Management of Admiralty Head Lighthouse will change later this year and an employment position will be opening up.
The lighthouse is currently managed by Washington State University’s Island County Extension, but the Washington State Parks will be taking over.
In the 1990s, the lighthouse wasn’t even open, said WSU Extension Director Tim Lawrence. WSU worked with the parks service to create a docent program and reopen it.
Funding for a lighthouse manager position is funded by the state’s Lighthouse Environmental Program through the county.
Volunteers were already being logged as Parks volunteers. The question arose whether the parks service wanted an outside employee managing parks volunteers.
Having a parks employee supervise the volunteers limits the liability, said Jon Crimmins, Fort Casey park ranger. “This is the most direct way.”
In December the reins will be turned over and the county will lay off the current lighthouse manager.
“It makes a lot of sense,” Lawrence said. “The lighthouse is owned by Parks.”
Crimmins said the parks service will advertise for a new manager, but probably not until early 2015.
“There are a lot of steps between now and then,” he said.
The Lighthouse Environ-mental Program Board should be voting on a “friends” agreement with the Parks Service to continue funding the position.
Once that agreement is in place, the Parks Service can move forward.
There will be a time the program will be without a manager, but Crimmins said the lighthouse is actually closed during that time.
During the interim, he will manage the program.
The position will be posted locally as well as on the state parks website, he said.
In exchange for managing the program, WSU utilized office space inside the lighthouse.
Lawrence said WSU will continue using those offices and will be offering additional programing at Fort Casey through its Beachwatchers and Waste Wise programs.
A display made by BeachWatchers on the second floor of the space is currently in the works.
WSU will continue to providing space for the lighthouse program.
“I think it’s been a good relationship,” Lawrence said. “It’s a natural evolution. WSU was able to serve an important role.”
