Paying for access to state parks

Has anyone else noticed it now costs $10 to visit a state park in Washington? How about the $99 fine for not purchasing the $10-a-day Discover Pass?

I have now had to cancel three planned day trips because of this wildly unreasonable new fee recently voted in by our desperate state government. I do not want to pay the Discover Pass fee because I should not have to.

What was once a free visit to Washington wilderness is now a cash cow for the state. A picnic at Spokane’s Bowl and Pitcher now costs $10 per vehicle per day.

The money for public services is a state duty. Our state is failing at this. The rapid rise of public costs being shifted onto citizens is alarming; most of these services have historically been paid for by the state. We already pay taxes to support our state government. It is not wise to continue to push funding onto the public by milking us for all we are worth.

State legislators, use your heads and figure out a better way to stop the economic bleeding. Nickel and diming your constituents is not the way to go.

Jeslyn Lemke

Cheney

(Editor’s note: The Discover Pass was implemented last year. A change signed last month by Gov. Chris Gregoire will allow a single pass to be used on two vehicles.)