_ By David Haerle
The Daily World _
Washington State Parks is observing the agency’s 108th birthday this month, and a couple of popular state parks on the far-flung ends of Grays Harbor County are due for some significant changes to their geographic footprints in the months and years to come.
Schafer State Park in East County will see some significant changes under plans being implemented by the parks agency and future plans call for major changes at Twin Harbors State Park on the South Beach.
The project at Twin Harbors has yet to be funded by the Legislature, but calls for renovations over the next decade once that does happen. But the Schafer project is much further along and has been funded for its early phases of construction, and visitors should start seeing work being done there in the months to come.
At Twin Harbors, plans call for moving camping from the east side of State Route 105 to the west side of the park. The primary purpose of the project is to remove campsites constructed adjacent to wetlands that flood annually, often closing numerous campsites. This project will relocate new sites on higher ground. The relocation would work to improve wetland functions on the east side, while also getting visitors in closer proximity to the beach west of SR 105.
The pre-design report was completed last year and approved by the Office of Financial Management, and State Parks requested funding for phase 1 in the 2021-23 capital budget. This project was not in the governor’s budget, however, and seems unlikely to be funded by the Legislature. If funded, the project would commence design in August of 2021 (which translates to phase 2 with shovels on the ground by Spring of 2024). If not funded, State Parks would make another request in the 2023-25 budget.
“In total, we project that this is an eight-year long project.” stated Brian Yearout, the project manager with the State Parks department, in an email.
“This project results in a net loss of campsites, but although capacity is reduced, the quality of the renovated campsites will improve the experience of the user,” stated Yearout. “Unfortunately, attendance at Twin Harbors has declined in recent years due to outdated facilities. Visitors stay instead at the more popular Grayland Beach. “
Flooding isn’t the only issue at the current campground. Campsites 86 through 190 have been permanently closed due to fungal tree rot in the campground. This area is completely closed to all park visitors, and barricades have been placed at the entrance to this area.
State Parks stewardship staff completed an assessment of the trees in the area at Twin Harbor State Park and discovered conditions that could present a safety risk for visitors. Campsites 1 through 85 and 192 through 299, the day-use area and beach-access points are still open.
Across the county, in its northeast corner, an even more significant project is in its fledgling stages and much closer to seeing shovels in the ground.
Schafer State Park is a 113-acre camping park on the Satsop River near Elma. The park’s buildings are constructed of native stone, and Schafer is a state and national historic site designated by the Washington Heritage Register and National Register of Historic Places.
The group Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia (FOSLS) has been part of the planning process, said Stet Palmer, a member of the group.
“We know that in the future they have a multi-million dollar project to improve Schafer,” confirmed Palmer. “There’s will be a new campground. It’s a long-term project to renovate the whole park.”
The park also will have a full-time park ranger for the first time, according to Palmer.
The project includes plans to move facilities, the campground and native stone buildings out of the floodplain, while preserving the historic uniqueness of the buildings.
According to Yearout, this project was funded for design and permit in the 2017-2019 capital budget. Unfortunately, the passage of the state capital budget was stalled for several months and as a result this project was delayed by about nine months. In 2019, a facility concept plan was completed that outlines six phases of development, and design commenced in the Fall of 2019.
The east side campground development at Schafer State Park represents Phase 1.
“We recently completed the environmental permitting stage and are now submitting for building permits,” stated Yearout.
State Parks plans to begin construction of phase 1 later this spring, according to Yearout. And if funded, the welcome center will be constructed next year. The timing of other future phases has not yet been determined.
Phase 1 includes constructing a new (east) campground loop on higher ground with a new park entrance and comfort station. Phase 2 constructs a welcome center and adds seven additional standard cabins to the phase 1 campground loop
This project will result in a net gain of campsites, according to Yearout.
“We currently have 41 sites,” he stated. “In the future, Schafer State Park will retain 26 existing campsites, although this number could be modified during the restoration of the river in phase 4. In the end, we will likely have a total of 46 campsites with nine cabins.
Highlights of the new plan include:
• New group camp areas
• A new welcome center
• Conversion of the existing office building back to its original function as a picnic shelter
• New flood-tolerant day use amenities such as fishing, trails, wildlife viewing locations,
informal play meadows and picnic areas in a redesigned river floodplain
• Ecological restoration of shoreline and riparian habitat
• Forest, riparian and wetland habitat enhancement
• Interpretation and education amenities
• Added and improved trail loops
• Renovation of historic entry gateways into pedestrian park gateways
• New picnic plazas at the renovated historic kitchen shelters
