Our State Policy Committee recently completed a 3-month support agenda engagement, planning and refinement effort, including planning our advocacy approach for the 2026 legislative session. That planning work culminated in our Board adopting our 2026 support agenda and legislative advocacy strategy last week! Our top priority is twofold: express gratitude to the Capital Budget writers for including $120 million for the WWRP, and meet with new legislators to inform them about the Coalition’s work and reach, and the WWRP’s effectiveness and impact. In addition, we will assist and testify as needed/requested for these additional items on our support agenda:
- DNR Natural Areas Program Facilities Preservation and Access. $3m Supplemental Capital Budget request.
- Community Forests Program. $9m Supplemental Capital Budget request.
- DNR Conservation Corps Partnership. $4.2m Supplemental Operating Budget request.
- DFW Forest Health and Fuel Reduction program. $2.4m Supplemental Operating Budget request.
- WSCC Forest Health and Community Wildfire Resiliency program. $2.5m Supplemental Operating Budget request.
- State Parks Snowmobile Registration Fees Agency Request Legislation (SB 5234)
With this focus in mind, our Legislative Day in 2026 will look a little different – we will not have a statewide public engagement effort on our January 27th Parks and Great Outdoors Legislative Day. Instead, our Board, Coalition staff, key stakeholders and constituents, and our lobbyist team, will dedicate all advocacy time to strategic and targeted meetings with key legislators, ensuring ongoing support, coalition building, and continued robust funding for the WWRP.
This session will be fast and furious – and our State’s budget is challenged, to say the least. We are confident that concentrating on high-impact meetings will position the Coalition, and the WWRP, for long-term success.
But, we’ll still need to rely on your voice and support, and while we don’t exactly know yet how 2026 will shape up, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to engage over the coming months:.
- I hope you’ll join us for our Legislative Reception at the Governor’s Mansion on January 21 as we celebrate past wins and build momentum for what’s next. Registration closes Friday, January 9th.
- The Legislative Day luncheon hosted by the Washington Recreation and Parks Association is still on! Stay tuned for registration and speaker details, and save the date for January 27, 2026.
- Our Policy and Communications Manager, Nathaniel Rees, will share updates from Olympia with active Coalition members, including how we’re advocating for our priorities, details from key legislator meetings, bills we’re tracking, and changes to our support agenda, if and when changes are made. As a Coalition member, you’ll receive more instant information on what’s happening in Olympia and whether or not there’s an opportunity to engage in testimony or comment. Please renew your membership for 2026 to ensure you receive these updates! Contact Sophia Luangrath for more information.
- We will reach out for comments and feedback to our strategic plan update, which also begins in 2026. We look forward to hearing from you on how we should grow, focus, evolve, and improve as we look toward 2030. Stay tuned for engagement in surveys and comments to the draft plan, beginning mid-2026.
We’re thinking of the 2026 legislative session as a foundation-builder. The work we do now will position us to go big when the WWRP is up for funding again in 2027. And when that time comes, we’ll need a strong, united Coalition ready to advocate at full force. In short, we’ll need people like you to make our next WWRP funding ask our biggest and most successful yet.
Thank you for trusting us and being part of this work. Together, we can keep Washington’s lands, waters, and outdoor legacy strong for generations to come.