January is a time for your opinions about wolves, a mountain bike park, rehabbing a trail and recreation in the Reiter Foothills forest.
Stevens Pass Ski Area wants to build a new mountain bike park and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is soliciting opinions.
If approved, seven miles of 5- to 8-foot-wide downhill mountain-biking trails just south of the Granite Peaks ski lodge would be built, complete with natural berms and jumps, plus a teaching area.
The assessment can be read at http://tinyurl.com/mountainbikepark.
The plan was published Dec. 17 with a 30-day window for comments. For information, call 425-783-6000.
Offer your thoughts on the rehabilitation of a 2.2-mile stretch of Boulder Creek Trail and a former vehicle campground in Olympic National Park. The proposal would restore the section to a foot-and-stock trail.
The project is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Go to www.parkplanning.nps.gov for more information and to comment by Wednesday.
Or if you’re interested in the Reiter Foothills Forest, the state Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 13 at Monroe High School. DNR employees will collect opinions on restoration and trail opportunities in the forest. For more information, call Candace Johnson at 360-854-2803.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will accept comments through Friday concerning its draft wild-management plan. For more information, go to wdfw.wa.gov/wildlife/management/gray_wolf. A dozen public meetings were held in November and December. They drew more than 1,100 people.
Currently there are no plans to reintroduce wolves into the state. The state’s first breeding wolf pack in at least 70 years was discovered in 2008 in Okanogan County; the second pack was found last summer in Pend Oreille County.
Acting out: Naturally, the title of this congressional legislation is long. On Dec. 16, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the Alpine Lake Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act plus the Illabot Creek Wild and Scenic Act.
The creek is a key tributary of the Skagit River.
The upshot is another 22,000 acres of wilderness adjacent to the Alpine Lake Wilderness Area and many miles of the rivers are protected to one degree or another.
Good luck: Sixteen fishers with radio transmitters were released in December into remote areas of Olympic National Park’s Sol Duc and Elwha river valleys.
Biologists continue to monitor 22 fishers released the past two winters and celebrate the successful births of at least seven kits last summer.
Overtrapping of native fishers, which are weaslelike animals, led to their extinction decades ago.
Destructive deed: Who knows what goes through minds of some ignorant people. Someone shot and killed an endangered whooping crane in Indiana, and it wasn’t just any crane. Wild-1 was the only whooping crane chick successfully hatched and successfully released from captivity. There are only 500 whooping cranes left … that’s in the world.
Color the answers: The National Wildlife Refuge System Coloring Book, designed for children in grades two and three, helps answer questions about habitat and the animals that live there, complete with fun facts. A free copy can be downloaded at www.fws.gov/refuges/kids or bought by calling 800-344-9453.
Bird lovers: Alan and Bonnie Mearns present “Backyard Birding With a Purpose at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Pilchuck Audubon Society meeting at the Everett Firefighters Hall, 2411 Broadway, Everett.
Next week: All good things must come to an end, so the winter hummingbirds’ topic will close with stories and suggestions from readers. Thanks to everyone for contributing.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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