In Sequim, Senator Murray Affirms Commitment to Protect Public Lands, Invest in Forest Service and National Parks; Murray Reiterates Strong Opposition to Repeal of Roadless Rule and Continues Fight to Pass Wild Olympics Bill

Senator Murray’s Wild Olympics Bill Would Protect Olympic Peninsula Public Lands & Salmon Streams Against Trump Administration Threats ICYMI : Senator Murray’s Wild Olympics Bill Advances Through Key Senate Hearing on Wave of New Sportsmen Endorsements Calling for Permanent Protection of Wild Olympics Photos of Wild Olympics available for use HERE ***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL OF EVENT HERE *** Sequim, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a roundtable discussion with local elected officials, environmental advocates, sportsmen, shellfish farmers, and a former Superintendent of Olympic National Park to talk about the Trump administration’s attacks on the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and how they are threatening Washington state’s economy, clean water, salmon, and public lands on the Olympic Peninsula. The Trump administration has pushed out thousands of USFS staff, frozen federal funding, may shutter USFS research stations in Wenatchee and Seattle, threatened to sell off public land and build in America’s national parks, and moved to roll back the roadless rule. The roadless rule currently protects over two million acres of pristine national forest backcountry lands in Washington State, including some of the most critical headwaters and salmon streams in the Olympic National Forest. The same ancient rainforest headwaters and upstream salmon habitat and rivers on public land that Senator Murray’s Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would permanently protect. The Wild Olympics bill has a broad coalition of 800 endorsing local Tribes, businesses, local elected officials, faith leaders, conservation, and outdoor recreation groups, and over 40 leading sportsmen organizations fighting together to pass it in Congress. Murray has been outspoken in her strong opposition to the repeal of the roadless rule. “Here on the Peninsula we all know that the Olympic National Park and National Forest support thousands of jobs in recreation and timber, keep our watersheds healthy, and protect our communities from wildfire. But this administration doesn’t seem to care. From denying climate change to gutting the Forest Service and National Parks—they’re putting not only the livelihoods and culture of this community in jeopardy but its safety as well. This administration has seriously weakened the Forest Service’s ability to do its job by pushing out thousands of critical staff, blocking funding for crucial programs, and chaotically changing rules and procedures on a dime,” said Senator Murray. “I am fighting to reverse these cuts to our parks and our forests, pass my Wild Olympics bill, and codify the Roadless Rule. And while I am committed to protecting funding for the Forest Service and our National Parks—it’s important to have conversations today about what will be needed to rebuild and strengthen our Forest Service and National Parks in the long-term . President Trump will not have the final word here—I’ll be fighting tooth and nail to keep public lands in public hands , and protect the natural resources and environment that make Washington state the greatest place to live in America.” Senator Murray heard from key local voices about the impact the Trump Administration’s staffing cuts and attacks on public lands are having on the Olympic Peninsula. They said the rollback of key administrative safeguards are threatening ancient forests, salmon streams, sources of clean water vital to the shellfish industry, and drinking water to local communities, and they urged her to do everything she can to pass the Wild Olympics bill before it’s too late for public lands and salmon. David Morris, Former Olympic National Park Superintendent (Sequim): “By way of introduction, I spent 25 rewarding years managing national parks in several western states, including as superintendent of Olympic National Park from 1994 to 2002. During this time the administrations had varying priorities. Policies, including budgets and staffing levels vacillated but generally stayed within margins that allowed for managing our national parks according to our assigned mission. This has changed dramatically in the last 2 years. I’ve never seen a time when so few people have and continue destroying the pillars that have guided the park service for generations. This has sacrificed and continues to jeopardize every aspect of the what the NPS provides for current and future visitors for their safety and enjoyment including cutting permanent staff by 24%, ignoring basic maintenance, infrastructure upgrades and operational needs. Funding and support have been cut for critical environmental and scientific issues. National parks bring crucial and positive economic impacts to local communities. The clock is ticking. I venture to say that some of the now ignored operational and maintenance needs, disastrous staffing losses, and critically, a recognition of environmental values and scientific studies are disastrous and shameful. Some of these needs, and others, can be addressed fairly quickly if/when resources are available. Others, especially efforts to correct and reverse ongoing environmental damage and canceled scientific studies will take longer if ever. But we have no choice other than giving it our best effort.” Amy Howard, Mayor of Port Townsend (Port Townsend): “ Staffing and funding cuts at our federal land agencies have made it harder to keep trails and recreational infrastructure open and safe for the hikers and paddlers and hunters who come here or live here, and for the local businesses that depend on them. The proposal that concerns me most as mayor of Port Townsend is the U.S. Forest Service’s effort to repeal the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For 25 years, this rule has kept new roads out of the last unroaded stretches of the Olympic National Forest, protecting old growth, wildlife habitat and clean water. The Quilcene Roadless Area is the source of drinking water for about 16,000 area residents and businesses for Port Townsend. Because that watershed has stayed undeveloped and unroaded, the water arrives clean enough that it needs very little treatment before it reaches our taps. The city has worked with the Forest Service for over 95 years to protect that source, and the Roadless Rule has backstopped that work for the last 25. That is why I’m