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Ancient Ambler
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PostThu Feb 07, 2019 6:55 am 
edit on 03-01-2019: Per confirmation by ONP spokeswoman Penny Wagner and ONP Planning and Compliance Lead Christina Miller, Olympic National Park has now extended the comment period so that comments will be accepted until 03-13-2019 at 10:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Olympic National Park News Release February 6, 2019 For Immediate Release Penny Wagner 360-565-3005 Public Comment Period Extended for Olympic Hot Springs Road Preliminary Alternatives PORT ANGELES, WA: The public comment period for the preliminary alternatives for the upcoming Olympic Hot Springs Road Long-Term Access Environmental Assessment (EA) has been extended until 11:59 p.m. MST on Sunday, February 24, 2019. The comment period was originally scheduled for December 3, 2018 through January 6, 2019. The public was unable to post comments to the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website during the government shutdown. The public comment period will be reopened for a minimum of 16 days to cover the time the original comment period was still open, but PEPC was down (December 22-January 6). The upcoming Olympic Hot Springs Road Long-Term Access EA will analyze various options including a no action (current management) alternative, modifying the current roadway, or relocating it outside the floodplain—one of which will be implemented in 2021. The preliminary alternatives are available for review and comment on the project planning website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/OHSREA. Comments may be submitted directly on this site by clicking on "Open for Comment" and following the links to review the document and submit a comment. (AA note: the actual comment submission button and links to two informative documents about the alternatives are buried several levels below the above URL. If you can’t find the comment submission button or the links to the descriptive documents from the URL in the press release, follow the detailed steps I have included at the end of this post.) “Long term, sustainable public access in the Elwha Valley is our goal,” said acting park superintendent Lee Taylor. “We appreciate the public’s participation in the planning process.” Comments on the preliminary alternatives can also be mailed or hand-delivered to: Olympic National Park, Attn: Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor, Olympic Hot Springs Road Long-Term Access EA, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, Washington 98362. Comments submitted by phone or email will not be accepted (with exception of those that were received during the shutdown due to the website being inaccessible). Comments submitted on behalf of other individuals (either by organizations or individuals) will not be accepted. You should be aware that your entire comment – including personal identifying information such as your address, phone number, and email address – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. ### About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 417 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov. FROM AA: HOW TO REACH (from the press release) THE COMMENT SUBMISSION BUTTON AND THE LINKS TO DOWNLOAD TWO DOCUMENTS THAT DESCRIBE THE ROAD ACCESS ALTERNATIVES 1) Within the February 6, 2019 press release above, click on https://parkplanning.nps.gov/OHSREA. 2) This brings you to the Olympic Hot Springs Road Long-Term Access/Environmental Assessment Page. After reading the project overview information on this page, click on “Document List” on the left margin of the page. 3) The preceding click brings you to the “Document List” page, which shows a folder entitled “Olympic Hot Springs Road Long Term Access Civic Engagement”. Click on this folder. 4) The preceding click brings you to a page entitled “Olympic Hot Springs Road Long Term Access Civic Engagement,” the URL for which is https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=329&projectID=84555&documentID=92296. Note that you can use this url to directly reach the comment submission page now that you’ve viewed the preceding pages. On the left side of this web page, you can click on the button titled “Comment Now” to electronically submit your comments to ONP. This is how ONP said it prefers to receive comments on this project. First, before submitting comments, I recommend scrolling down this page to the header “Document Content”, under which there are two documents listed: OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter.pdf and OHS Rd Civic Engagement Presentation 12.13.18 pdf. The “Engagement Letter” is a multi-page narrative description of the three alternatives being considered with regard to long term access up the Elwha Valley and to the Boulder/Olympic Hot Springs trailhead. The “Presentation” document contains the slides shown to the December 13, 2018 public meeting by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) speaker, including very useful maps that show the overall project route as well as a detailed map showing the two “action” alternatives pertaining to about 1 mile of the corridor between the Ranger Station and on downriver to Sanders Creek, aka “2016 washout”. Note that one of the above pages lists the Olympic National Park public contact person on this project as Lisa Turecek, Chief of Facilities Maintenance at 360-565-3150. If you have questions on the project after reading the two documents mentioned above, Ms. Turecek may be able to answer them. I plan on posting some additional information in this thread about the three alternatives, some of which I obtained at the December 13, 2018 public meeting and that is not clear from the two downloadable documents discussed above.

