Valley areas may receive federal protection
April 4, 2009
By Michael Rowe
The Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, along with its tributary the Pratt River, may get federal protection for the proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.
In a conference call on March 26, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) announced their bipartisan efforts to secure wild and scenic river designations for the two rivers.
Reichert proposed the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area in 2007, but was unable to find much support for protecting the area. Murray said that after the completion of the Wild Sky Wilderness Area in 2008, she asked her staff to be on the look out for the next public lands project, which lead to her support of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.
Both the Senator and the Congressman hope that the bipartisan nature of the new proposal will help to draw support for their proposed wilderness area.
“We’re working together to make this an area that all can enjoy. It doesn’t matter what party you belong to when it comes to protecting the environment,” Reichert said.
Reichert noted that the Pratt Valley was a critical addition to the state’s wilderness areas because it is at a lower elevation than many of the other areas. He believes that a wilderness area could benefit the economies of the surrounding area by bringing more tourists to enjoy the recreational opportunities.
Local leaders in the Snoqualmie Valley reacted favorably to the announcement.
“This is wonderful news,” North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing said. “The economy in North Bend is business, and mostly tourist-based business, and this means that this area will be left alone with no development into the future. It doesn’t mean, however, that the area will be closed to humans. On the contrary, human use will be encouraged.”
Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson also said that he supported federal protection of the wilderness area.
“I strongly endorse the Alpine Lakes Wilderness bill. Development within these areas would aggravate flooding. This bill has the added benefit of preserving the wilderness areas that make Snoqualmie and North Bend attractive destinations for recreational tourism. I am very pleased to see that the Congressman and Senator have joined in a bi-partisan effort to promote this bill,” Larson said.
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area would provide protection for 22,100 acres of land in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest.
The boundary of the wilderness area would be six miles from North Bend’s urban growth area, and about 10 miles from the city. The protected area would prevent any efforts to dam the river or impound its waters. The wilderness area is not expected to affect efforts at flood control on the Snoqualmie River downstream from the protected area.
It took Murray nine years to get the Wild Sky Wilderness Area approved by Congress, and she does not have any illusion that the Alpine Lakes process will be any smoother.
The Pratt River is a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Its headwaters are in the Upper Melakwa Lake and it travels north, before entering Melakwa Lake. Melakwa Lake can be accessed off of Interstate 90, east of North Bend at Denny Creek. The Pratt River Valley was last logged about 80 years ago. Since that time, a railroad that ran through the Valley has been removed, and there has been little if any development in the area.
The river currently flows through the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, which provides some protection by limiting land use in the forest. Terry Fernsler, executive director of the Washington Wilderness Coalition, noted that the wild and scenic designation would give the river an extra level of protection.
Protecting the Pratt will help to keep the watershed clean of pollutants and allow the area to continue supporting natural habitats for salmon and other fish, Fernsler said.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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