The Coalition’s Executive Director Andrea McNamara Doyle presented at a recent Lewis County Mayors’ meeting. Pictured: Mossyrock’s Klickitat Prairie Community Park, a WWRP site in Lewis County.
At the invitation of Lewis County Commissioner Gary Stamper, the Coalition’s Executive Director Andrea McNamara Doyle shared information about the legislative changes made to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) with the mayors and other representatives of several Lewis County communities.
Officials and staff from Chehalis, Centralia, Morton, Napavine, Packwood, PeEll, Toledo, and Winlock were updated on upcoming revisions to the grant program that will allow under-served communities to seek reductions or waivers of the match requirements in the next application cycle. Doyle presented information about the $5.8 million in WWRP grants that have been provided to 13 projects in Lewis County since 1990, and highlighted the $326 million revenue and almost 2,400 in-county jobs created by outdoor recreation in Lewis County.
In addition, the group discussed the four proposed projects that are currently seeking funding from sponsors within Lewis County, including:
- Renovation of the Pearl Street Memorial Pool in Centralia;
- Upgrading the Recreation Park in Chehalis with new playfield areas, drainage, & parking;
- Adding a Discover! Park to the new Discover! Children’s Museum in Chehalis; and,
- Acquisition of additional acreage along the Chehalis River connected to the growing Willapa Hills Trail.
Staffers from Senator Cantwell and Congresswoman Herrera-Beutler’s offices were also in attendance, allowing for additional discussion of the important role that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) plays in supporting the outdoor recreation economy in Lewis County and around the state.