Thinking of taking the Pacific Crest Trail or a Glacier Peak climbing route? You’ll be affected by the July 27 closing of the North Fork Sauk Trail between mile five and the Mackinaw camp shelter until Aug. 4, when trail work to a section of the PCT above the Sauk trail will be finished.
Also, be prepared for closures of up to one hour on the PCT between the junction of the North Fork Sauk Trail and Red Pass to the north. For information on alternate routes, call the Darrington Ranger District, 360-436-1155.
North Fork Skykomish Road (F.S. Road 63) is closed to vehicle traffic at mile 14 at the junction of Road 65. The road was closed after November flooding caused several deep washouts and unstable side slopes. That section of the road might be open in June 2018. The hike to Blanca Lake Trail is now two miles longer; add four miles to the hike to North Fork Skykomish, West Cady and Quartz Creek trailheads.
Open: For the second straight year, S.R. 542 to popular Artist Point is open before July 4. The warm spring helped crews clear snow 15 to 25 feet deep. Artist Point is at the end of Mount Baker Highway beyond the ski area. It’s popular because the 360-degree views include Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker as well as access to several trails. For information, call 360-599-2714.
Grizzly bear: This population was the subject an interesting poll taken for the Defenders of Wildlife. Warning: While there won’t be a single presidential candidate mentioned, the words Democrat and Republican do appear.
The poll indicated that about 80 percent of registered voters in the state supported efforts to restore grizzly bears in the North Cascades. The support cut across gender, generational, regional and yes, partisan lines (89 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of Republicans, and 74 percent of independent voters agreed).
The large majority of voters taking the poll believed that the state should help the grizzly bear population to recover and that the efforts should be science-based.
Grizzly bears have lived in the North Cascades for about 20,000 years, but in 2016 researchers estimated that fewer than 10 remained.
For information about grizzlies, go to www.northcascadesgrizzly.org.
What’s do you think? An environmental assessment for the Enchanted Valley Chalet in Olympic National Park is underway and you’re invited to chime in. The chalet is on the active floodplain of the East Fork Quinault River. In 2014, the river had migrated to within 18 inches of the building, which was moved about 100 feet from danger.
Now the park must decide the long-term future of the structure, which was built in the early 1930s before establishment of the park.
For information, parkplanning.nps.gov/EVCscoping. Comments are accepted until Aug. 31.
Will birds be back? EcoStudies is monitoring the Estuarine wetlands restoration at Leque and Fir islands to see whether bird species return. Researcher Tom Virzi will give a talk on the project at 7 p.m. July 8, Stanwood Library, 9701 271st St. NW.
Bird notes: An indigo bunting was spotted near Randle. Several active merlin nests are in Seattle neighborhoods, and young birds are on the wing. Pied-billed grebes successfully fledged offspring in the Shore Lagoon on Lake Washington.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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