Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Must Improve Asset Safety Inspections

Today, the Oregon Secretary of State's Audits Division released a performance audit of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), which found that at certain parks safety inspections are not conducted or documented and that there are significant gaps in asset management oversight. These problems risk Oregonians' safety and taxpayer money through avoidable lawsuits and fines.

"Oregonians love their state parks and have been able to safely enjoy them for decades," Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said. "The findings in this audit will help protect that important legacy and our public dollars."

The scope of the audit was limited to reviewing asset management practices at OPRD overnight campgrounds which offer tent and RV camping, have restrooms and are reservable. Select park properties were also tested for compliance with OSHA building safety inspection requirements. The audit period covered June 2022 to June 2025.

Auditors found that OPRD does not consistently complete or record the required quarterly safety inspections for buildings where employees work. Many of these facilities are also accessible to the public, volunteers and contractors, creating additional safety risks. OSHA rules and OPRD policy require quarterly inspections and records, but there was evidence of noncompliance at the parks auditors visited, including one with no records for the three-year period.

Auditors also found that OPRD's asset management system contains unreliable data, which risks asset loss, misreporting and inadequate insurance. Problems included missing or inconsistent records, untracked assets and assets were incorrectly listed as inactive or missing.

Auditors issued eight recommendations to OPRD to address these problems, including:

• Finalize and roll out policies and procedures requiring quarterly safety inspections of employee-occupied structures, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for execution and oversight, including documentation standards.
  
• Update OPRD's asset management guidance, including clear procedures for currently uncovered asset types such as infrastructure and transportation.
  
• Provide recurring training to all relevant personnel on asset management policies - including tagging, record-keeping and disposal procedures - and reinforce expectations through performance evaluations or other accountability mechanisms to ensure compliance.
  
• Continue efforts to replace the Oregon Parks and Recreation Information System with a new asset management system and ensure the new system has all required fields needed for accurate reporting.

Oregon's state parks see 51 million visitors and 2.6 million campers annually. The state's park system encompasses more than 250 properties across 113,125 acres of parkland, including 362 miles of public ocean shore. OPRD manages more than 2,000 buildings and a complex series of other assets, including: roads, parking lots, utility systems, amphitheaters, lighthouses, cabins, yurts, boat docks, restrooms and an array of vehicles and equipment.

Read the full report on the Secretary of State website.