[Ancient Ambler]

Looks like ONP is launching an effort to obtain public comments to be considered in devising a Wilderness Stewardship Plan to help protect and manage the designated wilderness lands within the park. Public workshops begin February 5, 2013. Follow the link in the message below to a park planning website that has links to documents with more information about this process. Press Release follows: ======================================= ====================================== From: "Barbara Maynes" <barb_maynes@nps.gov> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 10:38:55 AM Subject: Olympic NP News Release: Olympic National Park Launches Planning Process for Existing Park Wilderness; Public Input Invited, Eight Public Workshops Scheduled Olympic National Park News Release January 23, 2013 For Immediate Release Barb Maynes 360-565-3005 Rainey McKenna 360-565-2985 Olympic National Park Launches Planning Process for Existing Park Wilderness; Public Input Invited, Eight Public Workshops Scheduled Olympic National Park invites the public to participate in developing a Wilderness Stewardship Plan to help protect and manage the designated wilderness lands within the park. “The Olympic Wilderness was designated by Congress in 1988 and has become one of the most popular wilderness destinations in the country,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “We are excited to be moving ahead with a comprehensive plan for how we protect and manage this area and are looking forward to hearing thoughts and ideas from our public.” The plan will be developed in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964 and analyzed through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. In the coming weeks, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS will be published in the Federal Register. The public comment period begins today and will continue for 60 days after the Federal Register notice is published. “One of the first steps in any planning process is to learn what the public’s thoughts, questions and concerns are,” said Creachbaum. “We welcome online and written comments and have also scheduled eight public workshops for people to share their thoughts and learn more about the plan.” More information about the Olympic Wilderness Stewardship Plan and planning process, including a public scoping newsletter, is available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymwild. Comments may also be submitted at that website. Public workshops will be offered around the Olympic Peninsula and are scheduled as follows. February 5, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Jefferson School Gymnasium, 218 E. 12th Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362 February 7, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382 February 19, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Sekiu Community Center, 42 Rice, Sekiu, WA 98381 February 20, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Department of Natural Resources Conference Room, 411 Tillicum Lane, Forks, WA 98331 February 21, 2013, 4:00-6:00pm Amanda Park Library, 6118 U.S. Highway 101, Amanda Park, WA 98526 March 4, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Seattle REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109 March 5, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Ridgetop High School, 10600 Hillsboro Drive NW, Silverdale, WA 98383 March 6, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Shelton Civic Center, 525 W. Cota Street, Shelton, WA 98584 Public comments may also be mailed or delivered to: Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum Attn: Wilderness Stewardship Plan Olympic National Park 600 East Park Avenue Port Angeles, WA 98362 Ninety-five percent of Olympic National Park was designated as wilderness in 1988, and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System and established a policy for the protection of wilderness resources for public use and enjoyment. For more information or to be added to the Olympic National Park Wilderness Stewardship Plan, people should visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olymwild or call the park at 360-565-3004. --NPS--

[contour5]

Excellent post. There's a lot of interesting information in the links provided, including a link to the Wilderness Stewardship Plan Scoping Newsletter (PDF)

[Wolfish]

Thanks, Ambler. This is an important planning process. Olympic is a flagship wilderness park, and the stewardship plan for caring for the Olympic Wilderness will set the tone for wilderness preservation throughout the National Park Service. I hope everyone who cares about the future of wild places pays attention as this planning process is rolled out.

[silence]

thanks for posting this greg!

[RodF]

Additional Public Workshops Scheduled March 4, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Seattle REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109 March 5, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Ridgetop High School, 10600 Hillsboro Drive NW, Silverdale, WA 98383 March 6, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Shelton Civic Center, 525 W. Cota Street, Shelton, WA 98584 **NEW** March 7, 2013, 5:00-7:00pm Capital Plaza Hotel, 900 Capital Way South, Olympia, WA 98501 **NEW** March 26, 2013, 4:30-6:30 Aberdeen Timberland Library, 121 East Market Street, Aberdeen, WA 98520 Public comments may also be submitted online at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/olymwild through April 23.

[RodF]

Trails are important to hikers, so here is a list of the 10,923 permanent structures installed within Olympic Wilderness to provide trail access.

Olympic NP Trail Facilities

Note this is only a partial and outdated list; only 512 of the Park's 612 miles of trails are inventoried.