Yesterday, my wife and I decided to take a drive and short hike to one of several nearby lakes in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Forest. The trailheads are accessed via the Schweitzer Creek Road, five miles beyond the Forest Service station at Verlot. It had been at least 10 years since I had driven that road, which is one of the Forest Service’s main routes leading off the Mountain Loop Highway.
To say the least, the experience was eye-opening. The six-mile drive up the mountain was a bone-jarring crawl through foot-deep chuckholes which covered over half the width of the road. In addition, several of the culverts have obviously plugged, as the road surface had washed away around them. Along many stretches, the brush has enclosed the road to the point it scrapes the vehicle on both sides.
Sadly, this road is simply one example of the legacy we now have as a result of the Forest Service having abandoned its sustainable, timber sale program in the late-1980s as a result of the pseudo spotted owl crisis. The receipts from the timber sales financed much of the Forest Service management as well as millions of dollars annually dedicated to local counties and school districts. Unfortunately, most younger visitors to the National Forests today have no idea how much better these gifts of nature were managed up until a few decades ago.
The excuse for the appalling road conditions, poorly maintained trails and closed campgrounds is a lack of appropriated funds from Congress; so these assets are just allowed to sit and deteriorate. The irony is that all along our crawl up the Schweitzer road stood vigorous, healthy stands of trees planted 40-60 years ago after the logging in those days. They now represent thousands of dollars per acre that could easily be used to once again fund professional and sustainable management of our forests. Our congressional delegation should be ashamed, as they have done nothing to make this opportunity a reality.
I would be happy to tell any one of them to “buckle-up” and I’ll take you for a ride.
Ron Baker
Arlington
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