BSSP - The Forgotten Park

[WestwegoMan]

After todays cluster, I saw a need for another email to the state concerning Bayou Segnette.

Below is my email.

To anyone who will listen to me gripe,

I have been camping at Bayou Segnette State Park for over twenty years. Each year, I make it a point not to miss Halloween weekend because I have always enjoyed the activities they have. Even with the lack of activities over the last few years, I have still made it a point to camp there and always enjoy it. I guess you could say it has become a tradition for me. It is especially a treasured event since myself and my sister started this as a small event back in 1998 when we were OSP employees. Little did we know it would explode into the large event it became up until COVID.

This year, there would be no change in my plans, until after I checked in and paid the remainder of my reservation balance today.

Although there is a burn ban in the state, the ban says recreational camp fires are excluded from the ban. In years past, BSSP has allowed us to have fires during burn bans, so I had no reason to expect this year would be any different. Today when I checked in, the attendant at the front desk waited until after I had paid the remainder of my balance to notify me there were no fires allowed. I told him “I wish you had said that before I paid cause I would have cancelled.” I asked about a refund but I guess it was going to be an inconvenience because his response was “go ahead and have your fire but if the ranger comes by, don’t argue with her. She can be real strict.” That just didn’t sit right with me. There is either a burn ban or there isn’t. If I had decided to light a fire, it would be me dealing with the consequences if the ranger decided to issue a ticket. I decided to pursue it a bit further and speak to someone else who allowed me to get a refund minus my first night, but it is what it is.

My gripe here isn’t about the actual burn ban but the lack of communication about the burn ban. I have had this reservation for nearly a year. Seems like an email or something could have been sent out. I don’t go camping to sit around inside a camper. I go camping to sit outside and enjoy nature around a campfire. Even a post on the park Facebook page, which I follow, would have been a big help. The only post I could find was found after the fact by searching the main State Park Page, where I found one from two months ago when we were in the height of the burn ban.

Since I’m already typing this long winded email, I have a few more things I would like to mention. There are a few things I had already planned to email and make a comment on before any of this happened. Today’s incident was the icing on the cake

The overall condition of the park is a bit concerning. Take a ride through today and what you end up seeing is something that would make anyone familiar with the park think it has been forgotten. This park was the most visited and top earner in revenue in the state at one time…. That’s a fact. As for todays numbers, I don’t know. What I do know is, it’s going downhill fast. A top earning park should not be in the condition this park is in. Out of the twenty something campsites with decks, you would be hard pressed to find more than 5 in safe condition. The decks have been in bad condition for years. Three years ago, I was camping on Campsite 81 and my foot went through the deck. Their fix for it was a piece of plywood. That piece of plywood was still there a year later and may very well still be there today.

Other sites have decks that are sagging with broken boards. They came through a couple of years ago and put something resembling paint on the decks, which was like putting lipstick on a pig, it only covered up the ugliness for a short period. Most of that cheap paint was washed/worn off a couple of months later. I noticed today they have used some of that substance resembling paint again on the deck of site 54. This coat too will probably be gone in a couple of months. I might also add that the so called  steps on the Eastern end of this deck are an accident waiting to happen. These steps aren’t deep enough for a person to comfortably use.

All of the above mentioned becomes more frustrating when you see bragging by the state showing all of the improvements being made at other parks such as Sam Houston Jones, Fontainebleu, and Bogue Chitto State Park to name a few. Are we forgotten in SE Louisiana?

This last part is for Mr. Nungessor. I really hope you read these comments and use them to better improve our park down here. You take a lot of credit for improvements at other parks, such as the re-election ad that talks about the ‘four that would have been shuttered but are now turning a profit.’ I have emailed some concerns in the past and didn’t even rate a reply from anyone. I really don’t want to make a comment about being a tax payer, but in frustration, I don’t know what else to say other than I feel like I may have not been in a high enough tax bracket to warrant a response in the past. Please put some money into our park and make it the gem it once was.

Ten years ago, park staff commented how the campground would soon be closed one section at a time to install sewer connections. We have yet to see that. As mentioned above, please put some money into our park. Our local state park deserves the same care others are getting.

One can only hope things turn around soon..

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to read my long winded email.

P.S.  Due to a lack of email addresses, I was unable to include some who are no longer in office. I would have loved to because I know they were a big part of bringing BSSP to our area. They too should see how their hard work is being treated. Any of you can feel free to forward this to Mr. Alario. I know he was one of a few that worked hard to get us this park.