Our story:
We discovered about 400 acre's to the west of our property (originally owned
by Scott Paper) where we worked to clip salmon berry along old logging roads,
& make some wonderful quiet trails. We obtained permission from landowners
adjacent, to cross their property, go through a gate etc. to gain access. ( 8
yrs. ago) Now, rumor has it, the owner of McCaw Cellular has purchased it, &
plans to build a private retreat, complete with golf course, helo pad, etc.
The land has salmon streams, we've seen Salmon! A beautiful red hawk, (who
actually flew over my head as Jas & I galloped up our training hill!) deer,
quail, beaver, etc. Trying to get information from the County, or State
agencies, is an exercise in futility. When I called the Dept. of Fisheries
about the salmon, they said a larger "buffer" would be required between the
creek, and grading.
We just finished a six month battle to keep our country road from being paved.
We lost. Living on a hill, could just see the fun of getting the horses down
it daily. One of the guys I work with was a old friend of the Exec.
councilman. With his intervention, they agreed to allow a 3' easement down
our side of the road - graveled - for the horses. Without that personal
touch, we would have been told to take a hike. (On paving)
Our new Centennial Trail, has a graveled area to the side of the paving for
horses. We have come head to head with Mountain Bikers, little girls running
full tilt toward us, yelling "horsey, horsey, mommy!" Kids throwing dirt and
rocks in the watering tank etc. Not the best of conditions.
Maybe some of the Sponsorship $, most of us are ready to graciously decline -
(hard to say no to $) could be put to work, possibly through the AERC to
develop a national committee to correlate all the work of the various trail
groups? Or am I uninformed - is this being done?
Wanting to ride distance won't do us any good, if we don't have any distance
to ride.
Thanks for your ear!
Connie H.
Arlington, WA
pvtevt@msn.com