​The legislature passed a budget that directs the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to wind down the Naselle Youth Camp and close it by July 1, 2023, to begin to convert it into an outdoor school.  WPEA supports the creation of new outdoor schools and expanded opportunities to get young people engaged in our state’s forests and other wildlands; a student who falls in love with our creeks and trees today may become a hydrologist or forester tomorrow. However, the current Naselle Youth Camp and the forest crews there are an important part of DNR’s silviculture and fire response missions. The camp also provides valuable experience for at-risk youth, working outdoors on our state lands. In a time of increasingly destructive wildfires, we shouldn’t be taking steps to diminish any of our state’s fire response capacity. The state should be expanding opportunities for young people to be in the woods, without risking our ability to respond to fires.
 
We need your help to save the Naselle Youth Camp! Ask Governor Inslee to VETO Section 228, Subsection 20 of the operating budget, in order to save this important resource.
 
Contact Governor Inslee:
            Phone: 360-902-4111
            E-message: https://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
 
Sample message:
 
Dear Governor Inslee,
As a public employee and a member of the Washington Public Employees Association, I am asking you to save the Naselle Youth Camp by vetoing Section 228, Subsection 20, of the operating budget. The Naselle Youth Camp helps at-risk youth gain experience and skills, working outdoors on our state lands. The forest crews based at Naselle are an important part of DNR’s wildfire response and silviculture activities. In a time of increasingly destructive wildfires, we shouldn’t take any steps to diminish our state’s fire response capacity. Please save this valuable resource and VETO Section 228, Subsection 20.