Providing Recreation Opportunities
Trail Inventory Projects: Browning and Andersen continue to manage trail inventory projects in Quincy Lakes, L. T. Murray, and the Methow wildlife areas. The Quincy Lakes project is in the final stages and a report is being written by the contractor. Re-routes around culturally sensitive areas have been mapped. Browning and Andersen are preparing a contract with Methow Valley Trails Collaborative to do a trails conditions assessment of the Pipestone area in the Methow Wildlife Area.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Skagit Wildlife Area Planning: The Skagit Wildlife Area Advisory Committee meeting was held on Aug. 15. The focus of the meeting was to collect comments on the draft management plan. The draft plan was also sent to the tribes on July 24. The plan is expected to start the SEPA 30-day public review by early September. A SEPA public workshop will be held at Padilla Bay on Sep. 5.
State-Tribes Recreation Impact Management: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) is working with federally recognized tribes and other state agencies to develop a framework for managing recreation impacts on state lands. A second meeting of the Steering Committee will be held on Aug. 17.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Planning: The State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) review has concluded on the plan. The final draft was sent to regional and statewide program managers for internal review. The final plan will be submitted for the director’s signature in September.
Cowlitz Wildlife Area Planning: Planning, Communications and Public Engagement (CAPE), and GIS staff members with the assistance of Braeden Van Deynze are developing a recreational user survey. It will be available to the public over the next year starting this fall.
Providing Education and Outreach
Public Lands Visitation Study: The Department, along with other state natural resource agencies including the Department of Natural Resources, State Parks, and the Recreation and Conservation Office, partnered with Earth Economics to determine public visitation and the economic contribution of outdoor recreation on state-managed public lands and measure how spending circulates within the state’s economy. The report found that visitation on state public lands increased by 12% from 2019 to 2020. This includes a 7% increase on WDFW managed lands, and it supported $5.9 billion in spending on goods and services. This spending supported more than 37,000 full and part-time jobs, $1.65 billion in wages, and more than $435 million in local and state tax revenue.
For more information on the study, see WDFW’s recent blog post.
You can read the final report online here: Outdoor Recreation on State Lands in Washington
The Ambassador Program: The ambassador program has completed six weeks of programming. The most meaningful interactions with visitors have been at Lewis Butte in the Methow Valley. Visitors were excited to learn about wildlife and recreation best practices from the ambassadors. The ambassador program will be testing out new sites in Scatter Creek and Fir Island in September when visitor numbers tend to be quite high.
Lands Advisory Group Strategic Planning: To diversify participation and increase support from local communities, the strategic plan will provide statewide improvements and identify opportunities to enhance the roles of advisory committee members. These recommended changes will benefit staff members and community experiences while increasing public involvement in land management practices. Staff members will engage internal and external stakeholders in this planning process which is expected to continue through 2025.