Environment Oregon highlights state park in Union County

Published 10:00 pm Tuesday, July 29, 2025

UNION — There are many issues that split Oregon along the urban-rural divide, but one thing people tend to agree on — our natural spaces are a crucial part of what make this state great.

This summer, Environment Oregon worked to highlight state parks throughout rural Oregon, conservation advocate Justin Boyles said, while also giving local community members in those areas a chance to voice their opinions on how they utilize the parks and what issue they want to see addressed.

“Our parks are one of the things that make Oregon a cool place to live,” he said.

Community members are invited to join Environment Oregon from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 1, for a guided walk at Catherine Creek State Park in partnership with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The walk is family friendly and free to attend.

Boyles will open with a short introduction about the organization and the Support Oregon’s State Parks campaign before handing out a brief survey to attendees. The aim is to gather information on state park usage and elevate the voices of people who live in the regions where the parks are located.

“We need your voices,” Boyles said.

He will then turn things over to Justin Paulsen, park manager of the Blue Mountain Management Unit.

Paulsen will lead the group on a stroll and speak about what makes Catherine Creek State Park special — highlighting the landscape, native plant species and any signs of local wildlife. The park manager may also speak to the work that goes into maintaining the area by both staff and volunteers, as well as ways people can get involved.

“The more the merrier,” Boyles said.

Support Oregon’s State Parks Campaign

Environment Oregon is a state-wide nonprofit organization based in Portland that works for clean air, clean water and clean energy in the state and works to protect wildlife and open spaces.

“Everything we do is around protecting our natural world,” Boyles said. “We prioritize work that will bring communities and people together.”

As part of the organization’s Support Oregon’s State Parks campaign, Environment Oregon is looking at ways to bring more reliable and robust funding to the state park system. While state parks cater to every level of outdoor enthusiasts and bring in tourism, Boyles said, the department is also facing funding issues — with $215 million in deferred maintenance costs, which grows annually by $15 million.

So, Boyles said, Environment Oregon is looking to bring another solution before the Legislature. What if, rather than having Oregonians pay for day use passes or annual passes to access parks, there was an optional fee people could pay when registering their cars that would go toward supporting state parks?

Out-of-state visitors still would need to pay for day use passes.

The fee would be priced to be less expensive than the price of an annual pass and indexed to inflation. The organization is thinking of a $19 yearly optional fee, according to Boyles, which would come out to $38 since Oregonians register their vehicles every two years.

Nearly a dozen other states, including Montana and Colorado, have implemented a similar system.

Oregon Parks and Rec brought in $10 million from day use passes and annual passes in 2023, Boyles said, but under the proposed system the department would have received $17 million if just 25% of Oregonians opted in. This seems like an obtainable percentage given that Montana has seen a 86% participation rate.

In Colorado, Boyles said, after the targeted amount of funding is raised, the overflow amount is directed to other outdoor necessities, such as wild fire efforts.