Making Roadless Protections for the Dungeness Permanent through Wild Olympics

On the northeast side of Olympic National Park, you will find the Dungeness River, a free-flowing river whose waters start among the peaks of the park’s interior and flow to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the waterway that separates the United States from Canada. 

It’s not easy to visit. Tucked away down a dodgy forest road in an isolated part of the state, the river rewards those who make the trek with crystal-clear streams and bright green forests. The Upper Dungeness River is more than a scenic landscape, though. It supports critical salmon habitat, provides clean drinking water for downstream communities, and plays an essential role in flood mitigation and overall watershed health. For Tribes with deep cultural and subsistence ties to the river and its fisheries, the Dungeness is inseparable from history, identity, and ongoing stewardship.

Photo by: Dave Sheffler

Much of this intact landscape has remained healthy precisely because it has avoided industrial development. For decades, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule has helped safeguard places like the Upper Dungeness by limiting new roads and logging in some of our most ecologically valuable national forest lands.

While the Dungeness’ headwaters are protected by the Buckhorn Wilderness, a large stretch of the river runs through an inventoried roadless area and is therefore just a pen stroke away from sell-off by an anti-public lands administration. If the Roadless Rule is repealed, these protections could disappear overnight, leaving vulnerable watersheds like the Dungeness exposed to new development pressures and downstream impacts.

Wild Olympics is an ambitious Wilderness bill that would permanently protect more than 126,000 acres of National Forest land as designated Wilderness and 19 rivers as Wild and Scenic Rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. In the spring of 2025, Senator Murray and Representative Randall reintroduced the bill in Congress. The legislation would provide durable, permanent safeguards for the Peninsula’s most priceless natural treasures: our towering ancient forests, free-flowing rivers, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and clean water. In doing so, Wild Olympics would build on the foundation of the Roadless Rule by locking in long term protections that cannot be undone by administrative rollbacks.

Over the last decade, Wild Olympics has worked with neighbors in every community on the Peninsula to build support from diverse local voices, listen to concerns, and gather feedback to shape the proposal. More than 12,000 Peninsula residents have written letters or signed petitions, and more than 800 Peninsula and Hood Canal area businesses, farms, faith leaders, sportsmen groups, elected officials, conservation organizations, outdoor recreation groups, and civic groups have endorsed Wild Olympics. We will continue this outreach as the legislation makes its way through Congress. 

“Wild Olympics would build on the foundation of the Roadless Rule by locking in long term protections that cannot be undone by administrative rollbacks”

At a time when the Roadless Rule itself is under threat nationwide, efforts like the Wild Olympics proposal offer an additional opportunity for protections, ensuring that places like the Upper Dungeness River remain protected for their clean water, wildlife, cultural significance, and quiet recreation, no matter who is in power.

For many of us, places like the Upper Dungeness River and the lush forests that surround it are the reason we live in Washington State. It is a place of beauty and solitude, and it’s essential that we make sure Wild Olympics is passed and the Roadless Rule is retained so generations can enjoy this treasure.

Written by: Chris Chappell
Washington Wild Brewshed Director