Keep the Discover Pass for Washington State Parks

House Bill 1824, proposed by Rep. Mary Dye, would eliminate $23 million in annual funding for Washington State Parks, WDFW and DNR. (Plus additional funding that comes from parking fines for not having a pass, with total coming to approximately $41.3 annually) In the bill, she purports that “Participants in outdoor recreation are more connected to their environment and tend to be better stewards of our natural resources.” This statement makes me wonder how many trails or outdoor recreation spaces the Representative has visited in the last couple of years. The level of filth, dumping, and outright abuse of our lands leaves many of us heartbroken and/or enraged. The limited funding and ranger resources make the caretaking efforts, for our outdoor spaces, an already Herculean task. Remove $41.3 million in funding and how much more difficult does that become? Removal of the Passes also raises the question: How will we control already over filled lots, recreators with no awareness of LNT, and individuals who might choose to park in a recreation lots that create an unsafe space for others. Can you imagine what $41.3 million would do, if directly applied to the salaries of Forest Rangers, service workers, and facilities? Why can’t we do that instead? And then I create a program that allows low-income families to apply for a waiver of the Discover Pass fee? (The YMCA does this, why can’t the state?) The Bill proposes using funding from the WA State General budget to make up for the elimination of the Discovery Pass funds, but access to those funds are not guaranteed. While the premise of making outdoor recreation spaces available to those who struggle with the cost, is commendable, the means are NOT. Link to Bill 1824: https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1824.pdf https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/free-state-parks