Funds for Peninsula State Park projects, upgrades, staff wages, and ongoing maintenance come from user fees at the Park. The Friends of Peninsula State Park are instrumental in supplementing that income source through fund raising and grant writing. Grant writing is a vital resource enabling Park projects to move forward. Below is a summary of grants awarded to the Friends this year along with grants targeted for future improvements.
Recent Grant Awards
- LED Signage – Raibrook Foundation. $10,000 award. $35,000 project. Funds will be used for two full graphic LED signs for the Fish Creek entrance and the Nature Center. The signs will inform visitors about environmental and educational programs, events, along with information about our Park partners in the Park.
- Interpretive Signage – Knowles Nelson Stewardship Friends Grant. $20,000 award. $40,000 project. The Friends, in partnership with the WI DNR, will create a signage improvement plan needed to increase aesthetics and the visitor experience. The project includes replacing wooden signs with HDPE composite signs, new wayfinding for roadways and trails, and other vital communications.
- Naturalist Education Program Support – Friends of Wisconsin State Parks Incentive Grant. $3.500 award. $13,500 project. This award is for needed materials to support the educational programs. This year PSP created new programs highlighting endangered resources, raising awareness of invasive species, encouraging “Leave No Trace” ethics and highlighting the flora and fauna, habitats, and cultural resources of the park. New equipment will also be purchased to aid in the monitoring and programming of the Park’s Bees and Bats.
- Enclosed Trailer for the New Track Chair – Weizenicker Fund. $3,500 award. With the help of the Friends and this grant, Peninsula State Park acquired an all-terrain track chair to make the Park more accessible to people with physical limitations. This award covered the entire cost of a trailer used to store and transport the chair to various trails in the Park.
Grants Submitted
- New Mountain Bike Trails Phase I – Community Investment Fund. Grant request $250,000. This will help fund a design study and phase I of a proposed new mountain bike trail system. The total estimated cost for phase I is estimated at $750,000.
- Fire rings and picnic tables – Knowles Nelson Stewardship Grant. This grant request is for $20,000. Total project is estimated at $40.000. Funds will replace fire rings and picnic tables within the Parks 6 campgrounds. Peninsula State Park has over 460 campsites and hosts tens of thousands of campers annually.
Upcoming Grant Work
- Door County Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant – Local Door County governments and organizations are evaluating a county wide bike trail system (multimodal) to connect the villages. The Friends will be seeking funding for the connector from Fish Creek to Ephraim that will run through Peninsula State Park.
- Destination Door County will use a surplus in the room tax on unplanned Door County Park projects that enhance amenities. There is a need for a new shelter building near lot 5 to serve as the trail head for the proposed mountain bike trail and as a warming shelter for winter activities. The Friends Group will likely apply for this funding for the new shelter. Friends Groups in Door County can apply for $50,000 for each park. An additional $50,000 can be applied for with a $50,000 match from the Friends’ own fundraising efforts.
- DOA Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. The Friends are evaluating applications for invasive species management within the Park.