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THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ALPINE LAKES PROTECTION sOCIETY (ALPS) 2005 Issue No. 2 On the Death of the Cashmere Mountain DUSEL Proposal By Bill Beyers NSF. This would In 200, the Uw have required that Physics Department it become a line proposed building a item in the fed- Deep Underground eral budget. NSF Science and Engi- funds thousands of neering Laboratory, proposals each year, called DUSEL by and one project the National Science taking this much Foundation (NSF). money would have This project was led a low chance of by Dr. Wick Hax- surviving politically ton, a UW Physics unless the science Professor with a long was really com- interest in research pelling. Congress in such locations. ILLIAMS would also have W Initially, he was the to act on this as a ATALIE head of a group N line item, an action supporting this type Icicle River. that would have a of lab at the Homestake Mine in low priority, given competition South Dakota. When problems at inside the Wilderness boundary, for “big science” projects with a that site put it out of contention, and ALPS also had concerns about smaller “big ticket” cost. other sites were proposed, and environmental impacts of the early in 2005 Haxton’s group sub- project. mitted a new proposal to develop This summer NSF dropped the Also in this issue: the laboratory under Mt. Cash- UW proposal from the sites be- Opportunities to Serve ..........2 mere in Chelan County. The lab ing considered for DUSEL. NSF ALPS Reaches Compromise noted the relatively high cost of the would have had its entry near the with Forest Service over Lowe head of the Icicle Creek Road out Cashmere Mountain site and envi- Creek Road Decision .............3 of Leavenworth. Its cost would ronmental considerations as their have been much higher than primary bases for eliminating the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Pav- ing EIS Expected Soon ...........3 other projects proposed to NSF UW proposal, while simultaneous- due to the cost of drilling tunnels ly acknowledging that the scientific Forest Service Closing Many into Mt. Cashmere. Other options qualifications of the UW team were Plum Creek Roads ..................4 that were proposed would have outstanding. Hang Gliders and Sightseers used existing tunnels. If NSF had recommended that on Rampart Ridge? .................5 Haxton and others lobbied the UW proposal be considered for The PCT Less Travelled .........6 people in Chelan County to sup- funding, there would have been port this proposal, but some resi- significant hurdles. Its cost would Fish & Wildlife Service Grant dents in the county were strongly have triggered careful consider- to Pick Up Swamp Lake Prop- opposed to the project. ALPs ation by the NSF National Science erties ..........................................7 opposed it primarily because the Board, as it would have been nearly Ballot ................................ Insert project would have been located 0% of the entire annual budget of ALPINE Opportunities to Serve: ALPS Seeks Board Candidates and Volunteers for ORV Committee The Board carries out the ongoing business of ALPS. We currently have opportunities to fill Board positions. Board responsibilities including attending Trustee meet- ings that take place five or six times per year. In addition, Trustees may take on various tasks associated with the management of the na- tional forests within the ALPS area of interest. Such activities include involvement in forest plan develop- ment, comments on Forest Service management actions (timber sales, road system maintenance, recre- ation developments, Wilderness studies, etc.). We are also heavily involved in actions associated with private land acquisition. In addition to the above, the Board is exploring the idea of forming a standing Off-Road-Ve- hicle (ORV) Committee to focus on ORV issues within the Alpine Lakes Region. We foresee that such a committee would perform a number of tasks including working with the Forest Service to imple- ment the new national regulations dealing with ORV use and working on ORV issues in general, as well as carrying out periodic trips into the EYERS B field. ILL B Studying geography and more near the Ingalls Lake trail. If anyone is interested in either a Board position or working on the proposed ORV committee, please he Board of Trustees of the ALPS members who would like to contact Don Parks at 425-883-0646, Alpine Lakes Protection Society become more active in the orga- T [email protected]. is continuously on the lookout for nization by serving on the Board. If anyone is interested in either a Board position or working on the proposed ORV committee, please contact Don Parks at 425-883-0646. 