Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Washington State Parks' Commission ended a chapter on the John Wayne Trail in late July with a recommendation for a section of it that cuts through Whitman County.
Reactions have been varied to the plan, which included a resolution in support of the continued development of the almost cross-state trail.
“The committee wasn't unanimous by any means,” said Ninth District state Rep. Joe Schmick. “Right now, everyone is amidst a campaign. After the election we'll see where everything falls out and we can make a better decision then.”
The Commission approved a two-year $800,000 capital budget and $400,000 operations budget regarding the trail.
“It will be part of the Parks' package; they'll have a proposal before the legislature,” Schmick said. “I have not seen it or heard from them. We'll have to wait and see.”
The recommended money would be used for permitting and design work on a list of projects from Beverly Bridge at the Columbia River to Malden, including for safety and maintenance.
The money is part of State Parks' proposed $96 million overall budget for 2017-19. It all will need to be approved by the legislature.
The Parks Commission made their decision July 21 in Clarkston, after considering input from a trail advisory committee appointed last fall.
Committee members Jay Allert and Branden Spencer, representing adjacent landowners along the trail, were not satisfied by the results, releasing a joint statement afterwards:
“As adjacent landowners we were very disappointed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission's decisions last week.
They acknowledged that the 35 years of state ownership neglect and lack of management has burdened the more than 200 adjacent landowners with endless trespass, vandalism and noxious weeds.
They placed most of the blame on a lack of financial resources and admitted they don't have, or foresee a resolution to their financial problems.
Instead of being fiscally responsible and adjusting their current budgets to properly deal with their financial problems they chose to endorse a resolution proclaiming their commitment to making this abandoned railroad right-of-way into a cross-state trail and accepting a plan that proposes to spend at least $100 million on a trail that has seen virtually no use for 35 years.”
In further comments to the Gazette, Allert talked about his experience on the committee.
“It was billed as an advisory committee. I think the advisory committee was pretty limited,” he said. “It didn't address the landowners' concerns.”
Allert, who owns land near Rosalia, was named to the group last November, along with Spencer, a fourth-generation rancher near Ritzville; Ted Blaszak, a trail advocate from Tekoa, and others.
State Parks' spokesman Randy Kline suggested in the Gazette two weeks ago that the advisory committee will now be asked to be involved in streamlining the permit process for trail users.
Would Allert participate?
“Almost have to,” he said. “This affects our livelihood every single day. We have to be involved.”
Blaszak contends that the varied opinions on the trail include landowners.
“During this process, we were just pleasantly surprised with the amount of adjacent landowners that support the trail,” Blaszak said. “I would guess the fervently opposed are very much in the minority. To those homeowners with honest gripes with the trail, all we want to do is be good neighbors. We respect their concerns, we just think that none of their problems warrant closing the trail.”
Allert pointed out a difference among the landowners.
“Some of those properties, the trail only borders their private land, for ours it dissects it,” he said. “It's a whole different situation.”
Iron Horse State Park Trail runs 287 miles along trestles, rail beds and tunnels of the Old Chicago Milwaukee Saint Paul and Pacific railroads. The trail starts just east of North Bend and runs to the Idaho border. About 110 miles of trail on the west end have been improved for use by hikers, bicyclists and equestrians. The corridor was acquired by the state of Washington in 1981. The State Legislature in 2006 directed State Parks to manage the section of the trail east of Lind.
“All over the country, trails like these provide significant health, tourism and economic benefits,” said Parks Commission Chair Steve Milner of Chelan.
“We look forward to more effectively responding to the interests of both adjacent landowners and the recreating public.
My reading is that rural economies want the trail as a tourism and economic development tool.
Recreation users want to experience the natural and cultural history of eastern Washington.
And trail neighbors want the trail corridor to be kept free of noxious weeds, safe from trespassers and managed in a manner that doesn’t impede the agricultural activities on their land.
I think we can be successful on all fronts by working together.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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