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Ancient Ambler
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PostThu Feb 07, 2019 7:06 am 
The Olympic Hot Springs Road (OHSR)(aka Elwha Valley Road) has been closed for months near the Park boundary at Madison Falls due to road washouts about one mile up the Elwha River. There is now no vehicle access to a number of trailheads, miles of road, a ranger station, popular Glines Canyon Dam overlooks, historical buildings, the Altair picnic area, and other features that make the Elwha valley one of ONP’s most popular areas. Using a bypass trail around the washout area, hikers now have 6.4 mile road walk or bike ride to reach the Elwha Trail at Whiskey Bend and a 7.9 mile road walk or bike ride to reach the Boulder/Olympic Hot Springs Trailhead. The extent of the forfeited vehicle access can perhaps best be appreciated by viewing the ONP map “Elwha Valley Destinations” which I photographed at the kiosk near the road gate and have included below.
Elwha-OHS Rd area map at road gate TH kiosk
Elwha-OHS Rd area map at road gate TH kiosk
Olympic National Park is seeking public comments on three alternatives to address the damaged and closed Olympic Hot Springs Road from the park boundary at Madison Falls to the Boulder/Olympic Hot Springs trailhead. I will provide below a brief overview of the three alternatives, including some information that was provided on them at the December 13, 2018 public meeting. Background – December 13, 2018 public meeting At the December 13, 2018 public meeting, the ONP Acting Superintendent informed the audience that ONP had proactively sought an earmark for funding to repair the OHSR a couple years ago and had successfully obtained that earmark, which, had it not been received, would have imposed long delay on undertaking repairs to the OHSR. ONP reports that is aggressively working to schedule permit-related studies and take other steps to expedite the permitting processes so that construction start dates are not delayed. The Federal Highway Administration speaker discussed the two action alternatives, reporting that Alternative #3 (elevated road) would be 10 feet high and its northern 1000 feet would be a concrete bridge. The FHA speaker noted that there are large trees on a steep slope in the vicinity of the route for Alternative #2’s bypass road, and that ground motion detectors are installed along the bypass route to check for slope stability. The FHA speaker showed a timeline that indicated that construction work on Alternative #2 and Alternative #3 could begin in “Spring 2021”. He was asked how long the construction process would take if construction began in “Spring 2021”. He at first answered “3 to 4 years” and then answered “2 to 3 years” and stated that all are hoping that construction will begin earlier than Spring 2021. At the public meeting there was some talk about ONP not allowing the public to traverse the Elwha corridor when construction was ongoing. According to the FHA speaker after the meeting, construction would likely take place 8 months out of the year, not during winter. It is very concerning if the public is going to be forbidden to traverse the Elwha corridor on foot or bike for the duration of the construction period, however long that may take. I suggest that ONP consider extending the existing bypass trail south to the Whiskey Bend Road, keeping the trail far enough east to be safely away from ongoing construction work on the OHSR so at least the Elwha network of trails could be reached from the parking lot at Madison Falls. Also at the meeting, there were reports from neighbors who live near the Madison Falls entrance that the parking lot there is far too small and some overflow park users are parking everywhere, including on private property. Alternative #1 – no action. As noted in the OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter, taking no action to rehabilitate the OHS road will result in further deterioration of the uphill portion of the road and increased severity and frequency of flooding of the lower road particularly between Sanders Creek (2016 washout) and the Ranger Station. The practical effect of taking no action is to keep the road permanently closed to vehicle traffic south of the road gate near Madison Falls. Pedestrian and bike traffic would be allowed, except when flood-related damage required closures of roads and trails that could last for days or months. Alternative #2 (bypass road) Alternative #2 (bypass road) would lightly rehabilitate the 8 plus miles of OHS Rd. from Madison Falls to the Boulder/Olympic Hot Springs trailhead as described in the OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter. Regarding the flood prone mile from Sanders Creek (2016 washout) south to a point near the ranger station, Alternative #2 would build a bypass road from a point north of Sanders Creek and along the hillside east of the new eastern branch of the Elwha River, connecting to the OHS Road north of the ranger station. From that point back to Sanders Creek, the old OHS highway material would be removed, allowing the floodplain to be restored. The hillside location of the bypass would allow it to be above the floodplain. See the OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter for more on the pros and cons of this alternative. Per the "Washout Description" map among the images shown by the FHA speaker at the public meeting, the entire proposed bypass route lies in "non-wilderness" land-the designated wilderness boundary appears to be hundreds of feet east of the bypass route. Note that ONP is careful to indicate that neither alternative #2 nor alternative #3 are “flood proof”. Note also that the FHA speaker noted that monitoring devices have been installed to detect whether there is any ground slippage along the possible route of the bypass road, given that the new eastern Elwha branch runs along the toe of the hill which the bypass road would traverse. Alternative #3 (elevated roadway) Like alternative #2, alternative #3 (elevated roadway) would lightly rehabilitate the 8 plus miles of OHS Rd from Madison Falls to the Boulder/Olympic Hot Springs trailhead as described in the OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter. Alternative #3’s approach to the critical mile between Sanders Creek (2016 washout) and the ranger station is to elevate the entire 1 mile roadway by 10 feet, with the northern 1000 feet of that being a concrete bridge. This work would all take place and remain in the floodplain. See the OHS Rd EA Civic Engagement Letter for more on the pros and cons of this alternative. The following annotated map depicts the general location of Alternative #2 and Alternative #3.
Oly Hot Springs Road washouts v4
Oly Hot Springs Road washouts v4
Here's a panorama looking south from the north bank of Sanders Creek (which is now the east branch of the Elwha River. The dotted lines depict the approximate route that Alternative #2 and Alternative #3 would follow south from Sanders Creek for about 1 mile.
_DSC9102-Pano j small w text
_DSC9102-Pano j small w text

