Hate has no place on public lands. None.

Over Memorial Day weekend, someone vandalized the signs at the Woodard Bay NRCA near Olympia with hateful speech and symbols.

When we learned about it, we responded immediately.

When we were made aware on Sunday, one of our police officers was dispatched to Woodard Bay and immediately painted over the vandalism.

Our natural area manager spent her Memorial Day holiday trying to remove the graffiti as best she could.

We are disappointed and disgusted that someone would make such a hateful statement in a public space that is conserved for everyone to share.

We are thankful to the people who saw this and reported it to our staff so that we could remove it as quickly as possible.

The best way for us to keep this hatred off our lands is to erase it right away.

If you see any racist, hateful, or offensive vandalism on DNR-managed lands, the best thing you can do is report it through our Forest Watch line at 855-883-8368 or email [email protected].