Washington State government allows for the designation of special separate governmental districts for a wide variety of public services.  These include schools, ports, hospitals, parks, fire, water, sewer and even cemeteries. 

The term “Metropolitan” in the name is misleading as a number of MPD’s created in the state exist in rural areas and not in metropolitan areas. The term was originally used for the formation of the Tacoma Metropolitan Park District formed in 1905.  However, it is the MPD form of organizational structure that State Law provides for that is most flexible and can be adapted easily to a conservation and outdoor recreation purpose, which is the proposed focus of the Chuckanut Mountain Park District.  It is also the only form that can be created by citizen petition.  For these reasons, the steering committee strongly favors the MPD format.

The Chuckanut Mountains are a unique coastal range with privately owned lands as well as lands under various governmental jurisdictions (cities, two counties, numerous State departments and agencies).  With the press of growth in our region, this treasure will soon be decimated by continued logging and construction of subdivisions.  At present no entity is charged with overseeing this entire ecosystem which results in no overall planning for development, logging, and preservation of critical areas, outdoor recreation, wildfire management and greenways.  With the formation of a Chuckanut Mountains Park District (CMPD), those citizens who live in the Chuckanut area will be able proactively identify, preserve and maintain the identified natural and critical areas and oversee the entire ecosystem and its conservation.
 

A CMPD may be created by a citizen's petition signed by 15% of the registered voters within the designated district.  The signed petition is subject to review by the Boundary Review Commissions of each county and when approved placed on the ballot at the next general election. A simple majority affirmative vote creates the District. The legal petition and ordinance would define the district’s boundaries, administrative body and funding.

District Boundary Determination

Future District Boundary Modification

Once the District is formed, any new area desiring to join a district can go through the same process that originally set up the district and become a part of it.  This process involves a fair amount of work and is time consuming, but it can be done at a later time.

The CMPD would be directed by five resident commissioners.  The Commissioners are elected by voters in the defined District to manage the District responsibilities and resources.  Some park districts delineate the residence of the commissioner within defined areas of the district to provide regional representation.  This regional representation seems appropriate for the CMPD.  In addition to fund raising and fiscal management, the commissioners are charged with property and conservancy easement acquisitions and natural resource acquisitions, such as logging and mineral rights.  They may have trails developed or restored for public access to shorelines, lakes, streams, viewpoints, and may designate other natural areas, such as habitat areas for protection.

State, Federal and Private Funding

It is anticipated that the CMPD will use its locally generated funds as leverage to match outside grants and donations and this will become a significant source of revenue for the District.  Without a local match, these outside grants and donations are not possible to obtain.

District Regulatory Authority

The district will have no regulatory authority over private property or other publicly owned lands.  It can cooperate with other stakeholders and land managers to maximize openspace protection and outdoor recreation.

Currently, the Chuckanut Mountains Park District is in a formative stage.  While the steering committee has developed draft district boundaries, purpose and mission, these decisions are subject to public input and review.  A levy amount needs to be established that will both support the goals of the CMPD and that will be accepted by the voters within the defined area. To date, the steering committee is including in its investigation the entire Chuckanut Mountain Range and shoreline area, which extends from Blanchard & Colony Mountains to the south to Sehome Hill on the north, portions of Lookout and Galbraith Mountains on the east and Samish Island and the Salish Sea shore on the west. 

Public interest and involvement is currently being solicited in a series of presentations and discussions with interested governmental, neighborhood and community groups.  It is hoped that each interested neighborhood and community group will provide a representative to the steering committee to provide for open communication and input.  Your participation in this process is invited. 

Immediate issues:

Monetarily, tourism is the number one industry in the world, exceeding agriculture and energy.  Combined with recreation, Washington State has the economic potential to capitalize on our natural resources to attract tourists and provide recreational opportunities.  To do this, we must preserve the resources that attract sustainble forms of tourism and resist the economic pressures of development and the pressures for a quick fiscal return on what are considered renewable resources, our forests.  The uniqueness of the Chuckanuts, their proximity to the salt water and to the North Cascades Highway and to Larrabee State Park and the current state of ecological preservation make this a resource to retain for the benefit of future generations and for long range, greater economic return.  With the fiscal assistance of a Parks District, the DNR has an opportunity to resolve contentious issues in the management of the forest. 

Economists who study conservation of natural areas and outdoor recreation have been able to clearly show that protection of streams, wetlands, & other critical habitats as well as development and stewardship of trail system and other recreation amenities has a significant beneficial effect on the local economies of the surrounding area.  Economic effects include direct benefits to water quality for human consumption and use and for fisheries and other habitats, as well as lowered costs for protection of threatened and endangered species.  Direct Benefits of increased outdoor recreation opportunities include support for outdoor equipment manufacturers (of which there are several in the area), retailers, outfitters, guides, restaurants, motels, gas stations, trail builders, hardware stores, youth employment programs, environmental consultants, gravel suppliers, and others.  Indirect Benefits come in the form of a multiplier effect of the initial expenditures being passed around the local economy. 

Businesses looking to relocate are much more likely to select areas with attractive amenities such as a quality environment and outdoor recreation opportunities, bringing economic benefits with them.  Western Washington University is the area’s largest employer. There are clear educational benefits at all levels of a healthy natural environment, but in the case of WWU’s highly regarded Huxley College there are well documented benefits to its curriculum from increased conservation in the Chuckanut area, thereby increasing the Universities stature and competitiveness.   Attractive outdoor recreation opportunities lead many to a more active and therefore healthy lifestyle.  The economic studies show that not only does this improve quality of life, but it also significantly lowers health care costs due to the personal benefits of an active lifestyle.  Many acquisitions and projects in the Chuckanuts will compete extremely well for state and federal grants, bringing these additional financial resources back into the local area.

As the area retains and improves its attractiveness through conservation and access to outdoor recreation, property values rise, retail sales increase, payrolls rise, and business opportunities become more plentiful.  This increase in economic activity increases revenue flowing to all levels of federal, state and local government including school districts from associated sales tax receipts, increased property tax receipts, business and occupation tax receipts, fuel tax receipts and increased income tax receipts.  Since this flow and benefit is indirect and goes to general funds, governments rarely recognize its source.  The studies consistently show however, that investments made in conserving natural areas and developing outdoor recreation opportunities will be returned to the community and public agencies in increased economic activity and tax revenue in a fairly short period of time.  Given this general understanding of the Chuckanut Area, and the potential benefits, at least a modest investment in conservation and outdoor recreation would seem warranted.