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Sculpin
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PostSat Feb 09, 2019 8:27 am 
Thanks for the synopsis, AA. up.gif

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Ancient Ambler
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PostMon Feb 18, 2019 6:41 am 
As of today, February 18, 2019, less than 7 days remain to submit public comments on the three alternatives proposed by Olympic National Park with regard to restoring vehicle access to the Elwha Valley roads south of the ONP boundary near Madison Falls. Vehicle access south of that point has been closed for months now due to road washouts upriver. If the "no action" alternative is chosen for vehicle access to the Olympic Hot Springs Road south of Madison Falls, there will continue into the future to be long road walks to reach the Elwha Trail's Whiskey Bend trailhead and the Olympic Hot Springs/Boulder trailhead. In addition, popular tourist sites in the Elwha corridor that have had vehicle access for decades will no longer have direct vehicle access. I have submitted my comments in favor of alternative #2, the bypass road alternative. The 1-mile bypass road alternative would be built in non-wilderness designated land across the hillside east of the easternmost new branch of the Elwha, assuming that ground-movement-detection sensors find the hillside stable enough. I suspect that alternative #2 (bypass) could be completed quicker than alternative #3 (10 foot high elevated road with 1000 foot long concrete bridge); would be less likely to be damaged by future Elwha flooding than alternative #3, which stays in the flood plain; and could more quickly be repaired by ONP staff than alternative #3. Note that neither alternative #2 nor #3 is "flood proof". At the December 13, 2018 public meeting, there was talk about ONP possibly closing the Elwha corridor to the public (including pedestrians and bikes) while construction on either the bypass or elevated roadway alternative is under way. It is unclear exactly how long it would take from now till completion of either of the two action alternatives, so we could be looking at a long closure for even pedestrian and bike access to multiple trailheads, including the very popular Whiskey Bend trailhead. For that reason, in my comments I asked ONP to extend the current washout bypass trail north to the Madison Falls parking lot and south to the Whiskey Bend road, keeping the bypass extensions far enough east to be out of the construction zone. My hope is that, during road construction, we could at least maintain pedestrian/bike access to the various Elwha trailheads, if not to Olympic Hot Springs/Boulder trailhead. My submitted comments also included a request to ONP to expand the size of the present Madison Falls parking lot during construction. To get your voice heard on what to do, or not do, about the current closure of the Olympic Hot Springs Road at Madison Falls, please submit your comments to ONP before the February 24, 2019 deadline.

