Peninsula Daily News
and The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — More than 10,000 Discover Passes had been sold statewide as of Friday, the day the requirement for entry into 120 state parks and millions of acres of state-managed land came into effect.
Agency officials were feeling optimistic that the pass will do what it is intended to do: help keep parks and other state recreational areas open, said State Parks spokeswoman Virginia Painter.
The program is expected to bring in more than
$64 million every two years. The revenue is in addition to that that the state already collects from camping reservations, picnic shelter rentals and other fees.
With certain exceptions, the pass is needed for entry into boat launches, campgrounds, heritage sites, wildlife areas and trails on land managed by the state Parks and Recreation Commission, the state Department of Natural Resources and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife.
If purchased at a manned state park office or kiosk, the annual Discover Pass costs $30 per vehicle — with permits not transferable between vehicles — and daily passes are $10.
The price goes up if they are purchased anywhere else.
The passes are $35 and $11.50 at www.discover
pass.wa.gov, by phone at 866-320-9933 or at outlets that also sell hunting and fishing licenses.
Failure to display a Discover Pass on a vehicle can lead to a fine of $99, though state officials plan to start by focusing on educating visitors about the passes over the Fourth of July weekend.
Those who already hold certain types of fishing and hunting licenses — along with people camping in state parks — are among the many exemptions from the pass requirements, which are listed at www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
Also exempt are people attending events in state parks that had been scheduled with the state before June 1.
That includes today’s (Monday’s) fireworks show in Fort Worden State Park and any reservations of state park day-use areas made before that date.
In almost all other cases, a Discover Pass is needed for a visit to a state park, including those on the North Olympic Peninsula — Sequim Bay State Park, Fort Flagler near Port Townsend and Bogachiel State Park near Forks — and to some areas of Fort Worden.
Fort Worden is not only a state park, but also a community and business center that houses businesses, museums, the nonprofit arts center Centrum, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and a Peninsula College branch, as well as serving as a community gathering place.
A temporary agreement between Fort Worden and State Parks will allow business customers and employees access to the upper campus without a Discover Pass for at least the next year, through June 30.
The exemption for the Fort Worden Collaborative of Partners includes the marine science center; that means that members of the public do not need a pass to visit either of the exhibit buildings at the center.
Visitors using the lower park day-use parking area for access to the beach, trailhead and lighthouse will be required to have the permits.
In a year when Washington lawmakers filled a
$5 billion shortfall without raising taxes, the fee provided an alternative way of collecting millions of dollars from taxpayers.
Most of the initial proceeds from the pass will go into a special state parks fund while the rest will be divided between DNR and Fish & Wildlife.
Philip McKnelly, executive director of the National Association of State Park Directors, said the fees also go against the historical legacy of state parks as a destination for people who can’t otherwise afford day-trip vacations.
“Those folks are not going to be able to get in,”
McKnelly said.
“If they’re worried about where that next meal’s coming from, that $30 is going to be quite a bit.”
Budget cuts around the nation are forcing state parks to identify new funding sources to sustain themselves — sometimes in novel ways.
On Thursday, Gov. John Kasich in Ohio is preparing to approve a new law that would open up state parks to oil and gas drilling, returning some of the proceeds to the parks.
New Hampshire, Maine, Virginia and Georgia have explored corporate sponsorships.
California is poised to shutter about 70 state parks. Oklahoma has moved to close seven.
Washington state would have also seen closures without the new fee, officials said.
Just two years ago, the state’s general fund covered two-thirds of the roughly $150 million operating budget for state parks.
In the budget cycle ending last week, the general fund covered less than one-third of the money available, and there’s even less in the new budget.
Officials are preparing for a time when there is no money, so the parks need to be self-sustaining.
“This is a pretty dramatic shift,” Painter said.
“It’s an unfortunate reality.”
The state does plan to provide some free visiting days but hasn’t yet settled on when those will take place.
