One hundred and two years ago a process began to assemble a collection of parks and trails, including hundreds of heritage, historical and cultural sites. This treasury has become today’s Washington State Parks system, one of the oldest and most diverse in the nation. This system contributes directly to the wellbeing of the citizens of our state. And the 32-plus million annual park visitors contribute significantly to the $21.6 billion outdoor recreation economy in our state, especially important in rural areas.
Several years ago a decision was made to make our parks system fully self-supporting; tax support was dramatically cut and the Discover Pass system was mandated. This policy shift was done without adequate advance planning and resources and as a result, overall funding fell dramatically. While parks were kept open, it came at a price. Park-level customer services, education and interpretive programs, routine maintenance, and safety resources have all suffered noticeably, and the system’s overall deferred maintenance backlog has grown to nearly a half-billion dollars. And while earned revenue has risen to historic levels, covering over 70 percent of current operations, we’ve learned that 100 percent self-sufficiency is not possible or desirable. In fact, not one state parks system in the nation operates without some level of general tax support.
Currently, legislators are deciding on funding levels for state parks for the next two-year period. If you agree that the cuts of recent years have gone too far and that this system deserves some general tax support, then please contact your legislators now and urge them to support our state parks with adequate overall funding.
Mark O. Brown
Lacey
