STANWOOD — Under a proposal before the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, 33 rentable cabins would be closed permanently at Cama Beach Historical State Park.
The commission is considering the move because of the park’s native history, sea level rise and the cost of fixing septic issues, members said during a meeting held Monday in Stanwood.
The commission is slated to decide the issue on Oct. 10. The cabins have been closed since Feb. 26 because of a septic system failure.
“We really understand the significance and the value of this park to the local community that has, you know, lived here for decades now,” said commission chair Sophia Danenberg during the meeting.
Nearly every public commenter asked the commission to consider keeping and repairing the cabins. Friends of Camano Island Parks, a nonprofit, is asking the commission to not close the cabins.
“We encourage Washington State Parks to find a creative and responsible solution to the dire situation at the cabins and beach area at Cama Beach Historic Park,” the organization said in a statement Wednesday. “Many of our senior members were very instrumental in establishing the park, and they are deeply disappointed in the proposed path forward from Washington State Parks. The recreational and educational value of Cama Beach Historic Park should not be taken from the thousands of people who stay and visit the park every year.”
The Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855 removed Indigenous people from the land. It gave the United States rights to thousands of acres stretching from below Puget Sound to the Canadian border. The treaty included the land that is now Cama Beach Historical State Park.
Cama Beach then became a logging camp before a resort was built there in 1934. The state bought it in 1993.
Washington State Parks opened Cama Beach Historical State Park in 2008 after a bitter legal battle with the Tulalip Tribes that stretched for years. The site is of deep historical importance, with evidence uncovered in 2005 that indigenous people used the area up to 1,600 years ago.
The sensitivity of the site was brought up by state parks officials as one reason to close the cabins. The park draws about 270,000 visitors per year, state officials said.
“It’s a well-known fact that there are human remains here. And when the park was in the design and construction phase 20 years ago, human remains were uncovered,” said Michael Hankinson, a program manager with the state during the meeting. “This is where things become complicated.”
Hankinson then cited state law, which says, “Native Indian burial grounds and historic graves are acknowledged to be a finite, irreplaceable, and nonrenewable cultural resource, and are an intrinsic part of the cultural heritage of the people of Washington.”
In a statement, Tulalip Tribes chairwoman Teri Gobin said she supported the effort to close the cabins.
“The Tulalip Tribes supports the Washington State Parks’ recommendation to permanently close the cabins at Cama Beach,” Gobin said. “The people of the Tulalip Tribes — specifically one of its predecessors, sduhubš — occupied this area since time immemorial and the cultural significance of this area to the Tulalip Tribes cannot be overstated. The Tulalip Tribes shares the environmental concerns conveyed by Washington State Parks and opposes any ground disturbing activities in this culturally rich and sensitive area.”
Washington State Parks told The Herald in May that nothing has been recovered during recent work at Cama Beach. A spokesperson also said no recent excavations have taken place at the site. The state’s Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation has not been involved in the Cama Beach process, said Allyson Brooks, the state historic preservation officer and director for the department.
“It sounded for a spell that our agency might be involved but State Parks made the decision to handle this internally,” Brooks wrote in an email.
Public records show the state entered into a contract with ADC Wastewater on Jan. 16, 2024, for “Design and Construction Administration Services” at a cost of about $43,000. ADC Wastewater did not respond to a request for comment.
The work surrounded a lift station at the park that was “not pumping waste” into the drain field. Leaking septic systems are a large issue in Island County, with some homeowners going so far as to create their own wastewater system to try and fix the problem themselves.
Public records also show the state also entered into a contract with Greenworks of Washington, LLC, for “sewage pumping-emergency services” late last year at Cama Beach.
“There are numerous problems with the sewer system, buried electrical infrastructure and pumps – some of which have failed already,” state parks spokesperson Clare DeLong said in an email. “We are manually pumping to keep the Cama Center open, but most of the park is using portable toilets to keep pressure off the system.”
Climate change compounds the issues for Cama Beach, especially rising sea level projections. To the south, Snohomish County has spent $20 million to renovate Kayak Point County Park, including money to help reduce damage from rising sea levels.
A seawall that protects Cama Beach is also falling apart, Hankinson told the commission.
“Flooding has damaged our electrical, sewer and water systems,” Hankinson said. “Sea water intrusion inundates holding tanks. We’ve already witnessed that king tides flood the site and the situation is likely to get worse. Recent sea level risk modeling for the park paints a concerning picture for the future.”
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.
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