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Trails, recreational areas
in jeopardy from NOVA raid
by Rep. Dan Kristiansen
I recently received an
e-mail from Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark entitled,
"Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to reduce services at many
recreation areas." The commissioner's note discussed budget impacts to
143 DNR-managed recreational facilities and more than 1,000 miles of
Washington's trails.
"As a result of budget
cuts, including loss of NOVA funding, DNR's Recreation Program was
reduced by nearly 50 percent. We have been forced to reduce services to
many of our designated recreational facilities," he wrote.
A significant portion of
trail maintenance funds came from NOVA -- the Nonhighway and Off-Road
Vehicle Activities account. NOVA was created by
off-road vehicle (ORV) users to provide grants to develop, maintain and
manage trails and nonhighway road systems. A fuel-use study
estimated 4.6 percent of the state fuel tax was generated by ORV use. In
lieu of receiving a fuel-tax refund, ORV users asked the Legislature in
1973 to put the money into this special account.
This year, for the first
time since NOVA's inception, majority party leaders in the Legislature
raided the account, using the entire $9.56 million anticipated for the
next two years, to help balance the state's operating budget.
Trail-user groups are
steamed, and rightfully so, because they voluntarily waived their rights
to a fuel-tax refund so they could benefit statewide from this dedicated
funding program. They had even recently asked the Legislature to double
ORV permit fees to supplement the fund. Now that account will remain
empty until the next biennium.
Where did the money go?
The Democrat operating
budget (House Bill 1244) re-appropriates the NOVA funds "to the state
Parks and Recreation Commission for maintenance and operation of parks
and to improve accessibility for boaters and off-road vehicle users."
Keeping state parks open
was a high priority for me during the legislative session. However, we
had better options than raiding NOVA. For example, the capital budget
contained more than $80 million to purchase land for new parks. I
questioned why the state was buying land for new parks when it couldn't
afford to maintain existing ones. I supported an amendment that
would have transferred $25 million from park acquisition into state
parks maintenance and operations. This amendment could have prevented
the NOVA raid. Unfortunately, it failed. This is one of the many reasons
why I voted against the operating budget.
Now, we are seeing the
consequences, as evidenced in Goldmark's e-mail. An Eastern Washington
newspaper reported "many of the state's trail systems may be lost to
underbrush, overuse and, eventually, a chaos of downed trees." An
Everett newspaper added, "People can still use trails, park in
parking lots and stay in campgrounds, but they should expect to find no
toilets, picnic tables, signs or garbage service at many campgrounds."
The state Parks and
Recreation Commission now has authority over these funds. If we are to
prevent erosion and disrepair of trails and recreational facilities, the
commission must be made aware and held accountable. If you have
concerns, let the commissioners know. They are meeting Aug. 6 in Pasco,
Oct. 1 in Spokane, and Dec. 3 in Centralia.
For more information, go
to:
http://www.parks.wa.gov/agency/commissionmeetings or write them at:
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
1111 Israel Road S.W.
Olympia, WA 98504-2650
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish,
represents the 39th Legislative District, and also serves as chairman of
the Washington House Republican Caucus. He can be contacted at (360)
786-7967 or from his Web site at:
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen.
For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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