Suiattle Road EA - Public Comment Closes 4/20

[JasonG]

Please take the time to comment, especially if you are in favor of the road being fixed : http://www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/wa/suiattle/

 

Thanks!

 

 

[builder206]

In my lifetime?? Can it be?

 

I assume the proposal prohibits birdwatching.

[JasonG]

This time I think they will have crossed enough t's and dotted enough i's to make it happen by 2013-14. I have to hand it to the Darrington office for sticking with it (Thanks Peter!). The general public has been overwhelmingly in favor or re-opening the road (unscientific impression from reading the comments over the years), but the extreme enviros have delayed it on technicalities.

[sepultura]

Thanks for the heads up Jason. It would be great if the BC community would rally behind getting this road fixed.

 

 

[AlpineK]

Message sent

[JoshK]

Thanks for brining this to light again, I will add a comment in support. I'm all for environmental protection in most every case, but this is getting ridiculous. Sure, I enjoy the solitude back there since the road was washed out, but it isn't worth the trade-off in how difficult it makes doing things in there, most notably the Ptarmigan Traverse.

[mattp]

I too would like to see that road restored.

 

One by one, the roads serving remote trailheads are being washed out. The hard core conservation groups oppose repairs in every case because that is what they do, but I believe that we should be able to visit the Glacier Peak Wilderness, and visit a high alpine meadow on a weekend trip or even a day trip, without being an ultra-marathon runner.

 

I say this not only because I, personally, work all week and want to visit these places that are special to me. I also say this because I believe that regular people need to be able to actually get to wild places and appreciate them if they are to understand the importance of protecting the wild lands that we have. Many of the people who fought so hard to save the North Cascades so many years ago actually got there and fell in love with this landscape via the logging roads that they seek to close now.

 

The main group behind the blockage of the Suiattle River repairs, the North Cascades Conservation Council, was instrumental in the establishment of the North Cascades National Park 45 or 50 years ago. All of us who love the wildness of the North Cascades owe them great thanks. But I think they got it wrong on this issue.

 

I think some serious environmental groups and serious environmentalists agree but I don't have links to specific public endorsements. The politics are tricky and even though they may be offering formal comments in support of repairs, I don't find such comments with a quick Google search.

[max]

I think I've left a similar post in a similar thread somewhere around here...

 

I want to chime in and respectfully disagree with some of the previous posters.

 

I'd like to see MORE places harder to get to. There are plenty of roads in Washington that get to remote places, and re-opening this road only increases our motorized impacts on the area. I think a recent trip report showed that this roads only adds half a day travel by bike.

 

Again, I'd respectfully disagree with the argument that opening this road is worth it for the increased environmental awareness. There already are plenty of cool, mind-blowing, heart warming places for people to go and see their place in the world that already have road access. They're not doing because they're preoccupied with football and Nintendo, not because they can't drive there!

 

Of course, both the previous poster's argument and my counter-argument are completely subject. Any economist who would claim to be able to quantify this scenario and make a judgement.... nah. Don't by it.

 

I think it just comes down to do you want to be able to drive closer, or do you want to have to walk farther. I'd rather walk farther if there are fewer people. Wilderness should be wild (even if that means shutting down the bikes, too! )

 

Respectfully,

Dave Brannon

 

[Bronco]

Thanks for the reminder Jason, sent an email in support of the repairs.

 

 

[JasonG]

The updated EA is out and open for comment until 9/10/12.

 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbs/landmanagement/projects/?cid=stelprdb5298297

 

[JasonG]

My vote is for alternative B.

[Bronco]

Since there is a new EA does that mean we need to submit new comments?

[JasonG]

Yes.

[mountainsloth]

i wonder if everyone can be happy and only open half the road?

[Bronco]

Projected opening date of October 6, 2014. Any bets on when it actually opens?

 

http://www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/wa/suiattle/newsletters.htm