Grays Harbor County commissioners Monday signed a letter of support aimed at stopping a U.S. Forest Service plan to remove vehicle access to a gravel bar on the West Fork of the Humptulips River in the Olympic National Forest.
The gravel bar, accessible by an old logging road, has been a popular destination for campers, hikers, horseback riders and recreational enthusiasts of all kinds for more than 50 years.
“Three years ago the commission approved a plan supporting no net loss of land or cutting off of public access, and that’s still important to the commission,” said Commissioner Wes Cormier.
Cormier, Commissioner Randy Ross and Commissioner Vickie Raines all signed the letter at a Monday morning meeting. The letter was then sent with 19th District legislator Brian Blake, where Blake’s signature and those of 19th District Representative Jim Walsh and Senator Dean Takko. It will then make its way for signatures from 24th District representatives Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger, along with Sen. Kevin Van De Wege. All but Walsh are Democrats. All have pledged to sign the letter reaffirming the region’s opposition to removing public access there, and in other recreational areas elsewhere in the region. Commissioners indicated that U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer has also pledged his support.
“This is a full-frontal, broad-based approach from the representatives in the district,” said Ross. “We told the Forest Service we needed to see good reasons for it (removal of public access), and we still aren’t seeing any.”
The letter is in response to an email sent to Blake, commissioner Raines and others from District Forest Ranger Dean Millett Jan. 13. In it, he states the Forest Service plans to proceed with their original plan to block the access road to the gravel bar “as soon as conditions allow,” citing a creek and wetlands in the area as critical fish habitat and saying that continued access poses a threat to the juvenile steelhead and coho that use it.
A Forest Service briefing paper stated, “Forest Service Road 2203-040 provides access to a dispersed recreation site on a gravel bar on the West Fork of the Humptulips River. The final portion of this access is on an unauthorized, user-created road that passes through a small stream. This stream connects a wetland with the West Fork Humptulips River. The wetland provides critical fish habitat for juvenile coho salmon and steelhead.
“Vehicle traffic through and down this stream is severely degrading aquatic habitat in the tributary stream, compromising fish passage between the river and the wetland, and contributing sediment directly into the West fork Humptulips River. “The proposed project would prevent vehicles from crossing and driving down the stream while maintaining recreational foot travel to the river. The unauthorized, user-created road would be blocked approximately 200 feet from the river bar with a rock and soil berm. A small turn around/parking area would be constructed at the road end. The existing unauthorized road would continue to provide a foot path to the river.”
