If approved, the additional funding from the state capital budget could finance 31 parks, trails, beaches and habitat areas across the state, including purchase of additional land at the Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area northeast of Olympia.

The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, a bipartisan group headed up by former governors Dan Evans and Mike Lowry, has secured some $453 million for more than 700 projects since its inception in 1990.

Projects funded in South Sound include the popular Chehalis Western Trail, Pioneer Park in Tumwater, Camp Kenneydell Park on Black Lake, Friendly Grove Park in Olympia and the Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve at the bottom of Totten Inlet.

But with the state population growing at a rate of 100,000 people a year, consuming habitat and creating demand for more parks, trails and beach access, now is not the time for the coalition to rest, noted Karen Munro, a Thurston County resident and coalition board member.

“The coalition is made up of very diverse interests who all agree the state needs to set aside more land,” Munro said.

The coalition, whose projects go through a priority ranking and review by the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, already has $50 million for the 2005-07 state budget. The group faces stiff competition for limited funds in the supplemental capital budget, noted state Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, and chair of the capital budget subcommittee of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“These are all fabulous projects, but there is only $30 million in the capital budget to play with,” Fraser said. “Meanwhile, we have legislators coming in with requests totalling $300 million.”

The pot of money would be a lot bigger if the Legislature required the state operating budget to reimburse the state capitol budget some or all of the $187 million it borrowed last year, wildlife and recreation coalition lobbyist Mike Ryherd said.

“We’re the type of grant program that has statewide support,” Ryherd said. “The funding might be a priority if the capital budget money is paid back.”

A $10 million infusion of cash would raise the program’s two-year budget to its highest level since 1993.

One of the projects likely to receive funding would be the state Department of Natural Resource’s Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area at Henderson Inlet.

An additional $731,000 would be available to buy land from willing sellers to expand the 700-acre wildlife habitat area that is home to nesting bald eagles, a heron rookery, the largest harbor seal nursery in South Sound, a maternity colony of bats, shorebirds and songbirds.

Several miles north of Olympia and Lacey, the conservation area is open to the public for passive recreation, including wildlife viewing, hiking and picnicking.

Coupled with about $800,000 set aside for Woodard Bay in the 2005-07 budget, the agency could start work on purchasing an additional 116 acres, including some marine shoreline, according to the IAC.


“When people become willing sellers, we want to be able to buy the land,” said Pene Speaks, an assistant division manager in DNR’s Natural Heritage Program.