Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Washington State Parks' planning process for the John Wayne Trail is coming together for the new year.
The Parks Department has yet to announce dates for the four stages of public meetings to be conducted with a 12-member advisory group to decide the future of the trail.
The almost cross-state, non-motorized John Wayne Trail has come into question this fall after a proposal put forth in the state legislature to close a 135-mile section from the Columbia River at Beverly to Malden.
Parks Planner Randy Kline will lead the series of meetings – which will follow a process the Parks Department has completed for more than 80 state parks.
“We do a large amount of public meetings, and we have a specific way of doing them,” Kline said. “Although they are not always this controversial.”
The process will include four sequential stages, with each to include one public workshop and an opportunity for follow-up comments by mail or online. All public comments will be posted online for public review. At the conclusion of the final stage, recommendations will be made to the State Parks' seven-member Recreation Commission governing board to consider for adoption.
The process' stage one is underway now.
A public meeting was held Sept. 30 to identify issues to address through the process – pinpointing what is important to people with a stake in the trail, including landowners, trail users and the general public.
Stage Two will be about exploring alternative approaches followed by Stage Three – preparing preliminary recommendations. Stage Four will be for final recommendations, during which the public will be encouraged to attend the State Parks Commission meeting to provide testimony – or written comment.
State Parks' goal is to conclude the four-stage process by presenting their recommendations July 21 in Clarkston at the previously scheduled Commission meeting.
Kline indicated that the process will aim to deliver four things: a management plan for the trail describing the actions to solve issues brought out during the planning process; a long-term boundary describing necessary lands to support trail purposes; a plan for any real-estate related activities to be needed to address issues raised in the process; and a budget request for the 2017-19 biennium – to include funds for trail improvements (decided on during the public process) and an operating budget request for maintenance and stewardship needs, including costs for capital improvements.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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