PORT ANGELES — The state Department of Natural Resources wants to swap 7-acre parcels at the end of Lost Mountain Road to increase access to DNR-managed lands in Clallam County.
A public presentation and hearing is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 21 in the multi-purpose room of the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
The land DNR would receive from the Gates family is next to timber that the agency will harvest in the next few years, said DNR Communications Manager Kenny Ocker.
“It will allow DNR to have another access point for that land back there, which will make it easier to manage and allow the family to have more continuous land elsewhere.
“This will allow DNR to establish legal road access to get the timber out without either crossing the Gates property or going all the way around the other side. It’s a significantly quicker way,” he said.
After the required public hearing, the proposal will go to the Board of Natural Resources, so there will be significant opportunities for public comment, Ocker said.
They are accepting written comments into October, then they will aggregate the testimony and conduct a formal appraisal of both parcels, he said.
“In the normal timeframe, the swap would occur a few months after the public hearing, maybe by the first of the year,” Ocker said.
Written testimony must be received by Oct. 6. Please mail written testimony to DNR, Lost Mountain Land Exchange, Attn: Bob Winslow, P.O. Box 40714, Olympia, WA 98504, or email testimony to exchanges@dnr.wa.gov.
Maps, photos, and further information about the proposed exchange are available at dnr.wa.gov/managed-lands/land-transactions/lost-mountain-land-exchange.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
