Washington State Parks has begun a land-use planning project for upper Cowlitz area state parks, including
Lewis and Clark,
Ike Kinswa and
Seaquest state parks,
Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, and Packwood and Tilton River properties.
The planning project, also known as Classification and Management Planning (CAMP), includes the four planning stages described below. The CAMP will address overall visitor experiences, natural and cultural resources, use of the park’s buildings, recreation fields and trails, and other topics of interest to the community and customers.
As planning progresses, check back for updated project information.
The entire planning process includes a series of public workshops over an approximate year-long period. There are opportunities for the public to comment at each of the stages and documents will be added below when they are available.
Stage One – Identify issues and concerns
The purpose of this stage is to understand what is important to the park community, what to change or save in the state park. This helps get a sense of the range and type of issues that need to be considered through the planning process.
Stage Two – Exploring alternative approaches
At this stage, the planning team suggests potential alternative approaches to address the various issues and concerns raised by people in stage one. No preferred alternative is established; rather this is an opportunity to understand the range of possibilities.
Stage Three – Preparing preliminary recommendations
The best ideas from the alternative approaches developed in stage two are combined into a preliminary plan in this stage. The plan includes recommendations for use and development of land, changes to property boundaries and ways to address issues raised during the planning process. Another important document completed at this stage is the SEPA checklist that describes environmental impacts of the recommendations (available for public review upon request).
Stage Four – Preparing final recommendations
At stage four, final adjustments are made to recommendations and submitted to the seven-member Parks and Recreation Commission for approval. The public is encouraged to attend the Commission meeting and provide testimony or to provide written comment.
Provide comments
We are very interested in your thoughts and comments about this project. Please provide comments on this project by:
Project lead: Ryan Karlson
E-mail: upper.cowlitz.planning@parks.wa.gov
Phone: (360) 902-8650
Fax: (360) 586-0207
Mail: P.O. Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650
Miscellaneous documents
Following are downloadable documents related to this project.