NOVEMBER 1999 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 11/05/99; 2:00:00PM.

Mt. Spokane State Park - Commissioners' Action

The October 29, 1999 Spokane meeting of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission was well attended. Cleve Pinnex, Director, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, sat with the commissioners. Frank Boteler, Deputy Director was absent, but Larry Fairleigh, Assistant Director, Resources Development Division, and Daniel Farber, Parks Planner, were there with many staff members, including Peter Wood, Mt. Spokane State Park Manager, to support and explain the Requested Action for the park. Commissioners sitting were: Eliot Scull (East Wenatchee), Robert Petersen (Long Beach), Clyde Anderson (Spokane-Chairman), Bruce Hilyer (Edmunds), Cecilia Vogt (Yakima), and Joan Thomas (Seattle).

The New Business Agenda E-1-Land Classification and Long-Term Boundary-Requested Action was scheduled for four hours. It took closer to seven hours. The next meeting of the commission is Dec. 10, 1999 in Seattle. All the information compiled and presented by the principal author, Daniel Farber, is available upon request by telephone 360-902-8652 or e-mail <danielf@parks.wa.gov>. It is not available currently on the parks website, however the update of the action taken by the commissioners will be available on the website <www.parks.wa.gov> by Friday, Nov. 5, 1999.

Preliminary to the commissioner discussion on Action, overviews were presented by Peter Herzog (Daniel Farber's Co-director for planning), and the staff forester, Dr. Rob Thimble. Testimony was taken from the public in six major areas of interest: Advisory Committee, Equestrians, Snowmobilers, Alpine Ski Interests, Nordic Skiers, and Mountain Bikers. Chris Currie, Chair of Mount Spokane State Park Advisory Committee, gave a succinct presentation on the 4-1/2 years of work and the substantial body of knowledge his committee provided to the park commission. A copy of his testimony may be obtained from <criscurrie@igc.org>.

A very organized and dominating input to the commissioners was presented by Ken Carmichael and the Back Country Horsemen. Bill Hendricks, President of the Back Country Horsemen; Barbee Scheibner, producer of the well known Mt. Spokane Trail Maps; Ken Elliot, Trail Boss; and Ted Krause, among other members of this equestrian group, spoke in favor of more trails to further disperse the impact of projected park usage. They voiced their preference for education versus regulation through the National Program "Leave No Trace" trails policy. Their studied position is that Natural Forest Area (NFA) Classification at Mt. Spokane is too inflexible. For more information on the Back Country Horsemen testimony contact Ken Carmichael at <kenc@omnicast.net>

Mark Augenstein, Bruce Rawls, and Howard Briggs spoke on behalf of the Snowmobile Association and the 3,000 registered snowmobilers in this area. Ted Stiles, President Mt. Spokane 2000, made the initial presentation on the Alpine Ski Area; and Kirk Duncan, General Manager since September 1997, followed outlining the status of the their first few years ( of the original 20-year commitment) as the Inland Northwest's favorite ski resort. Tom Frost spoke for the Nordic Ski Association, mentioning the obvious trail problems between the Cross Country skiers and Snow Mobilers. Ken Morton spoke for recreational Mountain Bikes and Don Hurst spoke dramatically about some of the potential conflicts for Mountain Bikes on the trails.

After lunch the commissioners' discussion took up the Action Recommendation from Staff. The crux formed around E. 1 New Business, Item 3, specifically the central wording:

Defer classification of the "potential alpine ski expansion area" (PASEA). Prior to making a final classification decision in the PASEA, or upon a specific proposal for development in the PASEA, a plan must be developed and approved to the Commission that identifies the proposed uses and facilities for the area and is accompanied with appropriate environmental documentation.

The key words were apparently "Defer" and "final classification." After all the years of work, the countless meetings and volumes of paperwork, and the combined efforts of the Staff and the Advisory Committee, there was practical as well as political pressure to make a classification (eg. Larry Fairleigh, Assistant Director, Resources Development Division, emphasized the management plan momentum), but the government contract with the concessionaire might be jeopardized if a classification description hampered the agreement. Technically to "defer" meant that the area in question would be officially, if not legally, recognized as NFA (Natural Forest Area) and historic use would continue there. Commissioner Petersen confirmed this from Staff for the three NFA's northwest of Quartz Mountain in Exhibit 1 (available from the Commission) of the Staff recommendation. The issue of Recreation versus Preservation came quickly to the center of discussion among the commissioners.

