As Iowans are making plans for summer vacations, budget cuts are raising worries that some of Iowa's state parks could be forced to close.

Steep reductions in the ranks of seasonal workers at Iowa's state parks are already making it more difficult to keep grass mowed, restrooms cleaned and trash picked up.

But there are no immediate plans to shut down any state parks and no list is being developed of state parks where the gates may be locked, said Chuck Gipp, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He said he still wants to do everything possible to ensure an enjoyable experience for park guests.

"I don't want to give anybody the impression that there will be state parks closed by the Department of Natural Resources this summer," Gipp told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday. "That is all a matter of various circumstances of which we are not aware of at this time."

However, some facts are clear: The Iowa DNR has seen its annual budget sliced by $1.2 million since a year ago and the agency has imposed a freeze on jobs covered by state general fund expenditures. There are currently 22 state parks with only one full-time employee, which raises questions about the future of those parks if the employee retires and another state worker can't be transferred into the post from another state park which has a second employee.

During the Iowa Legislature's recently concluded session, minority Democratic legislators were skeptical that all state parks could remain open after budget cuts were approved. But Republican lawmakers repeatedly gave assurances no state parks would be closed.

Sen. Rita Hart, D-Wheatland, said Tuesday she had felt frustration during the legislative session at the possibility that Republicans' budget numbers weren't adding up to support their optimistic view.

"My concern was that if they were going to be losing that much revenue, how could they do this without having to do something that would dramatically affect the ability to keep those parks open," Hart said.

Iowa has about 87 state park and recreation areas, but some are managed by county conservation boards. There are about 95 permanent state park staffers, and seasonal park maintenance workers have been reduced significantly — from about 240 normally to about 150 this year.

Gipp said he isn't ruling out anything, but he won't speculate about park closures. He added that not all parks are created equal because some state parks generate revenue from camping fees or rental cabins, while other state parks don't generate revenue.

Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, who co-chairs the Legislature's Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, said Tuesday he tried to hold state parks harmless in the state budget by shifting $288,000 in spending.

Mommsen said he also pushed, unsuccessfully, to authorize an increase in state park camping fees to generate additional revenue for parks.

"The state parks are a high priority. They are one of Iowa's treasures. We need to do everything possible to maintain them and improve them," Mommsen said.