County Vows to Include Public in Discussion of Packwood State Park Transfer

Posted

Following an outpouring of public concern about the potential transfer of Washington State Parks Land in Packwood to Lewis County, county commissioners have pledged to solicit the input of locals before taking ownership of the property.

The state agency’s commission unexpectedly opted to pause their vote on authorizing the transfer Thursday, following a Monday meeting in Packwood in which dozens of residents raised issue with the move. The county has not yet decided whether to accept the transfer, but commissioners said they’re moving forward with caution following the backlash that hit State Parks. 

“There were some concerned citizens up there that felt they didn’t have enough notice to digest this,” said commissioner Gary Stamper, whose district includes the land in question. “There were a lot of questions regarding this. There were other issues that people were concerned about. There were a lot of hypotheticals about the county taking this over. We indicated to them that this decision had never been made.”

The land is a 175-acre piece of forest that has been “passively open” to the public — with about 3 miles of unofficial trails — but never developed. In deciding to surplus the land, State Parks has offered to put it in the hands of the county, which could then sign an agreement with a nonprofit like Destination Packwood to operate a campground or otherwise utilize the property. The state requires that any future owner retain the land for recreational use. 

Still, many believe the state is moving too fast, without outlining to residents what options are on the table. Others want to see no development at all, even a small clearing for a campground. County leaders have also been hard-pressed to keep up with the speed of the transfer offer. Prior to the scheduled State Parks vote, commissioners indicated they had not yet seen enough information to sign off on the transfer. 

“The first thing is specific conversation about getting everybody’s thoughts and ideas in place before we move forward,” said commissioner Bobby Jackson. “We’re at a point now that we have to make some decisions.”



Commissioners agreed to call another meeting to discuss the proposed transfer, one that will be open to the public. 

“It won’t be in a vacuum,” said commissioner Edna Fund. 

Stamper said he knows his constituents will want to be involved. 

“When there’s been requests from citizens regarding parks, we’ll for sure have a meeting — or we can schedule one — where we’ll invite people in and they’ll share their concerns or their thoughts,” he said. “We haven’t made any decision to do this. If that would evolve to something, there would be plenty of input from the citizens up there.”