Friends groups first started weaving that safety net for the park system in 1949. Then, business people who worried that Devil's Lake State Park was becoming too commercialized formed a nonprofit board to run the concessions. Others groups followed to provide specific services at parks. The group spearheaded the drive for the indoor Pettit National Ice Center that replaced it. In the 1970s and 1980s, a handful of new groups formed, mainly to enhance interpretative programs at particular properties.
Friends groups find their best friends are each other.
By the end of the 1980s, three developments spurred the creation of many new groups and prompted existing groups to broaden their mission, said David Hammer, chief of recreation management for DNR parks programs. First , Dave Weizenicker came on board as parks director with a conviction to create partnerships with people to protect and enhance public lands, Hammer said. Second, the parks system formed policies and formal relations with friends groups. Third, the Legislature created two grant programs to match the funds friends groups raise locally for specific improvements. Over the last 10-12 years, many local friends groups had expressed interest in learning from one another, Montgomery said.