Three Outdoor Issues to Watch in Washington State

Written and co-published with The Mountaineers.

Washington is a key state for outdoor advocacy, full of outdoor enthusiasts who are willing to speak up to protect the state’s spectacular public lands and waters. Our Outdoor Alliance Washington network brings together local policy experts from Outdoor Alliance member organizations and local partners to amplify the voices of more than 75,000 human-powered recreationists for shared conservation, recreation, and climate priorities in the state.

Given the high numbers of outdoor advocates and elected officials in Washington who are champions for public lands, we have tremendous opportunity each year to advance protections and policies to protect Washington’s outdoors. With Washington’s population growing, and with climate impacts intensifying, we need to ensure the future of the state’s lands and waters. Here are three important policy issues we’ll be watching closely this year in the Evergreen State.

Managing the Effects of Recreation

Washington’s state lands are home to incredible recreation opportunities, including paddling the emerald waters of Deception Pass, hiking through Capitol State Forest, or climbing the Royal Columns at Oak Creek Wildlife Area. But more and more people are visiting these places: in fact, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a 12% increase in visitation to state-managed public lands in Washington. High visitation coupled with climate change and land development means that we must make sure the state has the resources it needs to keep these cherished places sustainable.

Ensuring a sustainable future for Washington’s outdoors is one of Outdoor Alliance Washington’s top policy priorities. The network is leading efforts to support $10.7 million in funding for State Parks, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to collaboratively measure and manage recreation impacts on their lands.
Specifically, we are advocating for funding to support the development of a methodology and framework for assessing, monitoring, and adaptively managing recreation impacts on the ecological condition of state land. State Parks, DNR, and DFW would be directed to work jointly to develop these tools and to collaborate with tribal governments to ensure cultural resources and cultural practices are considered and incorporated into management plans.

We’re optimistic about securing this funding in the final FY 2023-2025 budget, but lawmakers need to hear from recreationists why it’s critical to better manage impacts to our public lands and waters. Take two minutes to ask your elected officials to fund this important effort!

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More Funding for the Forest Service

Across the Pacific Northwest, the Forest Service manages some of our most spectacular natural landscapes and favorite places to hike, ski, climb, and camp. Washington’s national forests, including the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Okanogan-Wenatchee, draw throngs of recreationists in all seasons. But even as the popularity of outdoor recreation increases and climate change intensifies, funding for the Forest Service and other land management agencies has decreased.

Chronic underfunding and understaffing of public land management agencies have reached a tipping point. A hollowed-out workforce has left federal land managers hamstrung in their ability to keep up with current management demands, let alone proactively respond to climate impacts and growing outdoor recreation.

In 2021, Outdoor Alliance delivered a report to the Biden Administration and to Congress asking them for bold investments in the Forest Service. We’ll continue to raise awareness for the importance of Forest Service funding and seek additional funding for the agency through the FY 24 federal appropriations process for the Forest Service to continue to address recreation capacity issues at the agency. Washington is a key state for this advocacy effort because the state’s senior senator, Patty Murray, is the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Washington residents have an important role to play in asking Senator Murray to robustly fund our public lands. Keep an eye out for updates about our ongoing campaign to advocate for Forest Service funding and ways to stand up for the Pacific Northwest forests that make our outdoor experiences possible.

Protecting the Wild Olympics

Several important landscape protections bills failed to pass Congress by the end of last year as a part of a larger public lands and recreation package. One of these proposals to protect important conservation lands was the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (Wild Olympics). The bill would create more protections for wildlands and scenic rivers throughout the forests surrounding Olympic National Park, including many popular recreation destinations.

This bill, first introduced by Senators Patty Murray and Representative Derek Kilmer in 2012, would designate the first Wilderness areas on Olympic National Forest in more than 30 years and the first ever Wild and Scenic Rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. Specifically, the legislation would protect over 126,000 acres of federal land managed by the Olympic National Forest. It would also protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities by designating 19 new Wild and Scenic Rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park. The bill enjoys broad and strong local support on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Hood Canal region, thanks to more than a decade of advocacy by a diverse group of partners and coalition members.

As Outdoor Alliance continues to advocate to protect the special outdoor places we love to explore, Wild Olympics remains one of our top priorities for new landscape protections. While we’re less optimistic about its prospects to move in a divided Congress, we anticipate re-introduction this year. Outdoor Alliance Washington will continue to advocate for the passage of this landmark legislation, so it remains at the top of the list during future negotiations of the next package of federal public lands protections.