Resource Stewardship

The mission of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is to "acquire, operate, enhance and protect a diverse system of recreational, cultural, historical and natural sites" in an effort to leave a valued legacy to future generations. State Parks' resource stewardship program is charged with protecting the natural and cultural resources on more than 250,000 acres of land managed by the agency. The program's team of resources specialists work with parks staff, park users and other interested parties to balance the complex – and often conflicting – demands of environmental protection, cultural/historic preservation and outdoor recreation.

To safeguard the public lands in its trust, the State Parks resource stewardship program administers a broad range of conservation activities, including the inventory and assessment of natural and cultural resources, management planning, applied research, stewardship training and special topics of statewide significance such as salmon recovery. Highlights of the program's conservation activities follow.

A scarcity of information about the quantity, quality and distribution of cultural and natural resources in state parks places park resources at risk of degradation through development and natural processes. Efforts are currently underway to rectify this condition through a series of capital, operating and volunteer supported initiatives.

In the future, you will be able to link from here to an overview on State Parks' "Historic Properties Condition Assessment," rare plant cooperative surveys and a plant community assessment project.

The resource stewardship program oversees resource management planning in state parks, and a 10-year action plan designed to guide the conservation and protection of state park cultural and natural resources is in development. The five-year-old Classification and Management Planning process (CAMP), to-date encompassing approximately 25 percent of the parks, is an agency public process designed to identify and address important resource issues in state parks. The CAMP process serves as the guiding document for on-the-ground resource protection and recreational development.

In the future, you will be able to link from here to State Parks resource stewardship action plan, a CAMP overview and list of current CAMP processes, and many more resource management activities.

Balancing resource use and protection is a constant challenge for park staff, especially as user numbers increase and lands surrounding parks become increasingly domesticated. Issues of concern range from monitoring and protecting threatened/endangered species habitat and cultural sites of statewide significance, to the impacts of snowmobiles on sub-alpine meadows. The agency is currently working with partners such as other state institutions and interested stakeholders to help identify practical resource management approaches to these and other issues.

In the future, you will be able to link from here to current resource stewardship research initiatives, information on the Scholars in the Parks program and an online application to conduct research in state parks.

State Parks has developed the "Resource Stewardship Certification" program to help park staff become as proficient as possible in managing the wide range of natural, cultural and recreational resources under their care. Candidates to the program must complete 144 hours of formal instruction in the following six subjects: eastern Washington ecosystems, western Washington ecosystems, cultural resources appreciation and protection, historic preservation, interpretive methods, recreation resources management. Additionally, candidates must complete an individual project that applies the stewardship principles learned in training. In 2001, 23 individuals completed the program.

In the future, you will be able to link from here to completed certification projects.

State Parks is charged by the governor to develop and administer a statewide interpretive plan for on-the-ground interpretive resources at state managed properties and to implement restoration, enhancement and protection efforts in salmonid habitat at State Parks properties. In November 2000, several parks near sensitive salmon-spawning streams – including Dosewallips, Green River Gorge Conservation Area, Horsethief Lake, Lake Wenatchee and Rasar – launched new interpretive programs designed to raise public awareness about endangered Northwest wild salmon. State parks also offers the use of traveling "Salmon Trunks," full of salmon-related artifacts and educational materials, available for rangers to use in campfire interpretive programs or visits to local schools. Future salmon efforts will include interpretive materials in all state parks where salmon occur, and on the detailed assessment (and eventual restoration) of wild salmon habitat on parklands.

In the future, this site will provide information on salmon spawning times and tips to assist with salmon conservation.

State Parks is developing a Volunteer Stewardship program designed to identify individuals or organizations that are interested in helping to assist the agency's stewardship specialists in monitoring and managing significant cultural and natural resources in state parks. At Mount Spokane, volunteers are assisting with the control of noxious weeds in the Ragged Ridge Natural Area Preserve, as well as helping to secure grants for further stewardship projects. Volunteers at Beacon Rock are helping to evaluate the effects of rock climbing activity on rare plant and peregrine falcon populations. Interested individuals or parties – especially those with specific areas of expertise – are encouraged to apply.

Soon, you will be able to learn from this site information on how to participate in the Volunteer Stewardship program. In the interim, call (360) 902-8613 for details.