ARIEL — PacifiCorp says progress is being made — slowly — on the project to convert the former International Paper Co. logging road on the back side of Yale Reservoir into a recreation trail.
The utility’s 50-year federal license issued in 2008 to operate Merwin, Yale and Swift dams includes a provision to convert the no-longer-used road on the Clark County side of Yale into a trail.
Plans call for an approximately 3.75-mile out-and-back non-motorized route stretching from a trailhead near the upstream end of Yale Reservoir to the site of a massive landslide at about mid-lake.
Jessica Kimmick, recreation manager for PacifiCorp, told the Lewis River Recreation Coordination Committee in late October that PacifiCorp’s property department is working with the state Department of Natural Resources on a lease agreement for the trailhead location.
An aquatic lands land-use lease for the trailhead can take can a year or more to acquire from DNR, said Kim McCune, senior project coordinator for PacificCorp.
DNR refused in 2004 to sign the Lewis River Settlement Agreement, an accord that included nine federal, state and local agencies plus the Yakama and Cowlitz tribes and five conservation groups.
“We’ve got actual momentum going on now for this project,” Kimmick said. “We’re working with the neighboring land owner (DNR), who has its own concerns. It’s definitely a partnership.”
Kimmick said the trail will be a gem when it’s complete.
“I envision families with children on tricycles, or local residents walking their dogs, or folks out for an early morning jog,” she said “It’s a great trail opportunity for folks of all ages and abilities. It’s scenic. It’s a quite beautiful location…We are moving forward and are pretty excited.”
Undersized culverts on the road have been replaced, Kimmick said.
A fence is planned along with benches and picnic tables at the downstream terminus of the trail, she said.
“We’ll try to discourage people from going any farther for safety reasons,” Kimmick said.
There’s no timetable for construction or completion of the trail.Updates on other PacifiCorp recreation projects in the Lewis River drainage include:
Cedar Creek boat ramp — PacifiCorp hopes to hope have design work done in December and begin the permit application process in January to repair Cedar Creek boat ramp along the North Fork of the Lewis River in Clark County opposite Lewis River Salmon Hatchery.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife owns the property and PacifiCorp cannot do the repair until WDFW has a Department of Natural Resources aquatic land lease, Kimmick said.
“There are a lot of fishermen who enjoy that spot,” she said. “Hopefully, soon there’ll be a new boat ramp that is safe and enjoyable.”
While PacifiCorp hopes to repair the Cedar Creek ramp in 2018, it may be 2019, she added.
Lewis River Hatchery fishing — Plans for a wheelchair-accessible fishing platform once envisioned for Speelyai Bay on Merwin Reservoir have been changed to move the location to the shore of the North Fork of the Lewis at the salmon hatchery.
The Speelyai Bay location involved a pier, which created both environmental and safety concerns, particularly swimmers diving off the pier into shallow water when the reservoir is below full pool, Kimmick said.
The new plan is a ramp at Lewis River Hatchery plus Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant parking.
“There would be a good chance to catch a big steelhead here instead of a kokanee or tiger musky at Speelyai Bay,” she said.
The timelines for the Lewis River ADA fishing site will be paired with the Cedar Creek boat ramp repair.
Saddle Dam Park improvements — A group picnic shelter is planned at Saddle Dam Park, including off-shore boat anchors in Yale Reservoir, with construction in the fall of 2017.
“It’s a small park, but it gets really high use,” Kimmick said. “I understand why the parking lots are so huge when the park is so tiny.”
The shelter will make the park more usable during rain or very hot weather, she said. Handicapped access also will be provided to the boat dock and picnic area.
The new facilities will be ready when the park opens in May 2018 for the summer.
Yale Reservoir camp improvements — Barrier-free camp sites will be designated at Cougar and Beaver Bay parks along Yale Reservoir. New picnic tables and fire rings will be added plus some minor grade improvements.
The boarding float at Cougar Camp boat ramp also will be replaced and made usable for boaters with disabilities.
“Everybody should have an opportunity to camp,” she said.
No Eagle Cliff trail — The recreation committee was told plans for a trail along the North Fork of the Lewis River heading upstream from Eagle Cliff Park to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest boundary have been nixed.
PacifiCorp’s settlement agreement calls for the trail, but several years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opposed the proposed trail because it would provide easy fishing access to habitat in the North Fork of the Lewis River heavily used by bull trout, a threatened species.
New buoys — No-wake buoys on Merwin, Yale and Swift reservoirs are getting replaced.
The buoys are old, and some have moved.
Buoys will be placed at additional locations, including Swift Forest Camp boat ramp, Cougar Camp boat ramp and Yale Park boat ramp.
