Camp Augustine is located just north of the South Locust Interstate 80 interchange, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – The Grand Island City Council is scheduled to take action Dec. 9 concerning approval of a memo of understanding between the city and the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation concerning Camp Augustine for development of a state park.
City Attorney Kari Fisk wrote a memo about the topic that is included in the City Council’s packet for the Dec. 9 meeting. The city owns the Camp Augustine property and has taken steps to include Camp Augustine in the development of a state park, in conjunction with Mormon Island State Recreation Area.
The city has started the process of securing appraisals, and other work needed so that the property is ready for acquisition, Fisk wrote.
A note from Mayor Roger Steele is included in Fisk’s memo.
Steele wrote that city staff and he met with Nebraska Game and Parks Director Tim McCoy and Deputy Director Jim Swenson on Nov. 19. They presented the memo of understanding that the City Council will consider on Dec. 9.
Either the Game and Parks Commission or Game and Parks Foundation will purchase Camp Augustine from the city as part of development of a new state park. The purchase price will be Camp Augustine’s appraised value, which city staff will work to determine.
“When the city purchased Camp Augustine, neither Game and Parks or the Game and Parks Foundation were in a position to purchase it. Had the city not purchased Camp Augustine, the plan for a new Nebraska State Park would not have happened,” Steele wrote.
After purchase of Camp Augustine, city staff and a group of community volunteers worked to create a Camp Augustine master plan. Features included campgrounds, cabins, nature trails, an outdoor Education Center and amenities such as fishing, kayaking, and picnicking, Steele wrote.
There are currently only eight Nebraska state parks, Steele wrote.
“This will be truly transformational for our city and for the great State of Nebraska,” Steele wrote.
According to the proposed memo of understanding, Camp Augustine includes approximately 156 acres, which includes a side channel of the Platte River, fish and wildlife habitat, and “general aesthetic attributes that provides opportunities for recreational and park facilities including camping, hiking, water and terrestrial trails, fishing, hunting, lodging, outdoor education, and wildlife viewing.”
According to the memo of understanding, the Game and Parks Commission will not be able to take possession of the property before July 1, 2026.
Plans to develop Camp Augustine were discussed at an Oct. 8, 2024, City Council meeting. John Royster, landscape architect and president of Big Muddy Workshop in Omaha, gave a presentation at that meeting.
The tracts of land are Camp Augustine, 158 acres; Mormon Island State Recreation Area, 167 acres; Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 156 acres; Nebraska Department of Transportation, 56 acres; federal land, 88 acres; and Hall County, 32 acres.
The cost to develop the recreation area is $45.3 million, Royster said, and he envisioned that the site would eventually become a state park.
Components of the development presented at the October 2024 meeting included: outdoor education center, $7.29 million; central green space, $980,485; indoor archery and pellet gun range, $1.60 million; nature playground, $517,726; kayak and fishing pond, $591,741; trails and pedestrian river crossings, $5.84 million; tent campgrounds, $898,363; RV Campground, East Loop, $3,54 million; RV Campground, West Loop, $3,47 million; east cabins, $3.25 million; west cabins, $3,18 million; dog park, $212,590; north channel, river put-in and take-out, $1.24 million; south channel, river take-out, $375,076; sanitary sewer system, $3.60 million; potable water system, $2.29 million; and electrical system, $1,36 million.
In January 2025, State Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island introduced legislation to incorporate Camp Augustine into Mormon Island State Recreation Area.
Grand Island’s City Council in November 2024 approved a master plan for redevelopment of the Camp Augustine area. The total project costs at that time of developing a park area that spans from Camp Augustine to Mormon Island State Recreation Area was $45.3 million.
The City of Grand Island purchased Camp Augustine from the Boy Scouts Overland Trails Council in November 2023 for slightly less than $2 million. Ernest Augustine bought the property for use by the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts have been using the property since 1956.
