Washington State Parks

In early 2009, Governor Gregoire asked Washington State Parks to plan for a $23 million budget cut.  That’s a cut of nearly one quarter of the State Parks budget from an agency that runs with already-lean resources and staff.  State Parks calculated that, to comply, they would have to “mothball” nearly 35 parks, gating entrances, pulling back services and either reassigning or laying off staff.  Wallace Falls, Mount Spokane, Beacon Rock and Larrabee were among the parks included on the closure list.

Cape Disappointment. Photo by Alan Rither.

Understandably, hikers responded with a great deal of concern, and the legislature acted accordingly.  The final budget to pass the House and Senate moved into State Parks' coffers $9.6 million that would have gone to the state Non-Highway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) Program.  That leaves other state and federal agencies, especially DNR and the Forest Service, with a serious gap to fill; so it’s a less-than-ideal situation. 

More constructively, the legislature passed HB 2339, which adds $5 to motor vehicles license renewals and allows renewing individuals to opt out at the time of registration.  Assuming that roughly 50% of license tab renewers comply, the program should raise roughly $20 million. 

WTA's Position

Based on our experience, opt-out programs typically have compliance rates that run around 75 to 85%.  If that pans out in the first few months of registrations, the legislature should transfer NOVA dollars swept into State Parks back to the grants and direct agency appropriations for which they were intended.

Of course, the state needs to continue to be creative about finding new sources of funding for State Parks.  Some ideas for future sessions include:

• Repealing legislation that struck down the $5 day-use fee for visiting State Parks.    
• Passing legislation that places an excise tax on new RV registrations, the proceeds of which would benefit State Parks, and
• Moving Senator Mary Margaret Haugen’s Penny for Parks proposal, which would capture 1 cent of property tax per $1,000 of appraised property value, directing those funds to State Parks.

Taken together, these programs would create a more sustainable funding base for State Parks, making it less likely that transfers from important programs like NOVA would be necessary in the future. 

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