Say Yes To Trails

Legislative session 2020 is here! Show your support for WTA's priorities by signing on.

Hardhat at capital - Erika HG.jpg
Photo by Erika Haugen-Goodman.

Join us in supporting Washington State Park and Department of Natural Resources and the Recreation and Conservation office!

Every year, WTA heads to Olympia in January to speak up for the interests of hikers like you. This year is no different. We always prepare a list of state-level priorities that we advocate for (and of course, we add to this list as other issues and bills pop up over the session).

In the next couple of months, WTA is advocating for the following priorities during the 2020 legislative session:

Support HB 2413: Concerning funding for wildfire prevention and preparedness activities

This bill will raise revenue to support the Department of Natural Resources' work to prevent and combat devastating wildfires. These wildfires limit outdoor recreation and hiking opportunities, among other harmful effects.

Department of Natural Resources

DNR lands provide substantial outdoor recreation opportunities. We support DNR’s request for:

$560,000 (operating) for law enforcement capacity to provide safe and reliable public access to state trust lands.

Washington State Parks

We support State Parks efforts to help reduce their deferred maintenance backlog and expand pivotal youth programming by supporting requests for:

$4.785 million (operating) for park maintenance to meet demands of increasing use.
$972,000 (operating) for Community and Youth Engagement Programs like inclusive on-site youth learning, the junior ranger program and multilingual services.

No Child Left Inside

This program, which is jointly overseen by the Recreation and Conservation Office and State Parks and Recreation Commission, provides invaluable grants to Washington state outdoor education and recreation programs for youth. In 2019, the grant program’s success generated significant interest, but there is not sufficient funding to meet the demand with $6.5 million in grant funding requests for this program were left unfunded. We support:

$750,000 (operating) in additional funding is requested to address some of the unmet needs of this program.

Show your support by signing today. Help WTA continue our work with legislators and partner organizations in Olympia to represent outdoor recreationists. Together we will make trails for everyone, forever.