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Anne Elk
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PostMon Feb 18, 2019 2:20 pm 
AA - thanks for the detailed attention to this issue. It seems that the NPS or Congress is on a trajectory of ongoing neglect of ONP. I still have waffling opinions re the Dose Road, but the possibility of piling on another "do nothing" strategy is too much. I'd be willing to write a letter but I've not been up there for so many years that I can't remember the place, so would be relying on the judgement of NWH members more familiar with the area to weigh in. It sounds like you're pretty knowledgeable, AA, and am happy to write a letter supporting your assessment, but it would be great to get some discussion going from a few others who are familiar with this area.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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PostMon Feb 18, 2019 6:07 pm 
I'm very familiar with the area and am in total agreement with Ancient Ambler's assessment. I will be submitting my input soon. ETA: just submitted my comment.

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Anne Elk
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PostMon Feb 18, 2019 6:21 pm 
In looking over the last map that AA provided, I can see where there would be potential downsides to each repair alternative. The river's going to continue to move, so a repair on the flats with the long bridge will always be under thread from logjams, etc. The #2 alternative goes right along a pretty steep ridge and so a lot of drilling and blasting will have to be done, and then in the future the road will be subject to the same kind of slide action that's now being seen farther up the Dose, near the falls. I suppose that might be a better bet that a repair on the flood plain, but may take longer to build. AA - does ONP/NPS have a preferred repair choice?

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Ancient Ambler
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PostTue Feb 19, 2019 8:08 am 
Anne, As you have surmised, this is one of those situations where there is no "silver bullet" that is going to resolve all problems and make everyone happy. With that said, as far as I know, ONP/NPS have not expressed a preference, and they would probably get a lot of flack if they did express a preference before obtaining and considering the comments that they have solicited from the public. I believe that alternative #3 (elevated road plus concrete bridge) would take longer to construct than the bypass road alternative, primarily because of the concrete bridge. Given the hundreds of millions of dollars spent removing the dams and restoring salmon habitat, I suspect that the bypass route would get quicker permitting than would building an elevated road with a 1000 foot long concrete bridge entirely within the Elwha floodplain. If the 1000 foot long concrete bridge were damaged by big logs battering it in a major Elwha flood, bridge repairs would likely take much longer and require outside contractors, whereas repairing damage to the bypass route would likely take less time and be within the scope of work done by ONP crews. Soil samples obtained by geotech drilling have been taken already along the bypass route, from what I recall being said at the December 13, 2018 public meeting. Ground-motion-detectors are in place and recording to determine how stable the slope is that would be traversed by the bypass route. I assume that if they find evidence of instability or potential future instability along the bypass route that they would have to reconsider their options.

