Hikers speak up and help protect state funding for trails

The Washington State Legislature adjourned on April 27 after an incredibly difficult session. With the state facing a budget shortfall similar to the Great Recession, budget writers had to look for reductions across the board. Our state now has a budget for the next 2 years (2025-2027), and it includes essential funding for our outdoor places.

During a tough budget year, hikers helped preserve funding to maintain our state's recreation lands, including state parks. Photo of Potholes State Park by Paula Zanter-Stout

WTA focused on a piece of the budget that is of vital interest to hikers: maintenance and operations funding for our state’s recreation lands managed by Washington State Parks, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In 2022, WTA rallied hikers, nonprofit partners and champions in the state legislature to secure this funding. Since then, it’s been improving outdoor access, hiker safety and protection of natural places by chipping away at the long backlog of maintenance projects on state lands.

With all the good it is doing, protecting maintenance funding was a top priority for WTA during this year’s legislative session. We reminded budget writers and other legislators that getting outside is not just enjoyable — it’s essential for our physical and mental health and for our state’s economy. 

Thank you to all the hikers who took action to help protect this important funding. 153 hikers joined WTA in Olympia on Hiker Rally Day to talk with their state representatives about preserving this funding. 700 hikers amplified that message by emailing their representatives. 

The end result is a budget that preserves a majority of this critical backlog maintenance funding for state lands. For the people who manage our state lands, maintenance funding means they have resources to fix damaged or hazardous trails, parking lots, campgrounds and restrooms. For hikers, this funding protects our ability to get outdoors more easily and safely. 

WTA is very grateful to the Washington State Legislature for preserving the majority of the recreation lands maintenance funding.

We reminded legislators that getting outside is not just enjoyable — it’s essential for our physical and mental health. Photo of Riverside State Park by Jennifer Parsons. 

With the tight budget, not everything fared as well as we’d hoped.

• Funding for Washington State Parks is roughly 6% less than it was under the previous budget, making the maintenance funding that was preserved even more vital.
• WTA advocates for the No Child Left Inside (NCLI) program, which provides grants to connect underserved youth with the outdoors. Despite the efforts of WTA, The Wilderness Society and many other organizations, legislators reduced funding for this program from $4.5 million to $1.126 million. However, with the possibility that NCLI would receive no funding this session, we are grateful that some projects will be funded.
• Other outdoor recreation priorities received no funding, including joint work between state agencies and Tribes to improve management of our public lands.

During a difficult budget session, there will always be some successes and some losses. WTA will continue to bring the voices of hikers’ important priorities for public lands into next year’s state legislative session and beyond.

If you’d like to help WTA and trails, you can join our Trail Action Network. We track issues important to hikers and alert you at key times. You’ll get one or two emails per month. With your support, we can ensure a bright future for the trails and for everyone who uses them. 

Below you can learn more about WTA’s priorities for this year’s legislative session, and what happened with each of those priorities. All dollar amounts are for the 2-year budget from 2025-27.

Operating budget

Funding to fix the maintenance backlog on our state lands

Recreating on state lands has never been more popular, yet state land managers have large maintenance backlogs that inhibit public access to the outdoors. Starting in 2022, the legislature began to address this challenge and directed $30 million per biennium in ongoing funding ($10 million per agency) to Washington State Parks, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Fish and Wildlife.

What was the ask? Maintain existing funding at $10 million for each agency
Where did it end up? $7.5 million for each agency with the potential for an additional $1.2 million per agency based on new revenue.

Getting more kids outdoors

The No Child Left Inside (NCLI) program provides critical funds that support outdoor programs for underserved youth. It is administered by the Recreation and Conservation Office in partnership with Washington State Parks.

What was the ask? Maintain existing funding at $4.5 million
Where did it end up? $1.126 million

State and Tribes working together to better manage outdoor recreation

In March 2021, 20 Tribal nations asked Gov. Jay Inslee to establish a working group to assess and address how outdoor recreation impacts Tribal treaty rights. In April 2023, at the invitation of the governor, state and Tribal leaders met and agreed to work together to protect natural and cultural resources across state lands and waters. WTA supported proposed budget items to provide the resources to carry out this work.

What were the asks? $4.384 million for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — Invest in Lands Stewardship and $724,000 for Washington State Parks — Tribal­ State Lands Stewardship
Where did they end up? $0 for both of these funding requests

Bringing state parks into accessibility compliance

A legal action in 2023 requires State Parks to reduce the backlog on addressing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues in state parks. This funding will allow State Parks to begin to address the backlog.

What was the ask? $770,000
Where did it end up? $0 in the operating budget but $3 million added to the capital budget for these projects

Capital Budget

Improving recreation on Department of Natural Resources lands

Investments are needed throughout Washington state to improve recreational access on Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lands. Key projects are at Olsen Creek to install a new bridge at an unsafe creek ford and at the Teanaway Community Forest to continue implementing the West Fork Trails Plan. Other recreation projects across DNR’s natural areas, include Morning Star, Rattlesnake Mountain, Mount Si and Dishman Hills. In addition to projects to improve public access at DNR lands, the Trust Land Transfer program allows DNR to transfer lands to other agencies to manage them for recreation or conservation, in cases where the lands are better suited to those activities than to logging or agriculture.

What were the asks? $2.958 million for Safe and Responsible Recreation; $2.93 million for Natural Areas Facilities Preservation and Access; $19.3 million for Trust Land Transfer
Where did they end up? Safe and Responsible Recreation and Natural Areas fully funded; $16.9 million for Trust Land Transfer

Critical funding source for hiking trails and walking paths

Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) is a critical funding source for hiking trails and walking paths in Washington state. WTA supported the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board’s request for $150 million. The Recreation and Conservation Office is the state agency that disperses WWRP grants.

What was the ask? $150 million
Where did it end up? $120 million

Community Forests support people and the environment

Community Forests provide a mix of benefits to communities, including environmental benefits and opportunities for recreation.

What was the ask? $26.4 million
Where did it end up? $6.248 million