Coordinating group votes to recommend sunsetting after years of service

Nick Norton, policy and planning specialist at the Recreation and Conservation Office, opened the Habitat and Recreation Lands Coordinating Group’s spring meeting and framed a formal decision on whether the group should be recommended to sunset.

At SEG 313, Nikki Fields, planning and real estate program manager for Washington State Parks, moved “to approve a formal recommendation to the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board and the appropriate committees of the legislature that the existence of the Habitat and Recreation Lands Coordinating Group not be continued beyond 07/31/2027 and be allowed to sunset in accordance with RCW.” The motion was seconded and, after discussion, the group approved the recommendation.

Discussion preceding the vote focused on ensuring the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board and relevant legislative committees receive clear context for the recommendation. Brock Miller, policy and legislative director at the Recreation and Conservation Office, urged advance notification so RCFB members would not be surprised when the recommendation is presented. Don Gourley of the Puget Sound Partnership said he intended to vote with the recommendation and recommended including a summary of justification with any formal submission.

Several members requested the option to revisit the decision if strong public comment emerges: Norton said public comment would be accepted and, if substantive matters arose, the group could reconvene. Recorded abstentions during the roll call were from Robin Hamill (Department of Natural Resources), Yvonne Krause (executive director, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition), and Laurie Benson (Washington State conservation director, Trust for Public Land). The meeting facilitator said staff would prepare a director’s letter to accompany the recommendation and would brief the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board and relevant legislative committees before sunset legislation would take effect.

Why this matters: the group is authorized by statute to provide a recommendation to the RCFB and pertinent legislative committees about whether it should be reauthorized or allowed to sunset. If the legislature allows the sunset, the statutory authorization for the group would lapse on the date described in the motion.

Next steps: staff will draft and circulate a director’s letter that summarizes the conversation and rationale for the recommendation. RCO will brief the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board and coordinate any required outreach to legislative committees. The group also discussed holding a final or celebratory in‑person meeting if the sunset proceeds.

The motion language, abstentions, and discussion are recorded in the meeting transcript; the group adjourned after completing the rest of the agenda.