April 23, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez made a public plea to the family of the German Princes Salm, who control 7.3% of Wahkiakum County land, to allow local residents to access the land for hunting.
In a speech on the House floor and a separate letter to the royal family, she called out their practice of buying up Washington land and prohibiting public access. Her effort comes amid recent reports that the family owning the land has restricted it so much that it now blocks access to adjacent state and private land that would otherwise remain open to hunting, which many families use as a source of subsistence.
“Residents are facing increasing difficulty finding places to hunt,” Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez said. “Hunting is a part of the historical and cultural fabric of the County, and this potential loss is of deep concern to many of my constituents. Many in my community have shared that they are concerned this could reach a violent boiling point if people continue to be boxed out of the woods they have had access to for generations.”
In a letter to Mr. Bolko Graf von der Schulenburg and Mr. Constantin Freiherr von Wendt, the Congresswoman said she is worried about both the economic vitality of rural communities and the public’s longstanding access to lands that support stewardship, recreation, and local livelihoods, which she called a “cultural tradition” and a way to “put food on the table.”
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