2 ALPINE ALPS Reaches Compromise Solution with Forest Service over Lowe Creek Road Decision By Rick McGuire ALPS trustees, along with members of the North Cascade Conservation Council, met recently with the Forest Service and agreed on a plan for gating the Lowe Creek road. The old road follows the south side of the South Fork Skykomish River downstream from the Money Creek campground, between Skykomish and Index. The Forest Service plans to rebuild the road to provide access to private lands owned by Longview Fibre Company. ALPS and others initiated an appeal of the rebuilding because UIRE G C M of the adverse effects of re-intro- ICK ducing vehicles to the road, much R of which has been undrivable for A fish that found its way home again — to Lowe Creek. years. ALPS also didn’t like the idea of scarce public money be- most of the concerns, and allows an attractive lowland winter walk ing spent for the benefit of the ALPS to focus on other efforts. A or bike ride, with the possibility Longview Fibre Company when gated Lowe Creek road will make of watching spawning salmon in the Forest Service cannot maintain lower Lowe Creek. the roads it already has. Faced with the prospect of a pos- sibly long, expensive, and uncertain legal battle, ALPS decided to accept a compromise whereby its legal Middle Fork Snoqualmie appeal was withdrawn in exchange Paving EIS Expected Soon for the Forest Service placing a permanent gate to keep vehicles ALPS trustees recently accompa- use of the Middle Fork road, with off most of the road, including nied representatives of the Federal extreme levels of dust in summer, segments currently open. Keeping Highways Administration on a tour and the all-year problem of gravel vehicles other than Longview’s of the proposed paving project for from the current road entering the trucks off the road will help insure the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River river, may make this an exception. the safety of the Coho salmon road between North Bend and the A new campground will soon be spawning grounds adjacent to the Taylor River. ALPS is guardedly opened in the vicinity of Taylor road. Spur roads off the main road optimistic that it might be pos- River, and it is hoped that a number will also be blocked and culverts sible to pave this stretch of road of new trails may be constructed in enlarged. Lowe Creek will get a bridge instead of the ford that had without cutting a huge swath up the Middle Fork valley, the closest been proposed initially. the valley. Although the paving mountain valley to Seattle. If done Although ALPS would have of currently unpaved roads is not correctly, a paving project here preferred no rebuilding of the something which ALPS generally could be a net gain. ALPS will be road, settling for the gate addresses supports, the heavy recreational closely monitoring the process. ALPINE 3 Forest Service Closing Many Old Plum Creek Roads The district agreed to incorporate back to their natural condition • Showing the status of all roads many of ALPS’ suggestions, but (obliterated). in aerial photos of each section, emphasized the need to get started The roads are on lands the for- which were part of the EA. Many with on-the-ground work prior to the est service has acquired from Plum roads in the photos were not part of the study, which gave the impres- end of the fiscal year on September Creek Timber company since 999 through the I-90 Land Exchange, sion that they were to be left open. 30. ALPS said it would be satisfied money from the Land & water ALPS later learned from district with a subsequent Forest Service Conservation fund, and from personnel that some had already letter listing the planned changes. groups like The cascade conserva- been closed by the Forest Service, tion Partnership. however, the dis- and even Plum Creek, primarily for safety reasons. Others will be hat would you do with miles trict is currently limiting the road left open, at least for now, but some of old logging roads that just EA to only 35 square-mile sections W may be closed after further study. happened to come along with for- in the Upper yakima and cle Elum estlands you’ve recently acquired? River watersheds, leaving the • Giving a more thorough remaining sections for a time when explanation of the criteria used to If you were the cle Elum more money becomes available. select which sections were to be Ranger District, you’d close them. analyzed and which roads were to That’s just what the district has Within those 35 sections, the be left open, converted or obliter- been doing, and intends to con- district proposed to obliterate 4.2 ated. tinue doing according to an August miles out of the 49. 5 miles studied, 2005 Environmental Assessment and convert another .5 miles to ALPs also urged that the district with the ironic title of Plum Creek winter trails. The remaining 6.8 cut back on some of the roads Acquired Road Restoration.

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