The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released its first-ever recreation plan Monday, seeking new funding for the agency to manage surging interest in outdoor recreation that has also led to abuse of DNR lands and infringed on treaty-protected tribal rights.
Three important questions raised in the plan: Who is currently recreating on DNR lands? How much outdoor recreation should be allowed there? And who should patrol these vast holdings?
The state agency will hold three public meetings next week to solicit feedback on the draft plan: Oct. 28 from 2-4 p.m. at the Lacey Community Center and virtual Zoom sessions Oct. 29 (5-7 p.m.) and Oct. 30 (10 a.m.-noon). Written public comment will be accepted until Nov. 21. Visit dnr.wa.gov/StateRecPlan for more information.
The draft Outdoor Access and Responsible Recreation Strategic Plan is DNR's first attempt at a proactive statewide approach instead of what the plan describes as a prevailing "strategy of reactionary recreation management."
DNR's sibling state land management agencies, Washington State Parks and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, already have strategic plans to help address outdoor recreation and its impacts, even though their lands portfolios are a fraction of the size. DNR manages over 40 times as much land as State Parks and six times the holdings of DFW.
"If we don't take a step back and develop a plan and a strategy, then we are going to be challenged by constantly trying to keep our head above water," Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said in a phone interview after the draft plan's release.
Use and abuse
DNR manages some 5.6 million acres of state lands and waters, with over half of that land prioritized for money-generating activities. The revenues from timber harvests, agriculture, grazing and wind power fund public schools and local governments.
Recreation is a comparatively smaller slice of DNR's mandate — one that may grow in priority if this plan is adopted — though the agency still maintains 1,300 miles of designated trails and 80 campgrounds. With a Discover Pass or Washington Sno-Park permit, visitors to DNR land can hike, camp, mountain bike, ride off-road vehicles, cross-country ski and kayak. Popular DNR recreation sites near Seattle include mettle-testing hiker destination Mailbox Peak, the extensive network of mountain bike trails on Tiger Mountain and the Raging River State Forest, and the Mount Tahoma Trails Association backcountry huts in the foothills of Mount Rainier.
DNR lands saw over 20 million visitors in 2020, a 21% increase from 2019, according to analysis by consultancy Earth Economics. But unlike a state park with a ranger-staffed entry booth, recreation on DNR lands typically occurs on sparsely developed forests, fields and hills. An unpaved road with a gate and a sign might be the only indication of DNR's jurisdiction.
In turn, the agency has just 18 wardens responsible for patrolling 5.6 million acres.
"It's like having two law enforcement officers to cover the state of Rhode Island," Franz said.
That lack of oversight has resulted in a surge in abuse and vandalism, leading DNR to restrict public access throughout the state. A July 2023 DNR report estimated that timber theft amounted to over $4 million annually, while land abuse cost the agency another $6 million per year.
For example, in December the agency shut the gates to 14,000 acres on Sumas Mountain in Whatcom County because of illegal garbage dumping and unsanctioned trail building though fish-bearing streams. It was the second closure in two years, following a similar spate of incidents that resulted in $30,000 worth of damage. In January, The Columbian reported that vandalism to logging equipment in the Yacolt Burn State Forest in Skamania County cost the agency an estimated $150,000.
To help address this trend, the plan calls for funding more DNR law enforcement and conducting education and public awareness campaigns about how to recreate responsibly. Such proposals are welcomed by some off-road vehicle enthusiasts who have been stymied by closed gates in places like Ahtanum State Forest in Yakima County.
"If (DNR) would use education and enforcement, we would not have gates," Nichol Phillips, Washington director for the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, said via email. Phillips was one of over two dozen participants in a March workshop in which state recreation groups weighed in on the plan.
Tribal rights
The draft plan also foregrounds the need for DNR to better manage outdoor recreation impacts on tribes in Washington. The state's tribal governments have become increasingly vocal about the effects of outdoor recreation on treaty-protected tribal rights to hunt, fish and gather.
In February 2021, the Tulalip Tribes published a report on the impact of outdoor recreation in Western Washington on treaty tribes. The next month, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and state land managers, including Commissioner Franz, requesting a task force to address recreational impacts on tribes.
Tribal complaints to DNR about public infringement on their rights include off-road vehicles destroying traditional foods like huckleberry and salal, illegal wood cutting that damages cedar bark and verbal harassment when tribal members engage in spiritual bathing.
"We recognize the opportunities that our public lands provide for everyone but also the responsibility that we have as a state agency to manage and steward these lands in perpetuity and the responsibility we have to our First Nations and respecting their rights for cultural resources and first foods," Franz said.
DNR held four forums with tribes in fall 2023 to solicit input on the draft plan, which calls for more detailed data collection on the impacts of outdoor recreation.
"It is critical that the state of Washington manages recreation on public lands in a way that supports biodiversity, species recovery and protects these places for future generations," Tulalip Tribes Chair Teri Gobin said in a written statement on the draft plan.
"The state and the tribes are currently involved in a process to evaluate the data and management tools needed to ensure recreation is ecologically sustainable and we are working to ensure that the Department of Natural Resources' recreation planning is consistent with these values," she wrote.
More planning, more money
Franz believes strategic plans generate money for government agencies by showing elected officials clear goals and an overall vision. She points to DNR's strategic plans on wildland fire protection and forest health as the impetus for the state Legislature to allocate $500 million to DNR over eight years in 2021.
She similarly anticipates that DNR's recreation plan will lead to a boost in the agency's dedicated funding streams for recreation, currently $34 million for 2023-25. While the plan does not call for a specific new funding amount, it describes a $9 million deficit over the two-year budget period just to maintain current recreation infrastructure. That need comes on top of the cost of additional asks like new law enforcement positions, public education campaigns and a trailhead ambassador program.
"After we get all the public comment and launch the final plan, our job will be to say, 'What are the first things we have to invest in?'" Franz said.
But leading that charge with the state Legislature will ultimately fall to Franz's successor. Her eight-year tenure ends in January and either former Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler or Democratic King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove will take her place after the Nov. 5 election.
