Frequently Asked Questions

Increasing State Funds for WWRP Grants

How does the WWRP affect Local Tax Revenues?
The WWRP’s 2005 amendments require state agencies to make payments in lieu of property taxes (PILT) to local governments for all habitat land acquired by the program and taken off the property tax roles.  The PILT payment is equal to the open space tax rate paid by private landowners. The state is also required pay property assessments for weed control, local improvement districts, fire districts and all similar payments at the same rates as private landowners.

How does the WWRP help Local Governments?
Cities, counties and other local governments are eligible to apply for grants in the WWRP’s local parks, trails, water access, urban wildlife, riparian and farmland categories.  To date counties have received $66M for 140 projects and cities have received $107M for 349 projects.  The new riparian category helps local governments implement shoreline and comprehensive land-use plans, and the farmland category helps them conserve working farms.

Does the WWRP help the State Maintain its Land?
The WWRP provides funding to Washington’s departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources for capital projects that help maintain or restore our state’s habitat and recreation lands. The WWRP also requires the state to pay property assessments for weed control, so if a state agency does not maintain its property, neighbors can contact the local weed board. 

How does the WWRP affect Property Rights?
The WWRP promotes property rights by working with willing sellers to provide an alternative to regulation.  Because the WWRP does not include any condemnation authority or land use regulation, each acquisition requires both a willing buyer and willing seller.

How does the WWRP Maintain Local Control?
Communities needing new parks, ball fields or bike trails can apply to the WWRP for matching grants, which allows them to effectively leverage state dollars for local concerns.  State agencies are eligible to apply for WWRP projects, but the RCO’s (formerly the IAC) competitive ranking process gives preference to projects that comply with local land use and open space plans.  The process also requires that county commissioners be notified about the WWRP application.  If a project is not welcome in a community, then legislators from the district may ask that it be removed from the list.

How does the WWRP Help Farmers?
The WWRP’s new Farmland Preservation category provides $9 million to cities and counties, and these agencies will match the grants, doubling the investment. The grants can be used for easements to help farmers sell the development rights on their land, lifting much of the financial pressure to develop and allowing them to continue farming. They also compensate them should they choose to put some portion of their farm into wildlife habitat.  If a local government buys a farm, they must attempt to resell it to a private landowner to keep it in agricultural production.

How does the WWRP help keep our Waterways Clean?
Land conservation helps keep our waters clean by reducing surface run-off and helping aquifers to recharge, making WWRP funding a key component to protecting the long term health of Puget Sound, the Columbia basin and even our drinking water. The WWRP’s new Riparian category provides $19 million to acquire and restore vital fresh and marine waters.  Local projects are matched, doubling the investment.  According to the Recreation and Conservation Office, the WWRP projects funded in 2007 include 33 projects that help protect Puget Sound.  They add up to $21 million, and local matching funds raise the total to $51 million.

What does the Riparian Protection Category Fund?
The WWRP’s new Riparian Account funds acquisitions and restorations along waterways.  It helps cities and counties implement their shoreline and comprehensive land-use plans.  Projects are for acquisition or restoration of lands adjacent to water bodies.  This includes rivers, streams, wetlands, estuaries, and salt water shorelines.  Both salmon and non-salmon habitat is eligible and all state and local agencies are eligible, including lead entities, tribes, and park, port, school, and conservation districts.
 
How are WWRP Applications Evaluated?
The Recreation and Conservation Office (formerly the IAC) is the state agency that administers the WWRP grant program.  The RCO takes each application through an award-winning competitive process, beginning with consistency with local recreation or open space plans. The projects then go through a peer-review process.  Written applications and verbal presentations are evaluated by a team of experts from state and local agencies and the general public according to the benefits of the project, the level of threat to the property and the amount of community support.  Then projects are ranked within each category. 

How does the Legislature Determine the WWRP Budget?
The Governor submits the list of projects to the Legislature, along with a requested funding level in the Capital Budget.  The legislature reviews the list and the Governor’s budget in the House Capital Budget and Senate Ways and Means committees.  Because the legislation that implements the Capital Budget requires a 60% vote, the WWRP requires bipartisan support on the floor of each house to pass.

What’s the distribution of WWRP funds?
Funding for the WWRP’s new Riparian Protection and Farmland Preservation accounts kick in once the appropriation exceeds $40 million, but these categories are not well funded unless the appropriation approaches $100 million.

                        Breakdown in Each WWRP Account

Is there Monitoring and Accountability?
After the legislature approves the ranked lists and the capital budget, the RCO enters into contracts with project sponsors.  This rigorous process ensures only the highest quality projects are funded, provides fiscal accountability, establishes timelines for project completion, and sets requirements for the long-term protection of the site. 

What did the 2005 WWRP Amendments do?
In 2005, the legislature updated the program by adding two new categories to protect and preserve family farms and the state’s rivers, streams and shorelines.  The amendments also require state agencies to make payments in lieu of property taxes and payments to local weed boards for all WWRP habitat lands.  These are the first amendments since the inception of this highly acclaimed program and they were passed by a strong majority in the House and unanimously by the Senate.   

How is the $100M distributed?
WWRP appropriations are statutorily distributed as follows:

Outdoor Recreation—$36 M

• Local Parks $10.8 M
• State Parks $10.8 M
• Trails $7.2 M
• Water Access $5.4 M
• State Land Development $1.8 M

Riparian Habitat Protection—$19 M

Habitat Conservation—$36 M

• Critical Habitat $14.4 M
• Natural Areas $10.8 M
• Urban Wildlife Habitat $7.2 M
• State Land Restoration $3.6 M

Farmland Preservation—$9 M

Where does the Money come from?
WWRP grants are funded in the state’s capital construction budget, primarily from the sale of general obligation bonds.  They do not compete with operating dollars for smaller class sizes and human services. 

