Last month, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, urged House leadership to prioritize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program and extend access to vital funds for schools and infrastructure, according to a news release from her office.
In a letter to congressional colleagues, she reiterated the highlights of a similar letter she sent in September asking House leadership to “include a three-year extension of SRS in must-pass legislation.”
According to the U.S. Forest Service, funding needed to be passed before the end of January to avoid payment delays.
Gluesenkamp Perez calls the program a “lifeline,” especially for communities that rely on timber revenue. Designations of national forests and other restrictions have limited how much money local communities can extract from their area.
In Skamania County, just 1.8 percent of land can generate revenue for public services while 5.1 percent of the county’s budget comes from SRS.
“In 1990, Skamania County received $10 million from the active management of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (today’s equivalent is $22.4 million),” said Skamania County Commissioner Tom Lannen in the news release. “By 2001, that amount dropped to near zero and SRS was put in place to make up some of the loss. But it too has been continually reduced. In the last SRS package, we each received about $1.1 million. The reauthorization of these funds is critical to the schools and the county. Staff reduction is the primary tool to offset these losses. The county has lost over 90 positions (36 percent) in the last decade as a result of inflation, skyrocketing costs and ever-increasing government mandates. Schools have been even more impacted.”
Much like Skamania County, Lewis County has come to rely on this federal funding.
“The Secure Rural Schools funding is absolutely vital for the safety and growth of Lewis County,” Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer said. “With more than 1,200 miles of rural roadway to maintain, we rely on SRS funding to support critical infrastructure work, from chip-seal and pavement repairs to essential road services. Unfortunately, the dramatic decline in funding — from $2.2 million in 2006 to less than $700,000 in 2023 — has left us struggling to meet even our most basic maintenance goals. Each $1 million in funding allows us to repair 30 miles of road, but without adequate resources, we’re forced to delay or abandon projects, leading to more costly repairs down the line."
