This year, Washington cut more than $500,000 from the state’s Department of Natural Resources. 

These budget cuts are going to mean campground closures, less trail maintenance and dirtier bathrooms at a lot of popular trailheads. 

Many are wondering how it’ll impact their outdoors time, because the Department of Natural Resources maintains a lot of land. 

We checked in with The Mountaineers to hear how they're feeling about these cuts.... and then we called up the Department of Natural Resources to figure out what all this means for outdoor recreation. 

Guests:
Tom Vogl, CEO of The Mountaineers 
Dave Upthegrove, Commissioner of Public Lands  

Related links: 
State Budget Cuts Prompt DNR to Reduce Recreation Services | Department of Natural Resources
Popular I-90 trailheads, bathrooms will feel budget crunch, WA says | The Seattle Times
The Mountaineers - Explore, Learn, Conserve  
WA Department of Natural Resources to close four campgrounds after lawmakers cut funding | Washington State Standard

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

This year, Washington cut&nbsp;more than $500,000&nbsp;from the state&rsquo;s Department of Natural Resources.&nbsp;
These budget cuts are going to mean campground closures, less trail maintenance and dirtier bathrooms at a lot of popular trailheads.&nbsp;
Many are wondering how it&rsquo;ll impact their outdoors time, because the Department of Natural Resources maintains a lot of land.&nbsp;
We checked in with The Mountaineers to hear how they're feeling about these cuts.... and then we called up the Department of Natural Resources to figure out what all this means for outdoor recreation.&nbsp;
Guests:
<ul>
<li>Tom Vogl, CEO of The Mountaineers&nbsp;</li>
<li>Dave Upthegrove, Commissioner of Public Lands&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Related links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://dnr.wa.gov/news/2026/state-budget-cuts-prompt-dnr-reduce-recreation-services">State Budget Cuts Prompt DNR to Reduce Recreation Services | Department of Natural Resources</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/popular-i-90-trailheads-bathrooms-will-feel-budget-crunch-wa-says/?utm_source=marketingcloud&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Morning+Brief+04-27-26_4_27_2026&amp;utm_term=">Popular I-90 trailheads, bathrooms will feel budget crunch, WA says | The Seattle Times</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mountaineers.org/">The Mountaineers - Explore, Learn, Conserve&nbsp;&nbsp;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-department-of-natural-resources-to-close-four-campgrounds-after-lawmakers-cut-funding/">WA Department of Natural Resources to close four campgrounds after lawmakers cut funding | Washington State Standard</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

Washington cut more than $500,000 from the state’s Department of Natural Resources, which means campground closures, less trail maintenance and dirtier bathrooms at some of your favorite trailheads. 

Hiking and camping could look different this year after budget cuts 

If you look on the cover of Hole's album "Celebrity Skin," you'll see her right away. 

Melissa Auf der Maur is standing to the left of Courtney Love. The 1998 album is the first one she recorded with the band. She joined in 1994 after bassist Kristen Pfaff died, and she played with them around the world, from a music festival in Australia to Tuktoyaktuk, a village in the Arctic Circle.

But after a few years, Auf der Maur left Hole. She went on to have a highly successful career in music, including as bassist for the Smashing Pumpkins. She’s collaborated with many musicians and built a career as a solo artist. She’s also a photographer – a craft she studied in her university days. 

And now, she’s an author. Auf der Maur’s new book is called “Even The Good Girls Will Cry: A 90s Rock Memoir.” It chronicles her early life in Montreal and her time with Hole, and how she started making her own music. 

She stopped by KUOW while she was in Seattle on her book tour and told us just how she "liv[ed] through this.

Guest

Melissa Auf der Maur - musician, author, photographer

Melissa Auf der Maur's '90s song picks

Tragic Carpet Ride - Polvo

Doe - The Breeders

Out Of Focus - Love Battery

Use Once and Destroy - Hole (the one Courtney calls Melissa's song)

Followed The Waves - Melissa Auf der Maur

Related Links

Auf der Maur's interview with The Ringer's Bandsplain

Melissa Auf der Maur, a ’90s Rock Linchpin, Is Spilling Her Stories - The New York Times



Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

If you look on the cover of Hole's album "Celebrity Skin," you'll see her right away.&nbsp; Melissa Auf der Maur is standing to the left of Courtney Love. The 1998 album is the first one she recorded with the band. She joined in 1994 after bassist Kristen Pfaff died, and she played with them around the world, from a music festival in Australia to Tuktoyaktuk, a village in the Arctic Circle. But after a few years, Auf der Maur left Hole. She went on to have a highly successful career in music, including as bassist for the Smashing Pumpkins. She&rsquo;s collaborated with many musicians and built a career as a solo artist. She&rsquo;s also a photographer &ndash; a craft she studied in her university days.&nbsp;
And now, she&rsquo;s an author. Auf der Maur&rsquo;s new book is called &ldquo;<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/even-the-good-girls-will-cry-a-90s-rock-memoir-melissa-auf-der-maur/f0ab189167ad8d8f">Even The Good Girls Will Cry: A 90s Rock Memoir</a>.&rdquo; It chronicles her early life in Montreal and her time with Hole, and how she started making her own music.&nbsp; She stopped by KUOW while she was in Seattle on her book tour and told us just how she "liv[ed] through this. Guest <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xmadmx/">Melissa Auf der Maur</a> - musician, author, photographer
Melissa Auf der Maur's '90s song picks
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9eLKJ-Trc">Tragic Carpet Ride</a> - Polvo
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wANv31sHYrk&amp;list=RDwANv31sHYrk&amp;start_radio=1">Doe</a> - The Breeders
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHxRZ3Kg14I&amp;list=RDWHxRZ3Kg14I&amp;start_radio=1">Out Of Focus</a> - Love Battery
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chX3R8zgvlY&amp;list=RDchX3R8zgvlY&amp;start_radio=1">Use Once and Destroy</a> - Hole (the one Courtney calls Melissa's song) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4LObO91WTA">Followed The Waves</a> - Melissa Auf der Maur Related Links <a href="https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/bandsplain/2026/04/16/perfect-song-boys-on-the-radio-with-patrik-sandberg-plus-an-interview-with-hole-bassist-and-author-melissa-auf-der-maur">Auf der Maur's interview with The Ringer's Bandsplain</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/arts/music/melissa-auf-der-maur-even-the-good-girls-will-cry.html">Melissa Auf der Maur, a &rsquo;90s Rock Linchpin, Is Spilling Her Stories</a> - The New York Times 
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out,&nbsp;go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
<a href="https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/soundside">Soundside</a>&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Auf der Maur's new book is called "Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir."

Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur on joining Hole and why she stepped away from music

What happens when a state spends beyond its means? 

Moody’s and Fitch, two of the three major credit rating agencies, recently moved Washington’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative.” 

So it turns out that you're not the only one keeping your spending in check and trying to bump up your credit score...

Because states have to worry about that, too. 

Guest: Mike Pellicciotti, Washington State Treasurer 

Related links:
Moody’s and Fitch revise Washington’s credit outlook down from stable to negative | Washington Research Council
State treasurer warns Washington credit rating at risk, cites reserves, tax debate | KOMO News
No, WA isn’t going bust. But falling credit outlook raises red flags | The Seattle Times

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

What happens when a&nbsp;state spends beyond its means?&nbsp;
Moody&rsquo;s and Fitch, two of the three major credit rating agencies, recently moved Washington&rsquo;s credit outlook from &ldquo;stable&rdquo; to &ldquo;negative.&rdquo;&nbsp;
So it turns out that you're not the only one keeping your spending in check and trying to bump up your credit score...
Because states have to worry about that, too.&nbsp;
Guest:&nbsp;Mike Pellicciotti, Washington State Treasurer&nbsp;
Related links:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://researchcouncil.org/moodys-and-fitch-revise-washingtons-credit-outlook-down-from-stable-to-negative/">Moody&rsquo;s and Fitch revise Washington&rsquo;s credit outlook down from stable to negative | Washington Research Council</a></li>
<li><a href="https://komonews.com/news/local/state-treasurer-warns-wa-credit-possible-downgrading-cites-millionaires-tax-reserves-aaa-budget-issues-investors-service-bond-rating-financial-consequences-structural-imbalance">State treasurer warns Washington credit rating at risk, cites reserves, tax debate | KOMO News</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/no-wa-isnt-going-bust-but-falling-credit-outlook-raises-red-flags/">No, WA isn&rsquo;t going bust. But falling credit outlook raises red flags | The Seattle Times</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

You're not the only one keeping your spending in check and maintaining your credit score. States have to worry about that, too.  

Why Washington's credit outlook dropped to 'negative' 

The nation is still reckoning with a Supreme Court decision last week that critics say renders a key aspect of the Voting Rights Act useless.

The court ruled that Louisiana illegally used race in the way it drew its district map. 

It has wider implications for how all such maps are drawn. Some states, including Florida, have already moved to change their maps. This is all happening mere months before the midterm elections. 

KUOW's Paige Browning talked with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams about her take on the decision, about her opinion on voter apathy and why she stepped back from the national stage.

Guest

Stacey Abrams, lawyer, former Georgia Democratic state legislator, founder of the American Pride Rises Network and the 10 Steps Campaign

Related Links

Louisiana v. Callais - Supreme Court decision

Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map, Another Blow to Voting Rights Act - The New York Times

Stacey Abrams on how voter suppression threatens democracy - Code Switch, NPR

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

The nation is still reckoning with a Supreme Court decision last week that critics say renders a key aspect of the Voting Rights Act useless.
The court ruled that Louisiana illegally used race in the way it drew its district map.&nbsp;
It has wider implications for how all such maps are drawn. Some states, including Florida, have already moved to change their maps. This is all happening mere months before the midterm elections.&nbsp;
KUOW's Paige Browning talked with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams about her take on the decision, about her opinion on voter apathy and why she stepped back from the national stage. Guest
Stacey Abrams, lawyer, former Georgia Democratic state legislator, founder of the American Pride Rises Network and the 10 Steps Campaign Related Links
<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_new_jifl.pdf">Louisiana v. Callais</a> - Supreme Court decision <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/us/politics/supreme-court-voting-rights-act.html">Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Map, Another Blow to Voting Rights Act</a> - The New York Times <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/11/nx-s1-5568174/stacey-abrams-on-how-voter-suppression-threatens-democracy">Stacey Abrams on how voter suppression threatens democracy</a> - Code Switch, NPR Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out,&nbsp;go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
<a href="https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/soundside">Soundside</a>&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

" We can't go back in time and change the [2024] election," Abrams says. "What we can do is look forward and make certain that we connect democracy to people's lived experiences." 

Hiking and camping could look different this year after budget cuts

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