DNR meeting regarding the closing of Reiter Foothills Nov.2

Many of you may have attended last night’s meeting in Monroe to hear about DNR’s upcoming plans for Reiter Foothills. I wanted to share with you what was talked about at the meeting and let you know what’s happening in Reiter. We had a good turnout at the meeting—about 250 people showed up. Most of the people were from the motorized recreation community. Many folks expressed concerns about some of our plans for the area. First, I’m sure most of you have heard that we will be temporarily closing the Reiter Foothills area to everything but foot traffic beginning November 2. The biggest concern we heard last night was that DNR would not re-open Reiter once it’s been closed. I know this rumor has been circulating throughout the recreational community, and I want to assure you that DNR’s goal is to re-open the area as possible. In the coming months, we will be paying extra attention to Reiter Foothills. DNR staff and volunteers will be restoring damaged habitat, beginning construction on new trail systems, and working to improve public safety. DNR will be looking for volunteers to help not only with restoration projects, but to help locate trails and to donate time and heavy equipment to repair damaged areas. The closure will allow restoration work to proceed more effectively. At the same time, DNR will be working with volunteers to locate trails that are fun, challenging, and environmentally sustainable, with low maintenance. For more information about the upcoming work at Reiter, download a fact sheet at: www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/amp_fs09_010.pdf On-site Work DNR crews and volunteers have begun restoring some of the damaged areas, including reducing the amount of sediments that have been clogging some streams and rehabilitating stream banks to improve fish habitat. In addition, we have removed some unsafe, user-built bridges. Reiter Foothills Planning Update As you may well know, DNR has worked with citizens, user groups, and other partners for the past two years to create a recreation plan to identify long-term recreation uses and address problems in the area. That work is just wrapping up, and the draft of the Reiter Foothills Forest Recreation Plan will be available for public review in November. I will let you know when the plan is posted on our web site and when we will be hosting a public meeting to present the plan. Thanks to all the volunteers who have donated time, equipment, and materials for the on-site work. If you have questions or comments, would like additional information, or would like to volunteer to work at Reiter please contact David Way at 360-854-2830 or visit our web page at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/Topics/RecreationPlanning/Pages/amp_rec_reiter_foothills.aspx. Candace Johnson Assistant Region Manager Department of Natural Resources Northwest Region 360-854-2803