Funding gap may shutter three Peninsula campgrounds

Published 10:40 am Thursday, March 5, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Two Clallam County campgrounds and one in Jefferson County are among 19 state Department of Natural Resources recreation sites that face some level of closure if funding cuts are made by the state Legislature.

“The budget is still being negotiated at the legislative session right now, but last year we saw a 20 percent reduction in our recreation budget and the governor’s proposal is showing an additional reduction of $750,000, and the Senate and House have additional cuts proposed in their budgets, too,” said Courtney James, communications manager for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

If those cuts are made to DNR’s operating budget, the Bear Creek and Lyre River campgrounds in Clallam County and Hoh-Oxbow Campground in Jefferson County are all listed as recreation sites that could see full closures.

“These closures are worst-case scenario,” James said. “The program decided on the sites that were operationally more expensive to manage or furthest distance from staff. Campgrounds were emphasized because they’re more time-consuming to ensure safety. They’re also our most closeable sites because they often have pre-existing closure gates at access points.”

DNR announced the possible closures in a news release last week.

“Washington’s world class outdoor recreation opportunities draw visitors to the state and Washingtonians to our lands. The last thing we should do is underfund them,” Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said in the release. “From hiking and biking to riding ORVs and paragliding, DNR lands offer opportunities for families across the entire state to enjoy quality time in the great outdoors. It’s what makes our state the best in the nation. But the continued lack of funding threatens that access, creating an unsafe environment for users and impacting our public lands.”

The legislative session is set to end March 12, so there’s about a week remaining for the budgets to be negotiated.

“We’re working with our legislative team just to emphasize the impacts these funding cuts would have on our operations and to emphasize the importance of funding recreation and maintenance,” James said.

The work to maintain recreation sites includes clearing trails, cleaning restrooms, addressing ongoing public abuse and clearing storm damage.

“This critical maintenance and operations funding could be reduced even more, impacting DNR’s ability to provide Washingtonians with safe, accessible and meaningful recreation experiences across the state,” according to the news release.

DNR Recreation has 60 field staff, which amounts to one person per every 21.6 miles of trail, 50,000 acres or 333,000 visitors to DNR-managed lands, according to the release.

“Partnership with Washington Conservation Corps crews previously supported DNR with the equivalent of 70 additional field staffers, but the funding to purchase that critical corps time was left unfilled during the 2025 legislative session,” the release stated.

James recommended everyone check DNR’s website for recreation site closure information before heading out.

The full list of sites which would be impacted by budget cuts can be found at tinyurl.com/PDN-DNR-Sites.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.