Help Reopen Hoh Rainforest Road

UPDATE: The GoFundMe organization has asked me to explain my position regarding this fundraiser. I am merely a concerned citizen who was asked to do this fundraiser by business people who realized we had only 48 hours to collect $20,000 or there could be no Hoh River Road Repair. This site was activated and even before 24 hours were up, I was notified by friends that the goal had been reached so I closed the site to further contributions. When I received the funds on March 12 and 13, a Cashier's check in the amount of $2,221.52 was immediately sent via priority mail to the Jefferson County Hoh River repair along with a list of 24 contributors. A remaining sum of $19.12 is pending this update and when received will be sent to the Jefferson County Hoh River Repair fund as soon as it is released. Please call Jefferson County Commissioners for any questions regarding these funds.

Phone: [phone redacted]

Address: Jefferson County Commissioners

P.O. Box 1220

Port Townsend, WA. 98368

Commissioners: Greg Brotherton

Heidi Eisenhour

Heather Dudley-Nollette

UPDATE: Thank you for your contributions, we are delighted to share that together with our local donations we have reached our goal. We are excited for the road work to begin ASAP. Jefferson County Commissioners have green-lighted the repair project thanks to the overwhelming community support.

As a long-term friend of Hoh Rainforest/Olympic National Park, it came as a shock that the 2025 season has started with a road closure. The road connection to the most sought-after Olympic Peninsula attraction is under Jefferson County jurisdiction. After checking with the local Jefferson County Public Works office in February we were informed that there were no funds available for a fix. In disbelief we called Jefferson County Commissioners to get a better understanding of the situation. The answer given by the West End Jefferson County Commissioner was that there were no funds available, and the hope was for Federal emergency funding. A very dismaying open-ended reply! In order for this project requiring planning, permits, and actual construction to take place before the busy summer tourist traffic we need action immediately. After participating in multiple County Commissioner meetings, and embarking on a state representative letter writing campaign, we have been given a solution for our Upper Hoh Road repair via Washington State funding. The caveat of the funding solution is that the public needs to donate $20,000 for the funding to be released. These donations need to be submitted by Tuesday March 11, 2025 to be implemented in the fix. According to Ryan O'Connor the Legislative Assistant to Rep. Bernbaum "Gov Ferguson has informed our offices that there is funding available for the Upper Hoh Road which requires private contributions to be eligible for this project. Will you share this information with stakeholders and community groups who may wish to make a contribution...". Note that this requirement was brought to our attention Sunday March 9, which explains the immediacy of this request. Thank you in advance for your consideration of supporting continued access to this most magical landscape, a World Heritage Site.