Milk Creek No. 1 on list of endangered trails

Washington Trails Association has named Milk Creek Trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as the most threatened trail in the state.

The trails advocacy group recently released its annual report of the top 10 endangered hiking trails, citing trails that are vulnerable and degraded because of a decline in funding and damage from motorized recreation.

Milk Creek Trail is located east of Darrington and provides one of the major access routes to the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Access has been severely limited because of damage done by storms in 2003 and 2006. While there are finally plans to repair washouts on the Suiattle River Road next year, there are no plans to fix the final washout at milepost 20.8. That would add eight miles roundtrip to the Suiattle River Trailhead, putting much of the area out of range for day hikers, the association’s report said.

“Before hikers can truly explore here again, the Forest Service and its partners will have to undertake the enormous task of re- establishing trails such as Milk Creek that have not been maintained for nearly a decade,” the report said.

Second on the list is the popular Mount Si Trail, east of Seattle. The threat to this trail is funding. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed closing the trail and 21 other sites because of a budget shortfall. While the funding was found, the report said the agency will likely face similar decisions in the 2011-13 budget.

Rounding out the top 10 list: Park Creek Pass, North Cascades National Park; Mailbox Peak, Department of Natural Resources, Bells Mountain, Department of Natural Resources; Mount Higgins, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest; Lake Ethel, Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest; Golden Stairway, Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest; Lower Big Quilcene, Olympic National Forest; and Esmeralda Basin, Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest.

“Each hike in this report represents both a crisis and an opportunity,” Jonathan Guzzo, the association’s advocacy director, said in a news release. “The loss of any one of these trails would be a blow to hikers, but by highlighting the threats they face – from lack of money to illegal ORV incursions – we can let decision-makers know how important they are and build momentum to preserve them and other trails for the long term.”

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Source: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/15/1302097/milk-creek-no-1-on-list-of-endangered.html

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