Mount Saint Helens Institute asks Cowlitz County for advocacy and support for expanded outdoor school and visitor infrastructure

Alisa Hoyt, co‑executive director of the Mount Saint Helens Institute, briefed the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners on the institute’s work at Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument and on a multi‑phase plan to expand outdoor education and visitor infrastructure at Coldwater Ridge (the institute’s Science and Learning Center).

Hoyt said the institute is a nonprofit that partners closely with the U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Parks and other agencies and tribes to run volunteer programs, guided adventures, and youth outdoor‑education offerings from facilities sited in the monument. She noted the organization received a three‑year, $900,000 grant from the Cowlitz (Cowlitz Tribe) and described program work with tribal youth and community education.

On capacity and funding, Hoyt described limits at Coldwater Ridge: the institute currently operates small overnight capacity (Hoyt said the building has 27 bunk beds in two rooms and can effectively serve one classroom at a time for overnight outdoor school). She described a master plan to increase capacity using phased development: phase 1 would expand overnight accommodations and provide staff housing (modular cabins envisioned to deliver quicker construction and lower cost), phase 2 would develop a small public campground and trail improvements, and phase 3 would address improvements to the Coldwater Ridge (visitor center) building and add visitor amenities. Hoyt said the institute had received a 30‑year permit from the Forest Service in 2022, which is important to obtain financing.

Hoyt told commissioners the institute would submit a state capital request and continue federal advocacy; she said the institute’s near‑term capital ask to the state was about $3 million to expand outdoor school accommodations and that the broader campus work could run several million dollars more. She also asked the county to demonstrate local support, including advocacy with state and federal legislators and a letter of support for the institute’s capital request and a proposed Mount Saint Helens specialty license plate (proceeds would go to the institute). “Something that we've heard from our state legislators is where's your local support? Do the Cowlitz County Commissioners support this project?” Hoyt said.

Commissioners and staff discussed logistics and jurisdictional limits: Hoyt said the visitor center building is federal property and the Forest Service is responsible for capital repairs (she noted issues with septic, heating, leaking roof and a nonfunctional fire alarm). She described that federal funding lines for the monument are not a separate line item and that securing appropriations requires advocacy. Hoyt also said WSDOT expects to complete the main access road work in fall 2026 and that the Forest Service reopened power at the Johnston Ridge/Johnson Ridge area to enable conditioned maintenance there.

Hoyt summarized expected benefits: increased outdoor‑school capacity would enable more Cowlitz County students to attend overnight outdoor school, provide new recreational and tourism opportunities (lodging, food service, kayak rentals), and create an estimated regional spending increase in the millions per year once fully operational. She said modular construction could allow the institute to complete a phase within roughly two years of receiving funding.

Ending — The institute requested county advocacy and a formal expression of local support to strengthen state and federal funding requests; commissioners indicated general support and said they would consider a formal action when Commissioner Farrell returns.