WENATCHEE — A proposal to create a trail that follows the course of massive ice age floods through four states to the Pacific Ocean has gained momentum with the support of a member of Congress.
The Ice Age Flood Trail, which would be managed by the National Park Service, would include signs, markers, interpretive centers, exhibits and programs that would tell the story of the floods, under legislation being developed by U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco.
Hastings plans to introduce the legislation this year, according to spokeswoman Jessica Gleason.
"We’re really happy about this, believe me," said Jim Pritchard, treasurer and charter member of the Ice Age Floods Institute.
Pritchard, an Ephrata resident, co-founded the group in 1992 after the Park Service began a study of the project. The trail would follow existing highways and would require the purchase of only about 25 acres for interpretive centers along the route, according to the study.
The national trail designation — similar to the Lewis and Clark Trail and Oregon Trail — would bring the area and geological event the publicity and recognition it deserves, Pritchard said.
Charles Mason, a local amateur geologist who started a Wenatchee chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute in 2001, said Hastings’ proposal will at least give Congress something to consider.
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