Suiattle River Road Open House: September 15

I'm holding out hope that the Suiattle River Road may be rebuilt in my lifetime - or at least my kids' lifetime.

This important corridor to the west side of the Glacier Peak Wilderness was washed out in 2003 and 2006. Two environmental assessments were conducted, which led the Forest Service and Federal Highways Administration to pursue road repairs this summer. These repairs were halted by a lawsuit brought by Pilchuck Audubon, the North Cascades Conservation Council and Bill Lider. The lawsuit was dismissed in July when the agencies chose not to defend it. You can read more about this lawsuit here.

Now the Forest Service is going to reconsider this project and conduct a new environmental assessment. To this end, the agency is looking for public input at an open house on the Darrington Ranger Station on Thursday, September 15.

The Suiattle will be just one component of the open house, but it's likely to be the one that will interest hikers the most. It's also a great opportunity to speak up for a critically important road that takes hikers to some well-loved and beautiful places. We encourage you to attend, ask questions and talk with land managers from the Darrington District and forest-wide.

Please join me there!

Suiattle River Road Open House
September 15, 2011
3 - 8 pm
Darrington Ranger District
Darrington, WA
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