The Mountaineers
It’s safe to say that just about any recreationist can find their next adventure on Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)-managed lands. Whether you’re tackling a strenuous ascent of Mailbox Peak, honing your sport climbing skills at Exit 38, or enjoying a trail run in the Issaquah Alps, you’re recreating in areas managed by the DNR.
Although the 5.6 million acres of land and 1,300 miles of trail managed by DNR already offer a wide array of recreation opportunities, the agency has never had a defined strategy to manage recreation - until now. After thoughtful planning and partner engagement, the agency recently released its first-ever statewide plan to manage recreation and public access on DNR-managed land over the next decade. As demand for outdoor recreation continues to rise in Washington, we’re glad that DNR is proactively planning to provide sustainable and consistent access to recreation opportunities for the next ten years and beyond.
DNR’s Outdoor Access and Responsible Recreation Strategic Plan is the culmination of a multi-year planning effort. The Mountaineers has actively participated in that planning process, sharing our thoughts and experiences with the DNR during public meetings and comment periods in the hopes of strengthening the agency’s plan for recreation. We support the overall vision of DNR’s plan.
Why Does DNR Need a Recreation Plan?
Historically, DNR relied on a reactionary approach to managing recreation. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, Washingtonians - in greater numbers than ever before - recreated on DNR-land. That demand for outdoor recreation is only expected to rise as Washington’s population continues to grow.
The new plan is the agency’s attempt to proactively address that growing demand for recreation. In essence, the plan is a roadmap for DNR to manage recreation in an equitable, consistent, and sustainable way for current and future generations of recreationists. With this plan, DNR joins Washington’s other major state land managers - Washington State Parks and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - in making long-term plans for recreation management.
Recreation is only one of DNR’s many priorities. The agency also needs to manage its lands for forest health, timber production, and wildfire management. The new recreation plan will help the agency navigate its complex priorities and manage the land in a way that balances public recreation use with other obligations.
What We Like About the Plan
Overall, we think this plan bodes well for the future of recreation and equitable access on DNR-managed land. Here are a few things we particularly appreciate about the plan:
A Win for Mountaineers Courses
The plan represents a big win for our community. Our volunteer leaders already rely on DNR-managed land to teach critical recreation courses and skills, and we believe this plan will protect our access to the agency’s land for the next decade and beyond in a sustainable way.
Tribal Engagement
The Mountaineers supports robust and meaningful tribal consultation by land managers. That’s why we’re particularly excited that DNR co-developed their ten-year vision for recreation and access with 31 Tribal Nations. The agency is committed to building a just and inclusive future that honors the land and the Indigenous people who have stewarded it since time immemorial. We’re looking forward to seeing how the agency continues to work with tribes to refine the plan and implement its actions.
Equitable Access
We’re pleased to see the plan prioritizes work to improve equitable access to recreation opportunities on DNR-managed land. The plan includes a focus on increasing outdoor opportunities for communities that face barriers to outdoor recreation access, including Black, Hispanic, and Asian American residents of Washington. The agency also plans to work with transit operators, such as King County Metro, so that public transportation can better connect people with public lands. Members of our community already use public transit opportunities like Trailhead Direct to access recreation on DNR-managed land.
Climate Resiliency
As the impacts of climate change intensify, we’re glad to see the agency is proactively planning for climate-related impacts to DNR-managed land and operations. The agency plans to improve the climate resiliency of its lands and develop better systems to communicate with recreation groups - like The Mountaineers - when climate-related closures occur. This would help reduce the impacts on our courses and on the wider recreation community.
Next Steps
DNR released their draft plan in late October, which initiated a 30-day opportunity for the public to review and comment on the plan. We sent a detailed comment letter to the agency sharing our thoughts on DNR’s vision and some of our thinking about the complex challenges the agency hopes to address with the plan. The agency is currently reviewing all the public feedback they received, and will incorporate that feedback into their final plan. The agency plans to release the final plan to the public in December.
Once the plan is finalized and released to the public, the agency will begin implementing specific action steps laid out in the plan. We hope to see many proposed near-term actions move ahead next year, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for funding for DNR in the 2025 state legislative session so that the agency has the resources they need to move these actions forward.
We’ll keep our community informed of future opportunities to ask state lawmakers to invest in DNR and other state land management agencies. Together, we can build a more sustainable and accessible future for recreation on DNR-managed lands.
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Does it mention revenue from DNR’s carbon offset projects? This will be substantial, and will $$s be applied to efforts to mitigate recreational projects?
Great question, Stephen. DNR's carbon offset project is not mentioned in the agency's recreation plan. From my understanding, the majority of generated revenue from the projects will go towards state trust beneficiaries and the schools, colleges, and critical local services that these state trust lands support. However, the recreation plan does note that DNR is underfunded in part because of declining state gas tax funding, and that the agency will participate in "ongoing work for replacement of the current gas tax revenue." Perhaps that means the agency will look towards using revenue from new sources (like their carbon offset projects) to support recreation.
