The Washington State Parks Need Your Help Now!

As many of you know these are tough times for state budgets. Here in Washington our Parks have suffered budget cut after budget cut--just a few years ago the parks were getting about 50 million dollars a year(98 per bienium) from the general fund. This year they are only getting 8.9 million and only 8.3 million. This lack of funding has led the Park Commissioners to decision to start laying off employees at a startling rate. In my opinion these job cuts are going to severely effect our state parks and the trails and facilities we all cherish. I've already seen first hand negative effects from the years of budget cuts. Some workers have already been laid off and more are getting pink slips this week and even more after those are on their way. Many of the current park rangers will be faced with losing their jobs altogether or take a 5 month season position. This is no way to treat these fine people who I have found to be hardworking, dependable, capable, and friendly in my years of working with them. And it is no way to manage our public lands and infrastructure.

Do your part to help save our parks:


#1 Buy a Discover Pass 
If you already have one by one for a friend. http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/


#2 Email or call your state represtentatives  
Ask them to support Senate Bill 5977 and Senate Bill 6387. While you're at it ask them to introduce and/or support a bill to increase the funding for the parks. If you don't live in Washington you can use my address(3305 Allen Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225) to contact my reps and tell them even though you don't live here you come here to use our parks and you don't want to see them deteriorate.

Contact Form for State Reps: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

Writing to all Members of the Senate Energy, Natural Resources, and Marine Waters and the House Environment Committees will help too. 


#3 Email the Parks Commissioners
Ask them to discontinue the layoffs and re-instate those who were recently laid off due to the budget cut. Tell them you are contacting your state reps and asking them to increase funding for the parks in order to save jobs and to protect the parks.

Steve.Milner@PARKS.WA.GOV
joe.taller@parks.wa.gov
rodger.schmitt@parks.wa.gov
Patricia.Lantz@parks.wa.gov
lucinda.whaley@parks.wa.gov
mark.brown@parks.wa.gov
ron.hoch@parks.wa.gov


#4 share this with your friends!