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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostFri Jan 12, 2018 5:00 pm 
The Forest Service, Washington Trails Association (WTA), and the Monte Cristo Preservation Association (MCPA) are Hosting a Public Meeting Regarding the Future of Monte Cristo. Everett, Wash. January, 2018 — The U.S. Forest Service is hosting two open meetings on January 27th and February 5th. The Agency is inviting the public to interact with members of local non-profit organizations and land managers in order to share comments and opinions which will influence the future of Monte Cristo. The Forest Service has recently completed cleanup of the Monte Cristo Mining Area under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). With the clean-up being completed, there are still many management questions that need to be addressed such as: infrastructure, facilities, access, usage, preservation, and capacity. The questions to be answered will affect future management of public resources administered by the Forest Service. District Ranger Peter Forbes states that “the public has an interest in Monte Cristo and the area surrounding it, we want to understand what that looks like.” The old mining town of Monte Cristo represents many things, to many different groups of people. The WTA, the MCPA, and representatives from the Forest Service plan to provide background information on Monte Cristo before answering questions and obtaining feedback. The meeting schedule is as follows: January 27th from 9 – 11 a.m.: The Wall Street Building, 2930 Wetmore Ave., Everett, WA 98201 (Access into the building will be facilitated by an escort between 8:45 and 9:30 a.m.). February 5th from 5:15 – 7:30 p.m.: The Everett Library, 2702 Hoyt Ave., Everett, WA 98201. For more information, contact Public Affairs Specialist, Colton Whitworth at coltonwwhitworth@fs.fed.us.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostThu Jan 25, 2018 6:39 pm 
This Saturday and also Feb 5

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Kim Brown
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PostSat Jan 27, 2018 2:48 pm 
Standing room only today. Those who were there will help shape how the USFS manages recreation, access, and the town-site itself, in years to come. Of course you can go online to give comments, and this is just preliminary so the USFS knows what the public wants, so they can develop alternatives. There will be more opportunities to participate, but these 2 meetings are what will drive the "menu items" for consideration; or not.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Riverside Laker
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PostMon Feb 05, 2018 10:19 pm 
Today's session was interesting, with people from all points of view. Monte Cristo land owners, hikers, old timers, enthusiasts of the ghost town, and even Joseph Pearsall made an appearance lookin every bit of 150 years old. It costs $900 to pump the toilet near the townsite. Meanwhile, budget has gone down 43% for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Nat'l Forest in the last 10 years. People want everything from closed access roads to a zip line. I think it'd be cool to zip line down from the Comet Mine, using the original tramway tower locations. There were an estimated 6110 visitors to Monte Cristo in 2017. Lots of comments about parking at Barlow Pass. Some want to fix up the cabins and rent them out. Others want to leave them in arrested decay. The new road, built as a temporary road, is in wilderness area. Options include keeping it, decommissioning it, putting in a temporary bridge on the old county road (railroad grade) across the river. Concerns about wildlife in old growth forest and access to the townsite for landowners and for search and rescue. Fix up the car campgrounds and allow parking at the townsite. Close the road completely. Have a shuttle service like Zion. Pay for it with fees or donations. Lots of ideas floated around. No decisions immediately and pie-in-the-sky ideas probably won't happen. Stay tuned for exciting updates!

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Kim Brown
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PostTue Feb 06, 2018 10:17 am 
Pretty much the same ideas tossed out as in last Saturday's session. Some good ideas, some not-so-good ideas.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu Feb 08, 2018 2:06 pm 
Riverside Laker wrote:
Lots of comments about parking at Barlow Pass.
Were any of those comments related to the large number of vehicle break ins that occurred last year? I think it's always been a high risk area, but the MLH was completely out of control in 2017.

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Riverside Laker
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PostThu Feb 08, 2018 3:05 pm 
Our group didn't discuss break-ins at Barlow Pass, but I think another one did. But what can be done? The political pressure is to reduce taxes, so how will that help law enforcement? (Also how will that help trail maintenance, road maintenance, fixing up campgrounds...)

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSat Feb 10, 2018 1:13 am 
Riverside Laker wrote:
Our group didn't discuss break-ins at Barlow Pass, but I think another one did. But what can be done? The political pressure is to reduce taxes, so how will that help law enforcement? (Also how will that help trail maintenance, road maintenance, fixing up campgrounds...)
I hear ya, but it kinda feels like playing Russian roulette leaving your car parked at any of the trailheads out there. Even if there's nothing of particular value in the car. Don't know what can be done about it, but it sucks.

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Guiran
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PostThu Mar 01, 2018 7:21 am 
Quote:
Of course you can go online to give comments.
Do you have a website or email (other than the public relations address) to weigh in at? I received an email from Washington Wild this morning encouraging me to take action to preserve the roadless area and enhance recreation in Monte Cristo (which I view about as favorably as the proposals of yesteryear to "enhance" recreation opportunities in the Suiattle river drainage by closing the road at Hwy 530).

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