[Kim Brown]

We knew it'd come to this, and so here we are: Pg 17 of the Scoping letter proposes decommissioning these trails. Other recreation enhancements might be cool; more beginner bike trails on North Mtn. Not sure creating official camping at Texas Pond and Twin Bridges is sustainable. It will probably all be wrecked in short order. But I guess they have to try something, given the entire project is for the benefit of fish.

[puzzlr]

Here's what the NCCC says about this in the Spring/Summer 2022 newsletter (page 11) "Continuing with the seemingly Lewis Carroll-inspired nature of this proposal on page 17 [of the North Fork Stillaguamish Landscape Analysis scoping letter that Kim posted], NCCC concedes to scratching its head over the proposed trail decommissioning of the Mount Higgins, Myrtle Lake (spur), and Round Mountain trails. If the Forest Service has ever proposed decommissioning a foot trail on the MBSNF without otherwise re-routing it, we are not aware of it. This element is strikingly incongruous with the remainder of the proposal, and suggests that the agency has in mind discouraging a certain user group of note (hikers) from the Finney Block in order to get down to the business of more logging without “206’ers” and the like raising a stink about it. The Forest Service’s stated intent to “restore disturbed areas to a more natural state” along these trail corridors, juxtaposed with the agency’s sanguine outlook towards nearly 500 miles of roads in the project area, is truly dark comedy. NCCC supports traditional, non-motorized recreation where it doesn’t degrade ecological systems and wildlands character, but is not in the trail-defense business. Still, this is frankly weird, and someone needs to say it. Note that the Mount Higgins trail possesses some historical merit, as the access to a long-gone 1926 lookout and old stomping grounds of the likes of the late Walter Higgins and Sam Strom." I'll be sad if that trail ends up disappearing but I think there are other trails that have been left behind without rerouting, although they weren't actually decommissioned. Two that come to mind are the Rainy Creek and Red Mountain trails in the Middle Fork. Neither of those are officially in the USFS trail inventory any more and maintenance is at the whim of volunteer trail angels.

[Malachai Constant]

My feeling is it is more a private property issue and some aggressive property owners that caused this. It is a great short trail leading to a fantastic view. A type of trail we have few of any more.

[Pyrites]

Does the trail cross private property, or people wanting a public trail as their own private trail?

[Kim Brown]