Governor Appoints Director of Recreation and Conservation Office

OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee today announced the appointment of Megan Duffy as the new director of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), the largest state agency grantor of funding for outdoor recreation and habitat conservation efforts in Washington. She replaces Kaleen Cottingham, who is retiring and has served the agency since 2007. Duffy, of […]

March 31, 2021
State, Partners Invite the Public to Take the Pledge to Help Save Salmon

OLYMPIA–The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) is inviting all Washingtonians to commit to actions to help recover endangered salmon populations with a new Web app: Washington Salmon Stewardship. The app allows people to take a pledge to do one thing for salmon and mark their location on a map. The pledges will be […]

March 23, 2021
Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington Goes Virtual

OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee, in partnership with the Washington Invasive Species Council, has proclaimed Feb. 22-28 as Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington. Invasive species threaten our economy, environment, recreation opportunities and can even harm our health,” Inslee said. “I’m calling on everyone who loves this state we call home to become aware of invasive species […]

February 16, 2021
Washington State Council Updates Statewide Strategy to Prevent Invasive Species

OLYMPIA–The Washington Invasive Species Council approved an updated statewide strategy to prevent invading plants and animals from taking hold in the state’s forests, waters and farms. The strategy calls for a broad range of actions focusing on preventing new species from establishing here, educating the public and rapidly deploying when species are found to prevent […]

January 27, 2021
New State Report Shows Salmon Still Near Brink of Extinction

OLYMPIA–A new report from the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office shows that many salmon populations still are teetering on the brink of extinction and without drastic changes to how Washington addresses climate change and population growth, may not survive. The report, titled State of Salmon in Watersheds, shows that 10 of the 14 species of salmon […]

January 14, 2021
State Unveils App for Viewing Public Lands

OLYMPIA–Recreation and conservation lands managed by local, state and federal governments now can be viewed easily online in a new mapping application, the Recreation and Conservation Office announced today. The Public Lands Inventory Web app displays more than 18.8 million acres of public lands used for recreation or wildlife habitat in Washington. Information also is […]

November 23, 2020