground owner, is a man of many careers and few regrets. In the 1940s just after World War II, when Jimmy Crain and the Lazy River Boys were playing country music in south Georgia, the quartet sometimes performed with a fiddler whose stage name was Pee Wee King, according to The Greenville (S.C.) News. “Now he’s in the (Country Music) Hall of Fame,” Crain says of the late famous fiddler, “and I’m in Greenville.” What might... Read more

Housing Growth Threatens Nation’s Protected Areas

The growth of housing near national parks, national forests and wilderness areas within the United States may limit the conservation value that these protected areas were designed to create in the first place, a new study has found. The researchers determined that housing development reduces the potential of these protected areas to serve as a modern-day “Noah’s Ark,” interrupting potential travel corridors for some animals, and altering habitat for others, according to a news release from... Read more

KOA’s Rogers, Airstream’s Wheeler on Today’s Video

Watch today’s video featuring Airstream Inc. CEO Bob Wheeler and Kampgrounds of America Inc. CEO Jim Rogers. Rogers and Wheeler were interviewed today (Dec. 29) on the Fox Business Network. The two were interviewed concerning the rebound of the outdoors industry from the 2009 recession, as well as the prospects for camping and RVing in 2010.  Read More →

Iowa Looks to Volunteers to Staff Some State Parks

The state of Iowa is moving to close selected trails, parks and beaches and might close entire parks if budget cuts grow, the Department of Natural Resources’ director said. The department has lost 25% of its general-fund cash in the past year because of weak state revenues, Richard Leopold said. Last summer, federally paid help bolstered his crews, but that money is gone, too, according to the Des Moines Register. Next summer, some areas that don’t generate cash will be roped off, Leopold... Read more

New CAMP President Hit Ground Running at InSites

CAMP President Rick Abare of Maine and his wife, Gayle Advocacy. Education. Marketing. It’s essentially the code of honor for Campground Association Management Professionals (CAMP) and something newly elected president Rick Abare takes seriously. Abare, who is also executive director of the Maine Campground Owners Association (MECOA) in Lewiston, Maine, says he is honored by his new position with CAMP. “I am very happy and humbled at the concept that these executive directors who make up our... Read more

Service Cut at Yellowstone Campground Explained

The more than 300 campsites at Yellowstone National Park’s Fishing Bridge campground won’t have electricity next summer. Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the concession operator of the campground, decided to cut the inadequate service available while negotiating with the National Park Service about upgrading the system, according to the Billings (Mont.) Gazette. “It was built in the early ’60s,” said Jim McCaleb, general manager for Xanterra. “Over the years, with the continuing heavy demand... Read more

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