ATTN: A call for public comment

This isn’t quite a high lakes issue, but it is a trout issue and wildland managment issue which I feel some of you may be interested in. I hope Brian is OK with its placement on the main board. 🙂

The Queets River on the Olympic Peninsula has long been Washington’s wildest watershed. Outside of Tribal land, it is entirely protected within the confines of Olympic National Park – quite a distinction considering the devastation from clearcutting and general resource plundering that much of the state suffered during the 20th century. The protection of the Queets makes it a phenomenal setting for ecological/biological studies on, and a prolific producer of, wild salmonids (sea-run cutthroat and sea-run rainbows included).

A few winters ago, the foundation of the road along the Queets en route to the upper campground began to deteriorate – its construction was never well-planned, and it was inevitable that the river would claim it eventually. It finally washed out last January, effectively ending vehicle access to the campground. Added to the list of past trail, bridge, and road washouts, it was further confirmation that easy access to this watershed was never meant to be.

As far as I and most other stewards of the Queets were concerned, this was exactly the proper course of events. Nature had asserted itself, and the message was fairly clear: the Queets is the most wild complete ecosystem remaining in the Pacific Northwest, and it should be left alone, free from pollution, erosion, and other ill manmade effects inherent in easy-access drive-to campgrounds. A multitude of easy-access options exists for campers, hikers, and fishermen for most all rivers on the Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere in the state; the Queets does not need to be the final victim.

Recently, however, under pressure from select user groups (fishing guides who used to be able to launch their boats at the campground and float downstream, most notably), the Park Service has considered reopening and maintaining access via an ambiguous “back door” route which entails rerouting through old DNR roads. This would effectively restore access to the campground and reintroduce the pressures on the resource that were eliminated by the natural destruction of the original road.

The Park Service is accepting public comment on the matter through January 31, 2007. Comments may be submitted through any of the following mediums:

Postal Mail:
Superintendent – Queets EA
Olympic National Park
600 East Park Avenue
Port Angeles, WA 98362

Fax: 360-565-3015
Website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov
Email: olym_ea@nps.gov

Even if you have never personally walked the banks of the Queets, I encourage you to voice your opposition to restoration of access in favor of preserving the last great watershed we’ve got left. As the Wild Sky Initiative hangs in the balance, this is an immediate opportunity for outdoorspeople to make an appreciable difference in the future of our region’s forest and fish. You needn’t make a long comment, but every “nay” helps.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll try to field any questions you may have.

Andrew

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Olympic National Park News Release

December 21, 2006
For Immediate Release
Barb Maynes 360-565-3005

Interim Access Route Proposed for Queets Valley; Public Comment Invited

An Environmental Assessment (EA) for Restoring Interim Access to the Queets
Area was released today and is available for public review and comment. The
EA analyzes one action alternative for restoring interim access into the
Queets Valley, along with a no action alternative.

The Queets Road has been closed to traffic since March 2005, when a rock
slide undercut the road bed, creating cracks in the road and rendering it
unsafe for vehicles. In January 2006, an even larger slide at the same
site completely wiped out 150 feet of the road, leaving a 200-foot deep
chasm and closing the area to pedestrian traffic as well.

“Thanks to excellent cooperation from our two neighboring agencies in the
Queets, we are proposing to use DNR and U.S. Forest Service roads in order
to establish an alternate route into the upper Queets area,” said Olympic
National Park Superintendent Bill Laitner. “Our goal is to re-establish
access into the Queets rain forest, allowing people to once again enjoy the
area.”

The roads considered for restoring access to the Queets are U.S. Forest
Service Roads 21 and 2180, both of which are currently open to the public.
These roads would provide access to another U.S. Forest Service road and a
DNR road, which would lead to a National Park Service road sometimes
referred to as the “back door road.” These roads have been used in the
past for access by park staff, for emergency and administrative purposes,
and when flooding or washouts have occurred along the first ten miles of
the Queets Road.

Comments should be sent to the following address no later than January 31,
2007.

Superintendent – Queets EA
Olympic National Park
600 East Park Avenue
Port Angeles, WA 98362

Fax: 360-565-3015
Website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov
Email: olym_ea@nps.gov

Comments may also be submitted on-line by visiting
http://parkplanning.nps.gov, the website for the National Park Service’s
Planning Environment and Public Comment system. Initial public input on
restoring access to the Queets was invited in July 2005. Twenty-one
comments were received.

For more information or to request a copy of the EA, people may call the
park superintendent’s office at (360) 565-3004.

Commentors should be aware that their entire comment – including personal
identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time.
While commentors can ask that their personal identifying information be
withheld from public review, the NPS cannot guarantee that this will be
possible.

– NPS –