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Anne Elk
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PostTue Feb 19, 2019 12:18 pm 
Ancient Ambler wrote:
... bridge repairs would likely take much longer and require outside contractors, whereas repairing damage to the bypass route would likely take less time and be within the scope of work done by ONP crews.
AA - that sounds like the crux of the issue and clears up my fuzzy thinking re comparative costs of bridges vs forging a new route involving blasting a mountain side. The river is likely to have more damaging "events" too, as its post-dam life continues to evolve, right? That dam removal is such an amazing accomplishment; I think it's important to get people into that valley and let the world see how a river can restore itself; it's only unfortunate it's going to take so long.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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PostThu Feb 21, 2019 6:55 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
I know you spend most of your time on the peninsula up the Queets, but wonder if you have any/enough knowledge of the Elwha territory to weigh in on which repair alternatives would be best.
Thank you, AA, for the detailed synopsis and assessment of the proposed alternatives. Anne: I've got some other irons in the fire and haven't spent a lot of time here lately, nor have I taken time to read any of the documents from ONP on this project. That said: From the small snip of topo map that AA's posted above, and from the outline, here's my lousy opinion: The "elevated roadway" is a non-starter. First, it's going to be prohibitively expensive. Second, it's down IN the flood plain, which is hubris at its worst - proposing to construct something within the floodplain of a wild river with the expectation of it withstanding the forces of nature is simply folly. Any sane person who's stood on the banks of an Olympic Peninsula river at full flood stage understands this. The "bypass" route appears to be the only viable option. I question the wisdom of it being proposed (a) so close to what is obviously the river's historic flood plain and (b) that far down in elevation (in relationship to the flood plain itself.) If I was drawing lines on the map, I'd go up-slope a bit. Slope gradient may pose issues, but that's why they invented bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment. The northern terminus of the proposed bypass route is imprudently located too close in proximity to the river's current path. If the river continues to chew away at that eastern bank, the north end of the bypass route will be gone within a decade.
Anne Elk wrote:
"... most of your time on the peninsula up the Queets..."
.... and watched it chew away at pieces of the road (and trail) for over half a century. There does exist the possibility (however remote) that I might have some clue about roads located next to rivers. I'll see if I can get a comment submitted by the deadline, notwithstanding my disillusionment with the administration of Olympic National Park and their seeming reticence to endeavor to make access into the Park a priority.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Anne Elk
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PostFri Feb 22, 2019 12:55 am 
Thanks for weighing in, Ski. We're all in agreement, then. winksmile.gif up.gif Ancient Ambler - you really did us a favor posting that topo map. It was not one of the docs in the site link; the ones provided were more like sketches with no contour lines. I concurred with the points Ski made, and paraphrased some of his points in my letter, which went out via email this eve.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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PostFri Feb 22, 2019 1:32 pm 
The Everett Film Festival screened "Return of the River", the documentary about the Elwha story, last week. Highly recommended film, very well done! It's on Amazon and iTunes, apparently.

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Anne Elk
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PostFri Feb 22, 2019 10:03 pm 
Thanks for mentioning this documentary, RL. Just streamed it on Amazon - what an excellent, beautiful film! up.gif up.gif I still remember my first drive up that road when I was a very new PNW resident. Sure was surprised to see a dam up there. Peeps can watch the trailer here: Return of the River .

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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PostSat Feb 23, 2019 1:16 am 
It's funny running into dams in wilderness areas. I've seen them in the Sierra and at Snow Lakes (Enchantments).

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PostSat Feb 23, 2019 8:37 pm 
btw: just a note regarding dam removal and its effects on rivers: the removal of the dam(s) doesn't only affect what happens downstream of the dam location. the effects are also seen upstream of where the dam was formerly located. this is also true in any case where there is a major obstruction which impedes the natural flow of the river (i.e., massive streambank failure.) it may well be decades (if not centuries) before the river becomes somewhat "stabilized" within the flood plain. it may never become "stabilized". (see East Fork Quinault, Queets, Lower Hoh, Upper Carbon, etc.)

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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