Dnr

'm sure most of the advocates already know about this, but just in case general public is interested in attending. I know the PA folks have had good results, but the King County side hasn't had much luck.

Help DNR chart a course for recreation in Washington

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be looking to user groups and individuals to help create a new vision for recreation on DNR-managed forestlands, aquatic lands and natural areas. Throughout the month of September, DNR will host nine workshops across the state to gather input from interested citizens.

We invite you to come share your thoughts on the direction of recreation in Washington. Where do you recreate? What kinds of recreation activities do you enjoy? How easily can you access recreation on state-managed lands? Drop by various topic stations at one of the workshops, talk to staff and provide your thoughts on these and other questions.

DNR will bring your answers to these and other questions to the newly formed Sustainable Recreation Work Group. This group was established by the 2008 Legislature to assist DNR in developing a long-term vision that ensures safe, sustainable, and enjoyable outdoor recreation on DNR-managed land.

Meeting dates and locations (All meetings are from 6 to 9 p.m.):

· September 9 – King County Library Service Center, Issaquah (Kick-off meeting)

· September 10 – Omak Community Library, Omak

· September 10 – Longhouse Educational and Cultural Center, The Evergreen State College, Olympia

· September 11 – Deer Park Library, Deer Park

· September 15 – Hoquiam Library, Hoquiam

· September 15 – Vancouver Water Resources Education Center, Vancouver

· September 16 – Port Angeles Library, Port Angeles

· September 16 – Burlington Library, Burlington

· September 17 – Grupe Conference Center, Central Washington University, Ellensburg


Why this new focus on recreation?

The last time the state officially addressed recreation issues on DNR-managed lands was 37 years ago with the passage of the Multiple Use Act in 1971. This act is based on the concept of state lands being available for multiple uses where appropriate, including various types of recreation. Since then, the face of recreation has changed significantly beyond what anyone envisioned. New forms of recreation have come on the scene including paragliding, mountain biking and paintball. Motorized off-road vehicle use has more than doubled in the state in the last 10 years. And, the overall volume of visitors to state lands has grown dramatically.

The Multiple Use Act still provides a solid foundation for recreation in Washington. Your input will help identify ways to better take into account the changing nature of recreation, pressures from a growing population, and the need to ensure the environmental health of DNR-managed lands.

Look for future e-mail messages with more information about the Sustainable Recreation Work Group, including a Web page address. In the meantime, if you’d like directions to any of the workshops, call Jana Greer at 360-902-1730 or send an e-mail to jana.greer@dnr.wa.gov.

"Doug Sutherland spoke, as well as the guy who runs the South Puget Sound region DNR office. They were in awe of the large turn out. More importantly, they went over what the program was about, and how the evening would proceed. There will be a web site on this topic with a blog, and surveys.

The meeting was fairly straight forward. Four areas were set up, three of which were staffed with two DNR representatives.
One area was dedicated to logging where people went for recreation, and what sort of recreation that they did there.
Another area was for logging what sort of recreation folks engaged in. You could enter multiple items.
The third staffed area was for logging what improvements you would like to see done to DNR recreation areas.
The last area was unstaffed. It was a large paper where you were asked to put what you thought the vision for sustainable recreation should be for the next 50 years.

If you can go to this, I would definitely do it. If you get there at the opening, you can be in and out of there in about 15 minutes.

Going from the count of recreation types, mountain bikers were out numbering motorcycle users 6:1. This does not count folks that do both, etc.

If you can't make the meeting, keep an eye out for the surveys, and other methods to contribute your opinions!"

Here is a link to the DNR site for more (a little more) information: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/Topics/RecreationPlanning/Pages/amp_rec_sustainable_recreation.aspx

FINAL PROPOSED REVISIONS TO RECREATION RULES AVAILALABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW

The Department of Natural Resources is in the final phase of revising rules for recreation and public access on DNR-managed lands. The rules are known as Chapter 332-52 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). We will be conducting a public hearing starting at 7 p.m., November 5, 2008 at the King County Library Systems Service Center, 960 Newport Way in Issaquah. The public comment period runs from October 15 to November 10, 2008.

The hearing and comment period will provide one last review of the proposed revisions before they are adopted. Thanks to everyone who participated in the nine public hearings in June and provided comments about the proposed rule revisions. We made changes to the language based on comments and public testimony. You can review our changes in a version that shows our edits and reasoning behind our changes. We did not address comments in this document that were beyond the scope of the rule-making process.

To request a copy of all the comments received during the public comment period, contact DNR’s SEPA Center at 360-902-2117 or sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov.

For additional information regarding the rules’ update, visit: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/Topics/OtherRecreationInformation/Pages/amp_rec_rule_revision_process.aspx

Doug McClelland

Assistant Region Manager - Asset Management, Recreation and Natural Areas

South Puget Sound Region – Washington State Department of Natural Resources

cell 206-920-5907