Advocacy Agenda 2008

Lost Pass, Olympic National Park by Byron Schurch

Funding Recreation on National Forests and Parks

Since the 1980s, recreation funding on National Forests has not been adequate to meet the needs of hikers. Congress has allowed available dollars to dwindle with each budget, while the number of families venturing onto our trails has steadily risen. Together with storms that have wreaked widespread damage on Washington’s public lands, this chronic shortfall represents a slow-motion crisis in recreation funding. Congress has started to pay attention to this issue in the wake of storm damage to such iconic lands as Mount Rainier National Park. Unfortunately, hard work that happened in the House this year did not translate into budget increases. This year, Washington Trails Association will:

• Increase our engagement with our federal elected officials on recreation funding issues by meeting frequently with them both in Washington, DC and in their home districts,
• Get legislators, their staffers and members of the media on the ground for tours of storm-damaged or neglected trails, and
• Engage hikers in advocating for their most beloved trails by helping them write, phone and meet with their elected representatives.

Engaging Hikers in the Future of the Wenatchee-Okanogan and Colville National Forests

The Wenatchee-Okanogan and Colville National Forests are home to some of the finest recreation in Washington State, ranging from the lofty wildflower gardens of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, to the crystalline and icy lakes of the Enchantment Basin, to the brawling rivers and deep forests of the Teanaway drainage.

For decades, hikers have fought to preserve recreation opportunities in the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest by fighting copper mine proposals, working to preserve the pristine nature of roadless areas, and fending off the constant encroachment of off-road vehicles.

This year, the Wenatchee-Okanogan and Colville Forests are expected to release their Draft Forest Plan.  WTA will make sure hikers are heard in this process by:

• Meeting with staff from the Forests to make sure that they are hearing the hiker perspective on Forest Planning on ongoing Forest Management,
• Distributing our Wenatchee-Okanogan Vision Statement and encouraging WTA members to write comment letters and meet with Forest Planners, and
• Traveling to meet our members who count these Forests as their back yard.  We’ll work to make sure their voices are heard and that the Wenatchee-Okanogan and Colville Forest Plans conform to the needs of hikers.

Defending our Gains at the State Legislature and Building our Recreation Infrastructure

• Continue to defend against legislation that would harm hikers by allowing ORVs to proliferate even further, or that would divert non-motorized recreation funding to ORV recreation,
• Work to add $800,000 to the State Operating Budget to hire DNR Trail Stewards who would help preserve DNR lands through enforcement and trail maintenance coordination, and
• Help hikers meet their legislators face-to-face through individual legislative meetings and our annual Hiker Lobby Day.