Washington State doubles funding to protect public lands
FEDERAL WAY -- West of the freeway, past the fast-food pit stops, the vast shopping mall parking lots and manicured cul-de-sacs, a narrow dirt road peels off the blacktop into a 25-acre swath of unkempt ferns, big leaf maples and evergreens that somehow escaped the suburban expansion that continues to put the squeeze on most of Western Washington.
Step out of the car and into air that feels about 15 degrees cooler in the shade under the dense canopy above the winding path that wraps along the ravine and you'll hear songbirds (and an occasional jet) and smell nearby Puget Sound.
Welcome to Camp Kilworth.
Since 1932, it's been a place for young Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to step out of the city and hone their skills for the big woods. Now it's one of the 135 places on which the state is spending $100 million to protect for public recreation and wildlife.
This year, the Legislature doubled the amount it is spending on land acquisition and development for wildlife habitat and recreational access.
The money is going to Washington Wildlife and Recreation grant program projects, ranging from $4.7 million expenditure in the Methow Valley watershed in Okanogan County to $236,000 for a 50-acre natural area along the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near North Bend.
The increased investment level for wildlife and recreation access is seen as a huge victory for the environmental community, which made it one of their top four priorities going into this year's legislative session.
Joanna Grist, executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, said that since 1990, the state's capital budget has included about $50 million each biennium for the program, for a total of $450 million invested so far.
"It's the largest investment in parks and natural areas in Washington's history," Grist said. "It's a huge win for us and we are extremely pleased about it. It shows that there is a great demand, there are a lot of great projects out there that need funding, and it shows that we have strong bipartisan support for it."
Continue reading this article from the Seattle P-I:
State doubles funding to protect public lands
