As the Lincoln Journal Star reported on Monday, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is looking at allowing alcohol again in state parks, a move that would end a ban enacted in 1995.

The commission wouldn’t be giving drinkers free rein, though: It would still ban alcohol in swimming areas, roads and parking lots; bringing kegs into state parks; and drinking during quiet hours — 10 p.m.-6 a.m.

The Legislature has made efforts to end the ban over the past 15 years, but those attempts have failed. And judging from the comments by Commissioner Rex Amack to the Journal Star, the commission has been looking at repealing it for a while. (They’ll be holding a public hearing on the issue on May 28 in Gering.)

This is a decision that could have a significant financial impact on Central Nebraska’s state parks and recreation areas — but what kind depends on where you see the issue. The pro-alcohol financial argument is probably easy to deduce: People might be more likely to visit a state park or rec area if they know they’re able to pop open a cold one there.

But supporters of the ban might argue that it keeps the parks safer and makes them more family-friendly, ultimately attracting more visitors.

I can understand both sides on this one. On the one hand, a perfect weekend day spent outside includes a beer for a lot of people, and that’s entirely legitimate. Those people would be doing nothing to hurt the state parks they’re spending time in, and the fact that they can’t include alcohol as part of their recreation could be a significant deterrent for them.

On the other hand, I grew up in southern Nebraska, where several of the top weekend party spots for many of my classmates were Kansas state parks because alcohol was illegal in Nebraska’s. (Kansas’ rules have changed since then.) That’s the kind of business that a lot of state park rangers probably aren’t too happy to have — in most cases, it probably means safety concerns, more cleanup, enforcement headaches and possibly an offputting environment for other park visitors. (These types of problems at Lake McConaughy are what led the state to enact the ban in the first place.)

So either alternative carries some costs, but both have the potential to attract different types of visitors as well. Do you see alcohol in state parks as a net positive for rural Nebraska, or should the state stay as-is?