March 2022 • Nebraskaland 57
fees, improved collection of visitor
information, capital improvements,
and opportunities for visitation
growth.
Better Control
Perhaps the primary proponents of
the changes are the law enforcement
and emergency personnel tasked with
responding to crime and emergencies
at the big lake.
The equipment for the fire and
rescue service for the two villages
at the north shore of the big lake,
Keystone and Lemoyne, reflects how
the complexity of calls has evolved
during the past four decades. In that
period, it has grown from just two fire
engines to six, plus two rescue boats,
three ATVs and UTVs, and rope rescue
and dive rescue equipment.
The 21-member department
reported far fewer emergency calls
from park visitors last year. Just three
of the calls, an all-time low, involved
drugs and alcohol. That figure is
usually in the double digits.
Ralph Moul, the department's chief,
has long been a proponent of reducing
crowd sizes and banning alcohol —
done in 2020 — to alleviate the many
stresses on limited infrastructure and
personnel. He said 2021 was a huge
improvement.
"It's like night and day compared
to previous years. Our call volume
was cut in half," he said. "We have a
different crowd here now. We have the
family people back. I'm very pleased
with what has been accomplished, but
it needs to continue."
Craig Stover, Game and Parks law
enforcement division administrator,
certainly was glad to see the number of
incidents involving assaults, domestic
violence and vandalism down in 2021.
"The fact that there were fewer
people, and they were able to spread
out, resulted in fewer squabbles among
campers," he said. "One comment we
heard a lot from the public was 'We're
glad to see so many of you officers out
here.' Well, you know what: When you
reduce the size of the crowds, people
can see you."
Because crowd control issues were
not demanding as much attention,
Stover said the officers were able to
deal with more enforcement of fish,
game and boating laws.
Fee Collection
and Economic Impact
The park reports that its gross
revenue is up more than 17 percent
from last year — a remarkable figure
considering outdoor attractions
everywhere experienced unusually
high visitation in 2020 from people
People of all ages enjoy the Kites and Castles event at Lake McConaughy. JULIE GEISER, NEBRASKALAND
