Chamber Boost Transforms Leavenworth’s Recreation Ambassador Program
Leavenworth Recreation Ambassador Program receives a boost from Chelan County.
The county provides the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce's program an additional $90,000 to support the ambassador program, which supplements U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Rangers at trail head locations and underserved river locations.
The funds come in response to recent personnel reductions at the USFS and the ambassadors may serve as the primary workforce in the underserved areas the program covers.
The Ambassador Program will receive a total of $135,000 from the county this year. The funds come from the county's lodging tax funds, which are taxes hotels, motels, and short term rentals on overnight stays in the unincorporated areas of the county collect.
This is the Ambassador Program's fifth year in existence. This year, the program will increase from 10 weekends to 15 weekends starting the last weekend of May. During those weekends, two nonprofit organizations will provide six groups of two volunteers to staff each location for six hours. There will also be two full-time seasonal employees working for four-to-six months and two part-time seasonal employees working for 3-4 months.
The Chamber will partner with TREAD, which drives sustainabile outdoor recreation initiatives in North Central Washington, to launch "One for the Outdoors." This initiative gathers funds through point-of-sale options and direct contributions to support additional staffing and supplies the loding tax and Ambassador Program does not cover.
In 2024, the program interacted with over 14,000 visitors, colllected 129 bags of trash, and witnessed over 200 violations.
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Gallery Credit: Aly