Olympic National Park releases 950-page plan looking 20 years into the future
A young visitor to Hurricane Ridge uses the rope tow earlier this season. No expansion of parking at the popular Olympic National Park snowplay area is envisioned in the park's newly released management plan. -- Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily News
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The park is still set on expanding its boundaries — but only with willing sellers.
The 950-page final report on goals for the next 20 years in the park outlines not additional parking for Hurricane Ridge.
It would also leave the road to Obstruction Point unpaved and make no expansion of the downhill ski area or increase skiing use opportunities.
In written comments on the plan, the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce had urged the park to adopt a plan for Hurricane Ridge that would have paved Obstruction Point road and increased the parking.
The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce had urged upgrading and enlarging the Hurricane Ridge ski facilities, as well as putting the operation out to bid for a private developer.
Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Russ Veenema said Friday that he hadn't had an opportunity to compare what the park did to what the chamber sought.
"Generally, the Chamber had more aggressive development ideas when we commented, and generally we didn't want the park to expand [its boundaries] because they can't pay for what they have now," Veenema said.
The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club, in its comment, supported the same alternative the park chose — Alternative D — saying that it offered the best management strategy for Hurricane Ridge.
It includes redesigning and improving visitor services, accommodating alternative transit, and developing a "universally accessible trail."
Port Angeles' suggestion for bike paths was not incorporated into the plan.
Improvements to the downhill support facilities "could be allowed," under the plan, without expansion of use.
Expansion of boundaries
A controversial proposal to expand the 933,000-acre national park by almost 16,000 acres remains in the final version of the plan, but with an important caveat.
No national park can expand without an act of Congress; the park plans to ask Congress to include a provision that the park must obtain the land first — from a willing seller — before it can expand the park boundaries.
In the draft plan, the park proposed expanding the boundaries — which restricts what landowners can do with their property — and then seeking out willing sellers.
"That's a huge concession if that's in there," Forks City Attorney Rod Fleck said.
"I think that's a significant change, and reflective of numerous comments from park advocates and land owners and others."
The park wants to add acreage in three areas:
This includes 80 acres of U.S. Forest Service land, 1,200 acres of state land and 360 acres of private land.
This includes 2,370 acres of state land and 9,360 acres of private land.
This includes 800 acres of state land and 1,500 acres of private land.
Another change from the original proposal is that a planned land swap with the state Department of Natural Resources won't involve 44,000 acres in the Lake Ozette watershed.
Instead property elsewhere in the state will be swapped, after it is identified in consultation with DNR.
Said Forks Mayor Nedra Reed, "We'll certainly review the plan with a detailed analysis, but it sounds as though a couple of the points we were so adamantly opposed to have been mitigated.
"If the land swap in the Lake Ozette area has been removed, that's certainly good news."
But Reed remains opposed to the proposed expansion of the park boundary.
"One of the things that concerns us is so many restrictions to timberland," she said.
"Tourism is wonderful, but anything that pulls timberland out of production and off the tax rolls is certainly of concern to those of us who live out here," Reed said.
"I don't understand the concept of adding to park holdings when they don't have the resources to maintain what they have," Reed said.
Timberland
Carol Johnson, executive director of the North Olympic Timber Action Committee also wasn't pleased with the boundary expansion plans.
The proposed expansion was one of several issues the timber industry group objected to in its comment letter.
"We don't want to give up productive forest land to be included inside the park boundary," Johnson said.
"We don't want to lose the land base and tax base.
"We made it very clear when we commented that there were no willing sellers as the park was hoping."
But Johnson was encouraged that the park service would acquire the land first before expanding the boundary.
"We told them we didn't want that, because once land is included in the park, there's further restrictions that makes it harder to manage the land," she said.
Merrill & Ring Inc., which owns and manages 8,280 acres in the proposed boundary expansions at Lake Ozette and Lake Crescent, has said it doesn't intend to sell any land.
That company, as well as Green Crow and Rayonier Inc. all objected to the idea of the park expanding its boundary into their land.
Port Angeles-based Green Crow owns 2,000 acres of land within the proposed boundary expansion at Lake Ozette and Lake Crescent.
Rayonier owns and manages 5,100 acres within the proposed boundary expansions at Lake Ozette and Queets River.
Michelle Verlander, Rayonier corporate relations coordinator, said Friday that the plan had just been delivered to the company's Forks office and hadn't been reviewed yet.
The Port of Port Angeles also objected to the proposed expansion in a Sept. 21 letter.
Port Commissioner George Schoenfeldt said port commissioners and staff had just received their copies of the plan and hadn't gone through it yet.
Pleased with expansion
But Sean Smith, Northwest Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association, was pleased the boundary expansion remained in the final plan.
The organization urged acquisition of land critical to wildlife, recreation and cultural resources in its letter to the park service.
"I'm encouraged that they are still considering the expansion," Smith said.
"It's something we've been supporting.
"They want to do it in a way that benefits everyone. They are to be commended for that.
"I think that's a great start, and encourage them to flesh out those ideas."
Kalaloch, Hoh, South Shore
The park is planning to relocate Kalaloch Lodge, and move "all or portions" of U.S. Highway 101 in the area because of coastal erosion.
Nothing would be done until more studies are undertaken.
A phone call requesting comment from the media contact for the lodge was not returned.
Jefferson County Commissioners wanted the park service to identify park access routes at risk due to flooding, river migration and other factors and seek federal funding for their maintenance and repair.
Their comment letter noted that the Upper Hoh Road, Oil City Road and Quinault South Shore Road were Jefferson County roads that primarily serve park users.
The park said it will work with Jefferson County and well as the Hoh and Quileute tribes to maintain road access from outside the park.
The park reported that, in 2006, it had 2.75 million visitors, down from 2.8 million in 2005.
The park's highest visitation total was 3.8 million in 1997.
Last modified: March 15. 2008 9:00PM