Who ya goin’ to call when the weeds choke and kill native vegetation along hiking trails?
Weed Watchers, that’s who.
Weeds like oxeye daisy can monopolize alpine meadows and English ivy will cover forest canopies.
The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and state Department of Natural Resources have teamed up with the Mountaineers to train volunteers to find invasive plants on trails. Hikers are needed to monitor trails for infestations in designated wilderness areas.
Weed Watchers will learn how to identify invasive species, record and collect data with GPS units, and control some weeds. The volunteers choose which trails they want to “adopt” in a particular area.
Training is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 9 at Darrington Ranger Station, 1405 Emens Ave. N.; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 15 at the Glacier Public Service Station, 10091 Mount Baker Highway, Glacier. Volunteers can contact Sarah Krueger for more information at 206-521-6012.
Celebrate: The 115th anniversary of the iconic North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment State Park in Ilwaco will be celebrated from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with the official title transfer from U.S. Coast Guard ownership to Washington State Parks.
The lighthouse was put into service as the primary navigation aid at the mouth of the Columbia River on May 16, 1898, joining the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse (1856) to help ships from running aground in the area that came to be known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
With all of the original buildings of the station still standing, the North Head Lighthouse remains the most intact lighthouse reservation in the Pacific Northwest.
Guided tours of the lighthouse, led by the Keepers of the North Head Lighthouse, will be available for $2.50 for people 17 years and older; no charge for those 7 to 16. Children must be 7 years or older to tour the lighthouse.
A Discover Pass is not required to attend the event. June 8 is a state parks “free day.”
Road closure: Glacier Creek Road (Road 39) near Glacier is closed to traffic at mile 1 close to Thompson Creek because of a washout at mile 2.7.
The closure prevents hikers and climbers from accessing the Heliotrope Ridge Trail 677 or the Coleman-Deming glacier climbing route on Mount Baker. For updated information, call the Mount Baker Ranger District, 360-856-5700.
Obsession? In the May/June issue of The Saturday Evening Post, contributor Bruce Anderson flies you into the rapidly growing ritual that is birding. The article provides a perspective of birders (the preferred modern term).
Anderson describes the passion of birders, the social pull of birding and some tips on equipment to use and technique when bird watching. The full article is available online at www.saturday eveningpost.com; search for bird.
A makeover: The viewing platform on Keystone Spit in Fort Casey has long been less than a model of safety. Originally built from two surplus floating docks, it long served as a place to look for birds on Crockett Lake. But after 20 years, rot was taking over.
A combination of volunteers from Whidbey Audubon Society and Central Whidbey Lions, and state park personnel, have upgraded the lookout, keeping a rustic look but adding safety.
Beckoning: The popular mile-long Beacon Rock Trail has reopened following repairs to a bridge attached to a cliff face.
This day-hike up the 848-foot basalt column leads to one of the best views of the Columbia River Scenic Area. Beacon Rock State Park is about 30 miles east of Vancouver, Wash., on Highway 14.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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