one of the more than 800 tribes, elected officials and local stakeholders who have endorsed the Wild Olympics legislation now in Congress, which would give most of the roadless areas in the Olympic National Forest, including our drinking water source, permanent legislative protection instead of the administrative protection we have now, which is clearly fragile.” Bill Taylor, Vice President of Taylor Shellfish Farms (Shelton): “The Wild Olympics legislation will help protect our state’s shellfish industry, including hundreds of shell fishing jobs in Hood Canal alone – and many more in related industries like processing, shipping, and sales. It protects the rivers and streams vital to the health of our hatcheries and to the health and restoration of Puget Sound. Our oyster beds depend on the clean, cold, silt-free water that drains off Olympic National Forest into Hood Canal. Protecting these watersheds allows our industry to grow, expand and continue to benefit the economy and ecology of Washington State.” Ashley Nichole Lewis, Bad Ash Outdoors (Taholah), a spokesperson for Sportsmen For Wild Olympics , and Member of the Quinault Indian Nation: “Wild Olympics protects the Olympic Peninsula’s ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and salmon streams for the future. It will protect & enhance fishing and hunting access without closing any roads, but it also permanently protects some of the last healthy upstream salmon and steelhead habitat left on the peninsula. That’s why Sportsmen For Wild Olympics just launched a new effort to fight USDA’s plan to log roadless headwaters on Olympic National Forest with a map of the salmon streams at risk that also shows how the Wild Olympics Act would protect them. The map tells Congress & the Administration: protect the Olympic Peninsula’s backcountry headwaters & salmon streams on public lands—don’t privatize or develop them. Just like what they did to the Boundary Waters, rescinding the Roadless Rule is yet another attempt to give away our public lands to private special interests—at the expense of salmon, clean water, and future generations. The map shows how the Wild Olympics proposal would protect key areas like South Quinault Ridge & Moonlight Dome, which form the headwaters of the Humptulips River, a top trophy fishing river in Washington State, and other core ancient forest headwaters & rivers vital for hunting & fishing on the Peninsula —areas the Administration now plans to open for logging by rescinding the Roadless Rule.” Sportsmen For Wild Olympics also keeps a running tally of sportsmen outlets detailing the avalanche of threats to public lands from the administration and congress. Tim McNulty, Olympic Park Advocates and Co-Founder of the Wild Olympics Campaign (Quilcene): “The reason we first began the Wild Olympics Campaign was to give permanent, statutory Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections to the last healthy intact salmon habitat in the upper parts of the watersheds on Olympic National Forest. There have been incredible Tribal, private and public efforts and resources poured in to restoring the degraded habitat downstream, but the healthy intact habitat upstream still lacks permanent protection. The Roadless Rule repeal would open these areas up to development. Senator Murray’s Wild Olympics Act would permanently protect them against threats like these for or future.” Connie Gallant, Chair, Wild Olympics Campaign (Quilcene): “We are so grateful for Senator Murray and Representative Randall’s leadership at this critical time for our public lands. The local momentum for the Wild Olympics Act has never been stronger and the need for its protections for our ancient forests & salmon streams has never been greater.” As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in the Interior and Environment appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026, which Senator Murray negotiated and helped pass into law, Murray worked to reject the Trump administration’s attempts to decimate America’s cherished public lands, and delivered critical investments to our National Parks and forests, in Washington state and across the country. In FY26, she secured $6.13 billion for the U.S. Forest Service, with separate additional funding for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve. The bill rejected the steep $1.4 billion cut to the Forest Service’s non-fire budget proposed by President Trump and provides funding for the Forest Service to improve forest restoration and fire risk reduction efforts on federal lands. The FY26 bill also fully funds essential wildfire preparedness and suppression efforts by providing $4.25 billion for wildfire suppression, of which $2.85 billion is for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund and continues to support the increased pay for federal firefighters enacted into law last year. In FY26, Senator Murray also secured $3.27 billion for the National Park Service, including $2.87 billion for the operation of the National Park System—$1.15 billion higher than the level requested by Trump. The bill provides the resources to sustain FY24 staffing levels and provides the funding necessary to support a full complement of seasonal staff during FY26. Senator Murray continues to push back against Trump’s FY27 budget request , to protect our public lands. Senator Murray has been a leading voice raising the alarm on how the Trump administration’s funding freezes, punishing cuts to the workforce, and mass reorganization at the U.S. Forest Service and other key agencies are seriously undermining wildfire preparedness and response in Washington state. Earlier this year, Senator Murray fought back against Trump’s proposed cuts to key programs and reorganization at USDA that could threaten resources for wildland firefighting, and pressed USFS Chief Schultz for more information on reports noting National Forest Trails were understaffed following widespread firings. Last year in a Senate hearing, Senator Murray pressed Schultz on how the mass layoffs and funding freezes were putting wildfire preparedness in jeopardy. Senator Murray also joined forces with Senator Merkley and wildfire officials to lay out how the Trump administration’s cuts and layoffs are threatening wildfire preparedness across the Pacific Northwest. Last year, Senator Murray also released a report on how the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service hurt Washington state and threaten wildfire response in the parks. A fact sheet on the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is available HERE . ###