Shame on John Koster for his remark in the Sept. 25 article on the Mountain Loop Highway! Koster’s contempt for the environmental process and disdain for endangered species were fully evident. Apparently Koster did not realize that according to the Forest Service’s own environmental assessment (page 111 in the EA) that the economic benefit to Darrington and Granite Falls by re-opening the Mountain Loop Highway is negligible.
In his hubris, Koster does not realize that the money for re-opening the Mountain Loop Highway comes from a disaster aid fund called Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads – money administered by the Federal Highway Administration. Apparently, Koster feels that diverting federal funds for a pork barrel project in his back yard is more important than providing disaster relief to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
No one’s livelihood is on the line with re-opening the highway, but they are in the hurricane-ravaged states with their damaged and destroyed bridges and freeways. These are the very funds that Koster seeks to divert from disaster victims.
The Mountain Loop Highway washes out about every 10 years. So, the millions of federal dollars spent on this project will likely get washed into Sauk River in 2015, destroying salmon habitat in the process.
The U.S. Forest Service has lusted since the 1990’s to pave the remaining unpaved section of the highway and turn it into a 55 mph “byway.” If the non-sustainable portion of the Mountain Loop Highway is “put to bed,” the culverts removed, and disturbed areas re-vegetated with native plants, we will have a sustainable, handicap-accessible trail where people could easily experience the sheer energy and beauty of the wild and scenic Sauk River at a close but safe distance.
Keep the road closed, save the environment and help the victims of Katrina and Rita.
William Lider
Alderwood Manor
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