Outdoors group asks commissioners to halt High Lakes development
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 5:38 AM PST
By Tony Lystra and Tom Paulu
Printable version
E-mail this articleA group of outdoor enthusiasts asked the Cowlitz County commissioners on Tuesday to temporarily halt the development of prime hunting and fishing land near Mount St. Helens.
The group said Weyerhaeuser Co's sale of the so-called High Lakes area north of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway will cut off the public's ability to use the land. They asked the commissioners to place a temporary moratorium on developing the property and perhaps find a way to keep it available to everyone.
Commissioners haven't imposed a building moratorium since prohibiting development on the Cowlitz and Toutle river flood plains following the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Tuesday they said they'd consider one.
"We'll take a very serious look at this issue," Commissioner Axel Swanson said. "This is all new ground for us."
The commissioners also said they'd discuss the issue with their colleagues in Skamania County, which has placed a moratorium on its portion of the High Lakes area.
At issue are 4,100 acres of forestland that Weyerhaeuser put on the market last year. Two men from the Tacoma area purchased the land, Paul Graves, a forestry consultant who is involved with the deal, said earlier this month. The Tacoma partners divided 1,354 of the acres into 19 parcels, each between 38 to 107 acres. Sales are pending on most of the available land, and prices range from $191,818 to $613,028.
What exactly will be done with the property is unclear, although Graves, who is purchasing one of the lots, has said buyers aren't likely to put up large homes in the area. He could not be reached Tuesday.
For decades, the land, which includes Elk, Hanaford, Forest and Fawn lakes, has been trekked by local hikers, hunters and anglers. The area is rebounding from the volcano's lateral blast on May 18, 1980.
"I grew up hiking and fishing the highland lakes," Hal Mahnke, who is involved with several local fish and wildlife groups, told the commissioners Tuesday. "It breaks my heart to see us losing the potential for the future."
The property's fate underscores a problem facing the whole county. Growth and development have accelerated, raising questions of how the region will change culturally and economically. Skeptics wonder if the county will be able to hold onto its rural open space, which has afforded generations a chance to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors. They also wonder whether the growth will overtax emergency agencies, water systems and other services.
The county's planners are struggling to manage it all. The comprehensive plan -- the county's bible for growth -- hasn't been revised in three decades, and planners are leery of changing land-use policies on the fly.
"It's happening faster than the (planning) commission and the board can deal with at times," Swanson said.
A moratorium would lock in the property's designation as forestland, but it wouldn't block its sale or guarantee access to the general public, officials said. Still, supporters of the idea said it would give the county time to plan for what the land should be used for.
Mark Smith, who chairs the county's planning commission and owns Eco Park resort not far from the High Lakes, said it's time for the county to "stop and let us take a deep breath."
A moratorium, he said earlier this week, would last about 18 months, at most.
Still, Commissioner George Raiter cautioned that a moratorium, even on timberland, might send the signal that the county is closed to new business.
"You can get the wrong message out if you're not careful," he said. "We have to be very careful about how we approach this."
Some of the outdoors enthusiasts who testified Tuesday said they don't want to trample on other people's property rights. But, they said, there are too many questions about a process that appears to be moving at a breakneck pace.
Bob Schlecht, who owns Bob's Sporting Goods in Longview, questioned whether those who buy the land know that road access would be limited and that emergency services would be far away.
He also questioned whether the growth would spiral out of control.
"Once they are granted a permit for anything up there, does it .... mean we're going to allow other permits up there?" he asked. "Is the fox then in the henhouse?"
Reporters Tony Lystra and Tom Paulu can be reached at tlystra@tdn.com and tpaulu@tdn.com.
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