Jordan Beck | Daily Press Delta Conservation District Executive Director Rory Mattson looks at a vacant pavilion at Pioneer Trail Park Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on county parks this summer.

ESCANABA — Before COVID-19 arrived in Delta County, the summer of 2020 was set to be noteworthy for county parks in terms of both ongoing usage and progress on improvement projects. However, Delta Conservation District (DCD) Executive Director Rory Mattson said the pandemic has had a significant impact on these parks.

“The current state of camping is not as good as normal,” Mattson said.

He anticipated that camping at county parks will be down at least 40 to 50 percent in 2020.

Rental numbers for pavilions at Pioneer Trail Park in Gladstone have also declined.

“We were totally booked up for the entire summer Fridays, Saturdays, some Sundays and during the week … most of that’s been canceled now,” Mattson said.

Had it not been for COVID-19, Mattson said 2020 would have likely been a banner year for county parks. Before the pandemic hit, campgrounds and pavilions were seeing their highest booking rates ever.

While Mattson did not expect business for campgrounds or pavilion rentals to increase later in the year, he did note that people have started making travel plans further out.

“People are rebooking for (2021),” he said.

At Rapid River Falls, located halfway between Escanaba and Marquette on US 41, plans were in place to complete work on a new campground this fall for an opening in the spring of 2021. The campground — which will have 25 sites and electric hook-ups — is expected to cost $118,000, with $87,000 covered by a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant.

Due to COVID-19, the county is unable to access the grant funding it needs to move forward with the project.

“Right now, it’s on a big hold,” Mattson said.

As the county’s grant application has been approved, Mattson said the grant funding is not at risk of being revoked.

The timeline for the campground project has been adjusted in response to the pandemic. Now, Delta County hopes to complete the project next fall and open it to campers in the spring of 2022.

When the campground is completed, Mattson said it will be valuable to off-road vehicle enthusiasts.

“There’s a trailhead that starts right there, and off that trailhead is the only legal crossing across US 41 all the way from Rapid River to Marquette,” he said.

Work at the Delta County Forest in Cornell Township, which is under DCD management, has also been delayed.

“We had a big grant from the DNR through Wildlife Unlimited (of Delta County) and U.P. Whitetails to put in wildlife habitat improvement, and basically, that’s all on hold, too,” Mattson said.

Unlike the campground project, most of the wildlife habitat improvement work could be done this year if grant funding is released soon and the weather cooperates.

“We’re hoping that gets released here, because that work we still could do … late summer, fall,” Mattson said.

The majority of tree and shrub planting included in the project was already completed in the spring.

One DCD project that is moving ahead is the district’s efforts to install rustic cabins in county parks. The cabins will be supported by a fundraising campaign.

“Two have been ordered, and then we’re going to go and meet with donors,” Mattson said.

According to Mattson, the primary goal of the cabin project is to bring people who are interested in camping but do not own an RV to county parks.

“I think the big interest here is those who can’t go camping every weekend, ’cause if you buy a camper, you have a huge investment,” he said.

Plans are currently in place to install cabins at Pioneer Trail Park and Fuller Park in Bark River.

“Eventually … we have 10-12 that we want to put in the two parks,” Mattson said.

If these cabins are well-received, a few more could be installed at Sac Bay County Park.

Mattson is hoping to set up the first cabin this August in Pioneer Trail Park. It will be shown to potential donors to give them an idea of what to expect from the cabins.

The second cabin will likely arrive in September. Mattson said this cabin could be installed at Pioneer Trail Park or Fuller Park.