Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler

[Skamania] 🚁 Reckless Hiker Fines & The FYS Funding Crisis - 5/5 Skamania BOCC

• Kate • Season 1 • Episode 22

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0:00 | 5:35

In this episode, we dive back into the new proposal to fine reckless hikers $1000, including the legal strategy to keep that money local. We also cover the urgent bureaucratic "pinch point" threatening the Forest Youth Success summer program and how local businesses can access federal disaster relief. This episode covers the Skamania County Board of Commissioners meeting held on May 5, 2026.

In This Episode:

  • The SAR Fine Debate: Why the Sheriff’s Office wants to bypass state revenue-sharing, and why rescue pros are worried it could make trails more dangerous.
  • The FYS Funding Crisis: A federal contract rejection has fifty-four local students in limbo.
  • SBA Disaster Relief: How to access up to two-million dollars in storm recovery loans.
  • Local Safety: A shout-out to the Crag Rats and where to find hiking safety essentials.

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SPEAKER_00

Hey there. Thanks for joining our Skamania Dispatch audio briefing covering the Scamania County Commissioners meeting for May 5th, 2026. I'm your host Kate, and today we're talking about a meeting that balanced some great community wins with some pretty serious concerns regarding youth programs and the safety of our trails this summer. Let's start with a program that's been a staple here since 2002, the Forest Youth Success Program, or FYS. If you've lived here a while, you know that this program's a big deal. It's helped over 900 local teens get their first paid jobs while fixing up our trails in the Gifford Pinchot. But right now, FYS is facing an existential threat. Marcus, the WSU program coordinator, told the commissioners that the federal government suddenly rejected a contract that was supposedly approved. This is a massive problem because they've already interviewed 54 local students who are interested in getting started this summer. Marcus says that June 1st is the absolute, quote, pinch point, unquote. If a new contract isn't cleared by them, the summer program simply won't happen. Local Forest Service staff are working overtime to fix the paperwork, and as Commissioner Ferris noted during the meeting, their commitment to jumping through every possible hoop to save these jobs is truly appreciated. I know what this program accomplishes every summer and how much it means to all the kids is quite a big deal, so I'm really glad to see all hands on deck here. Turning now to backcountry, we all know our trails attract thousands of visitors, and our local emergency resources, as we've heard over several of these updates so far, are being stretched incredibly thin by a surge of unprepared tourists. To address this, the board just moved forward with a public hearing for a new law being suggested by the Sheriff's Office. Ordinance 2026-01. Basically, this means that if passed, the county could issue a$1,000 civil fine to anyone who needs a search and rescue mission because of, quote, negligence or recklessness, unquote. Now there is a specific strategic reason this is being drafted as a local county ordinance rather than a state-level infraction. The Sheriff's Office is trying to bypass state revenue sharing laws, which means Scamania County would get to keep 100% of that fine money to try and partially recoup some of those local costs of a search and rescue operation. We brought up some of the complications with this policy strategy in a prior episode. To recap, professional rescue organizations across the country actually oppose these kinds of fines, which they colloquially call stupid hiker fines, quote unquote. They argue that the threat of a massive bill just makes people wait to call for help. They delay until, say, the sun goes down or the weather gets worse. It turns what could have been a fast, simple rescue into a longer, more dangerous ordeal for both the person needing help and for rescuers. So if this fine passes, it'll also be up to a local district court judge to figure out the legal difference between a simple mistake and negligence, which might end up then just passing the cost from one part of local government and the related tax expenditures to another. So, quite a complicated set of decisions to make. I know I'm really looking forward to the hearing because it's a great time for us to talk about some of the expertise that's out there that can help us make decisions about whether or not this is a good fit for our county. For our local business owners, there's some help on the horizon regarding those nasty winter storms we had back in December. Tonem Moorhead from the Small Business Administration joined the meeting to announce that disaster loans are now open. Businesses can apply for up to$2 million to help with physical damage or economic injury. If you want to learn more, there's an info session at the Scamania Chamber of Commerce on May 21st at 4.30 p.m. Just keep in mind, the deadline for physical damage claims is going to come up really quick on June 10th. Finally, a quick look at our water access. Friction is growing at the Wind of the River boat launch and the areas near some of the recreational launches by the tunnels. Between guided fishing, kite boarding, windsurfing, wing foiling, canoeing, kayaking, you name it, our local spots are really feeling the squeeze, especially as summer hits us kind of early this year. Parking near the tunnels is becoming a real safety hazard as people crowd the highway shoulders. Commissioners are currently working with the state fishing guides and the Army Corps of Engineers to find a way to manage all this growth without losing the character of our recreation spots and all the access to our beautiful river that makes this place what it is. So I wanted to say if you use these spots and have an idea of where you might like to see, say, overflow parking or have other ideas for how areas can be made safer in their access and getting people from their cars with their equipment to the river, I really highly recommend that you reach out to the commission whose contact is in our show notes. Having this sort of on-the-ground knowledge of people who've been visiting these spots for many years is helpful in determining what solutions have been considered before, what might be practical, and any spots that you might like to see, for example, become a new launch point. I think all ideas are on the table, especially as the popularity of our area is only going to grow over the next years. So that's the big news for this week. If you want to see the full list of the quote unquote 10 essentials that you need to bring out with you when hiking so you can stay safe and have fun, or find the links for those SBA loans, head over to the text version of this update at schemania dispatch.com. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, home of the Schmania Dispatch and the Click Tattler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the gorge, head over to schemania dispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com/slash opengorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and please enjoy the sunshine. We'll talk to you next time.