The first approach by Commissioner Hilyer was a motion to approve the staff recommendations with a five part amendment. He was careful to point out that the preservation aspect of the park ought not to be abandoned because of financing or funding problems. The 13,820 some acres of Mt. Spokane State Park is difficult to manage with three rangers on staff. He expressed concern that the park could not be sufficiently protected and preserved under the Resource Recreation (RR) classification. Commissioners Thomas and Vogt joined Hilyer in favor of the NFA's with amendment to the staff recommendations for Requested Action in E.1, Item 3. The 5 parts to the Hilyer Amendment included provisos, permissions, and prohibitions for existing skiers, but the confusion from extensive wording turned the areas into something other than real NFA's, thereby creating opposition. Hilyer, Thomas, and Vogt voted for the amendment; Scull, Petersen, and Anderson voted against it. It failed.

Next, Dr. Scull approached the issue with a cleaner and more definitive wording of an amendment which would largely modify the staff's NFA recommendations and classify the areas Resource Recreation (RR), a less restrictive classification conferring certainty to the concessionaire with respect to expansion intentions. Dr. Scull expressed his opinion that the commissioners, as per their duty, could preserve and protect the park better with a RR classification without exceptions than with a NFA with exceptions. Joan Thomas spoke against the Scull proposition and expressed her appreciation and loyalty to the commission staff. Bruce Hilyer spoke against it out of appreciation to the staff and stated that a Resource Recreation area would be less restrictive than necessary if the ski area did not expand. Clyde Anderson was in favor of the Scull proposition because the Resource Recreation classification would be less restrictive to all users. The vote was along Recreation versus Preservation lines: Scull, Peterson, and Anderson for the Resource Recreation classification amendment; Hilyer, Vogt, and Thomas against. It failed.

Commissioner Vogt next made a motion to amend staff recommendations slightly. It was seconded by Commissioner Thomas. The central wording above was replaced with:

The Commission is willing to review the Mount Spokane State Park land classification once staff has submitted a comprehensive trails plan for Mount Spokane State Park.

This motion from a more conservation and preservation viewpoint satisfied the entire body and all voted in favor. The motion passed and E-1 REQUESTED ACTION was approved by the commission with Item 3 amended. Commissioner Hilyer broke the ice by saying: "What a wise staff we have." In summary about 22% of the park is classified as Natural Forest Area (NFA), about 10% as Recreation Area, including the existing downhill ski area, about 58% is Resource Recreation (RR) Area, including most of the forested lands of the park and those areas used principally for shared-use trails. Less than 1% of the park is classified as Heritage Area, including CCC Camp and the Vista House. About 4% is a Natural Area Preserve (NAP) in the Ragged Ridge Area, and about 5% of the park is held as unclassified pending completion of a Ski Area Plan and further Commission consideration (eg. the "comprehensive trails plan" in the Vogt amendment). In the interim, this area will be managed as a Natural Forest Area while allowing for historic uses to continue.

If the decision to classify went in the direction of Resource Recreation (RR) instead of Natural Forest Area (NFA), the commission could have been charged with disloyalty to staff and taken on a reputation for favoring recreation over conservation and preservation. This would not do. The historical action and position of the commission, when faced with tough issues, has been to defer on the side of preservation and tend toward the conservative. None dare call it sentiment. From a political perspective it can be construed that the commission took a more restrictive, tougher stance with a higher beginning standard. Certainly modifications are coming, downward from NFA's rather than upward from RR's. Coming off a higher standard slightly is more popular than tightening the belt. From a park user perspective the public got its money's worth drawing on the extensive work and organization of the Staff and the deliberation of the commissioners. Thanks to the Commissioners' Action, a way to a comprehensive trails plan for Mount Spokane State Park has been approved in conjunction with a more certain course for the Mt. Spokane 2000 concessionaire.

Aaron R. Spurway

Ex-officio Advisory Committee Member