How Much Land is Enough?
This question is the most difficult to answer.  Some communities use empirical standards, but they have their limitations.  This issue will always be debated by those who wish to have a bright line test, and those who seek a qualitative, not quantitative, solution.  In the end, as long as our population continues to grow, families need places to play, wildlife need protection from development, and aquifers need to recharge so we have clean drinking water and healthy waterways, we will never be done.  Someday we will learn that our quality of life is commensurate with the quality of all life around us. 

How does the WWRP Leverage Matching Funds?
To date the WWRP has leveraged $315 million in local matching funds from local governments which are required to match WWRP grants by 50%, doubling the state’s investment.  And by providing state funds to meet the match required for federal programs like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Coastal Wetland grants, Washington State was the single largest recipient of federal funding for habitat conservation in 2003, receiving 24% of federal endangered species conservation funds.  This could not have happened without the availability of WWRP funds.

Can Projects be Added or Removed from the List?
Once the Recreation and Conservation Office (formerly the IAC) ranks the applications, the Governor and Legislature may remove projects, but they can not add them or rearrange the list.  This protects the integrity of the RCO’s award-winning competitive process.
 
What Agencies are Eligible for WWRP Grants?
Local agencies include counties, cities, towns, tribes, and port, park, school and conservation districts, and they are eligible to apply for grants for local parks, trails, water access, riparian protection and urban wildlife habitat.  Local agencies must provide a 50% match.  Farmland grants are restricted to cities and counties.  State agencies can apply for critical habitat, natural areas, urban wildlife habitat, riparian protection, state parks and stewardship funds. 

How do Local Businesses benefit from the WWRP?
Outdoor recreation-related tourism is a major source of revenue in our state.  Local and state sales tax revenues are generated by campers, boaters, hunters and others visiting state parks and wildlife lands.  New sources of revenue are often generated by tourists, businesses and retirees who are drawn to the area by mountains, clean air, wildlife and scenic vistas.  According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2002 nearly 2.5 million people participated in wildlife activities in Washington and they spent $2.1 billion locally.

How is the WWRP good for the Economy?
Businesses know that protecting the environment is good for local economies.  People want to live and work in scenic areas and our communities attract companies that value the region’s natural amenities.  By protecting our natural resources, the WWRP helps to ensure that our state’s businesses continue to attract and keep quality employees.  That’s why major employers like Boeing, Microsoft, Puget Sound Energy, John L. Scott Real Estate, REI and Port Blakely support the Coalition.  The Coalition is also supported by the Washington Realtors, Wa. Forest Protection Association and Wa. State Grange.

Why is the WWRP good for Kids?
Outdoor recreation is the way we experience nature and keep active.  When we hike, hunt, swim and fish we connect with nature in ways unavailable to us on a daily basis.  As our state’s population has increased, so has demand for ball parks, trails, access to shorelines and other recreation areas.  For the many children who live in suburban and urban areas, opportunities to exercise while exploring the outdoors are disappearing.  Our wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation areas, funded by the WWRP, help keep kids active and prevent childhood obesity by exposing kids to the many wonders and mysteries of the natural world.

How does the WWRP affect Climate Change?
The WWRP has permanently protected nearly 300,000 acres, and much of this land is forested.  Trees and other vegetation use carbon dioxide from the air to photosynthesize, storing carbon in their leaves and limbs as they grow.  And as the single largest source of funding for non-motorized trails in this state, the WWRP provides safe opportunities for people to get out of their cars.    

How can my Community Apply for WWRP Grants?
Only state and local agencies are eligible to apply for WWRP grants, so you will need to find a local agency that’s interested in the property.  The Trust for Public Land and local land trusts regularly collaborate with state and local governments to apply for grants. Your local agency needs to contact the Recreation and Conservation Office (formerly the IAC), which administers the WWRP grant program.  The next application deadline is in the spring of 2008.
 
What’s the Role of the Coalition?
Since 1989, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition has worked to secure legislative funding for WWRP grants. The WWRP provides state funds for new parks, trails, wildlife habitat and working farms. Because of the work of the Coalition, children can play in more parks and ball fields, hunters, anglers and hikers have more access to our great outdoors, and more habitat for salmon and wildlife is safe for future generations.

What has the Coalition Accomplished?
Over the last eighteen years, the Coalition has successfully advocated for $550 million in state funds for the WWRP grant program.  This money leveraged an additional $410 million in local matching funds, for a total of $960 million.  Federal matching funds raise the total well over $1 billion.  The WWRP has funded 910 projects, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres of parks, ball fields and wildlife habitat across the state.  This means more soccer fields for our children, more state parks for our families, better habitat for salmon and an improved quality of life for our state’s citizens.

Why is the Coalition Effective?
The Coalition is a diverse group of over 130 businesses and organizations.  Individuals representing a variety of interests including hunters, farmers, anglers, hikers, conservationists, timber companies and realtors and elected officials make up one of the most effective boards of directors in the state.  The Coalition enjoys unparalleled success and bipartisan support. 

Former Governors Dan Evans and Mike Lowry, co-chair the Board, which includes legislators from both parties.  Through the Coalition businesses, like Boeing, Weyerhauser and John L. Scott Real Estate, work hand in hand with non-profits such as The Nature Conservancy, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Washington Environmental Council to protect wildlife habitat and provide outdoor recreation opportunities.

See also: Fact Sheet on WWRP Increase