New vehicle pass

Published 12:01 am Thursday, May 19, 2011

Governor Christine Gregoire late last week signed legislation which creates the new Discover Pass, required as of July 1 for vehicle access to recreation lands and water-access sites managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, State Parks, and DNR. The pass will cost $30 annually, or $10 for a single-day use, and proceeds will be split 84 percent to Parks, and 8 percent each to WDFW and DNR. It will be required at parks, boat launches, campgrounds, heritage sites, wildlife and natural areas, trails and trailheads.

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The new pass will be available after mid-June through fish/hunt license outlets, or online through the WDFW’s website.

Jennifer Quan, WDFW’s Lands Division manager, said if you have, as a fishing/hunting license holder, one of the yellow Vehicle Use Permits issued with current major licenses, it will be valid through March 31, 2012, but only on WDFW lands, not Parks or DNR.

Some “minor” licenses and/or day-specific permits did not, and will not, provide a free Vehicle Use Permit.

At the purchase of your next “major” fishing or hunting license, you will be issued a free Vehicle Access Pass (note the new name), good for WDFW lands but not Parks or DNR. This VAP will not be a Discover Pass, Quan emphasized, and it will work on WDFW wildlife areas and water access sites only, not at parks or on Department of Natural Resources designated recreation lands or sites.

If you hunt on DNR lands, you can see that the Discover Pass setup would seem to benefit fishermen more than hunters, since you will likely be required to buy a separate Discover Pass, while most only-fishermen will not.