There’s a glimmer of hope for the campgrounds at South Whidbey State Park.

Officials confirmed Tuesday that a final decision had not yet been made and that a public process to develop a future use plan for the park would begin next month. That’s great news, because losing the campgrounds for good would be a loss for South Whidbey.

The campground is open seasonally, but it was kept closed this year for safety reasons.

While there’s still a patch of grass to pitch a tent at the fairgrounds in Langley, the state park is the only forested campground south of Greenbank. South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District is actively looking at purchasing land near the high school, which would be great to have, but the state park campground is particularly lovely. It’s one of the reasons it’s been so popular for so long.

It’s encouraging to hear that the campgrounds could be saved with some selective cutting, though it remains to be seen just how much might be necessary. Obviously it doesn’t make sense to level the area just to retain overnight camping, but hopefully that won’t be required.

Whatever the case, it’s our hope that the public will participate in earnest in the upcoming plan’s development as this is the opportunity to tell parks officials just how they feel about overnight camping.