Washington State Parks invites visitors to help celebrate the agency’s 108th birthday on Friday, March 19, by enjoying a state park for free that day.

Join for a celebration of the outdoor recreation community’s resilience and successes during legislative session. We’ll salute those who have driven our community forward and enjoy an evening with each other and those working hard to support our outdoor spaces. And hang around for some trivia, prizes, and a night away from the hustle of quick zoom check-ins. [2021 Sponsor Fact Sheet] Free to attend. Save the date and [R.S.V.P. HERE.]

A short film produced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Northwest. For wildlife lovers, hunters and anglers, Indigenous peoples, farmers and ranchers, outdoor recreationists and so many others, this land is no desert devoid of life, This Land is Part of Us.  Watch “This Land is Part of Us”: https://youtu.be/NfhM9vLQD-0. Please share with your friends, family, and networks! We appreciate your support.

Outdoor recreation offers opportunities for sustainable economic and community development across the United States. Through interviews with over 60 practitioners - including elected officials, land managers, economic development specialists and business leaders - the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable has developed this toolkit to help your community build an outdoor recreation economy of its own.

More than 50 people attended the first meeting of the Outdoor Recreation Caucus, hosted by Representative Andrew Barkis, and held via Microsoft Teams, but moving to a Zoom platform for future meetings. The Caucus meets weekly during session on Thursdays at 7 a.m. so that stakeholders can share emerging information on active legislation. On the agenda this week was a welcome and introduction to the 2021 Caucus and review and discussion of the Bill Report. Contact Wendy Brown, Policy Director/Legislative Liaison, Recreation & Conservation Office to join the notification distribution list.

The Big Tent Outdoor Recreation Coalition is hosting weekly policy calls open to all interested to inform and answer questions about pending and emerging legislation impacting outdoor recreation. Calls are scheduled weekly on Fridays from 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., January 15 - end of April: Join Zoom Meeting: https://redbarncommunications.zoom.us/j/86820688671 / Meeting ID: 868 2068 8671 or by phone: 1 253 215 8782.  The zoom and call information stay the same throughout session.

Thursday, February 4, 2021, Via Zoom: Join the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition and the Washington Recreation & Park Association at the annual Parks and Great Outdoors Legislative Day in Olympia! Help advocate for Washington state's premier outdoors fund, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP), and tell your legislators why Washington's parks, wildlife habitat areas, and working lands deserve to be funded.

[SEATTLE] Today, Governor Inslee released his budget, which includes $100 million in funding for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) and $400,000 to create a more equitable grant process at the Recreation and Conservation Office. The COVID19 crisis has affected our outdoor recreation needs in significant ways, bringing more people outside to recreate for their mental and physical health. Indeed, the demand for outdoor recreation has never been higher. Meanwhile, the economic crisis created by COVID19 has made the outdoor recreation economy even more important. It has also highlighted the inequities in our current system, as many communities were left without access to safe and healthy recreation opportunities close to home.