Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights
Since 1919, the go-to source for Northwest families’ outdoor planning
Washington Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights
Honoring family outdoor traditions and interests, the children of Washington have the right to discover and experience the outdoors through activities, including the following:
– Create an outdoor adventure; – Go fishing;
– Explore a trail; – Discover nature;
– Camp under the stars; – Explore Washington’s heritage;
– Play in a park, in the water, in the snow, on the rocks; – Go on a picnic;
– Go hunting; and learn to be safe around firearms and other outdoor tools. – Ride a horse
The Kittitas County Field and Stream Club board member, Jim Huckabay, County Auditor, Jerry Pettit, and County Commissioner, Gary Berndt, wrote the original statement to Senator Warnick for these activities to be part of the bill because we don’t want our traditions of outdoor activities and adventures to disappear, so that our future generations have the knowledge and fun we had while growing up. If we lose access to the outdoors by not preserving nature, animals, and forests due to a lack of knowledge and the drive to be outdoors, we will forever be at a disadvantage because the future will make decisions based on the experiences they have while growing up.
(Adopted by the Kittitas County Field & Stream Club Board of Directors, December 30, 2013)
Analysis and Breakdown of Bill 8613
The Kittitas County Field and Stream Club approached Senator Warnick to create a bill. The Kittitas County Field and Stream Club wanted to protect the future generations’ rights to outdoor activities that are slowly being limited by the government. Senators Warnick, Fraser, Kohl-Wells, and Roach wrote in agreement that Washington families and children should participate in outdoor activities and discover their heritage. They stated that studies have shown that children who are outdoors more often perform better in school, are healthier, and have better social skills. There are 13 states, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, that recognize this bill for the importance of it for their citizens.
“The Washington State Senate honor the tradition of engaging the vast wealth of Washington’s natural beauty and affirm that the children of Washington greatly beneifit by discovering and expierencing the outdoors through activities such as hiking, adventuring, camping, fishing, hunting, fmaily picnics, community parks, beach combing, and many more activities, thereby developing a relationship with Washington’s great natural resources and learning respect and safety for the tools of outdoor recreation and exploration.”
This was adopted by the Senate on February 27,2015 signed by Hunter G. Goodman, Secretary of the Senate
Follow the timeline of the Bill
