On Saturday February 4, 2017, eight Eatonville High School students chose to perform their mandatory ten hours of Community Service with Pierce County Back Country Horsemen (BCH). The work project was to rebuild a section of trail that had been destroyed by the up-rooting of an old growth Spruce tree. The hole created caused exposure of roots of another large tree jeopardizing the long term health of the tree. With buckets and shovels the crew took gravel and rock out of the bank of the river and spread it over the roots re-creating the trail tread. MARCH 2017 | TRAIL LINE NEWS | VOLUME 31 | ISSUE ONE Upper Carbon River-Community Service Work Party by Tom Faubion, Back Country Horsemen and Coalition Member President’s Message by Buzz Grant, Coalition President Continued on Page 11 Continued on Page 2 Photo by Buzz Grant On January 7, 2017 a group of 11 Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition (FRTTC) volunteers opened almost one half mile of the Foothills Trail in the Cascade Junction area, east of South Prairie and west of the Coalition Bridge. This area was covered by blackberry bushes nearly seven feet high. We cut only downed trees which were all blocking our passage. This volunteer work will save the tax payers and Pierce County a good deal of money. Now County surveyors, wetland people and the future contractor will have a much easier time analyzing what is needed to do to construct this section of the Foothills Trail for a hopeful completion by the end of 2017. Opening of the completed core of the Foothills Trail from Puyallup through Alderton, McMillin, Orting, Crocker and South Prairie to Buckley will be just after the beginning of 2018. Doctor Douglas Tait and Ernie Bay, who have passed to that great trail in the sky, would be very happy to see this completion of the core of the Foothills Trail that they started as a concept in 1986. Being involved in this effort since the late 1990’s, I know I sure as heck am happy. Here is also a partial list of other founders and supporters of the Foothills Trail that have passed to that great trail in the sky during this 25 plus years of development of the trail: Stan Engle, Bill Harmon, Claudia Peters, Donna Tait, Bernie Dixon, Mary It was a day with strong rain and generally miserable conditions, but the students worked hard and accomplished all of the project in time to extend the day into an additional five miles of trail improvement. The trail had large puddles of water creating mud affecting all of the trail users. The crew dug large drains for the puddles eliminating them and giving the trail the chance to dry out over time. The Upper Carbon River Trail has been created by the joint efforts of the Pierce County BCH and the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition. While the entire trail runs from Ruston to Buckley in eastern Pierce County, the section constructed jointly is about six miles long and provides the link between the Foothills Trail and Mount Rainier National Park. The trail is now about two-plus miles short of tying into the Park, but it is hoped that once easement issues are cleared, it will complete the distance making about 54 miles of trails for use by trail users.
Transcript
OnSaturdayFebruary4,2017,eightEatonvilleHighSchoolstudentschose toperformtheirmandatory tenhoursofCommunityServicewithPierceCountyBackCountryHorsemen(BCH).Theworkprojectwastorebuildasectionoftrailthathadbeendestroyedbytheup-rootingofanoldgrowthSprucetree.Theholecreatedcausedexposureofrootsofanotherlargetreejeopardizingthelongtermhealthofthetree.Withbucketsandshovels the crew took gravel and rock out of the bank of the river andspreaditovertherootsre-creatingthetrailtread.
M A RC H 2 0 1 7 | T R A I L L I N E N E W S | VO LU M E 3 1 | I S S U E O N E
Upper Carbon River-Community Service Work Partyby Tom Faubion, Back Country Horsemen and Coalition Member
President’s Messageby Buzz Grant, Coalition President
Continued on Page 11 Continued on Page 2
Photo by Buzz Grant
OnJanuary7,2017agroupof11Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition(FRTTC)volunteersopenedalmostonehalfmileof theFoothillsTrailin the Cascade Junction area, eastof South Prairie and west of theCoalition Bridge. This area wascoveredbyblackberrybushesnearlysevenfeethigh.Wecutonlydownedtrees which were all blocking ourpassage. This volunteer work willsave the tax payers and PierceCountyagooddealofmoney.NowCounty surveyors, wetland peopleandthefuturecontractorwillhaveamucheasiertimeanalyzingwhatisneededtodotoconstructthissectionof theFoothillsTrail forahopefulcompletion by the end of 2017.Opening of the completed core ofthe Foothills Trail from Puyallupthrough Alderton, McMillin, Orting, Crocker and South Prairieto Buckley will be just after thebeginningof2018. Doctor Douglas Tait and ErnieBay,whohavepassedtothatgreattrailinthesky,wouldbeveryhappytoseethiscompletionofthecoreoftheFoothillsTrail that theystartedasaconceptin1986.Beinginvolvedinthiseffortsincethelate1990’s,IknowIsureasheckamhappy.HereisalsoapartiallistofotherfoundersandsupportersoftheFoothillsTrailthat have passed to that great trailintheskyduringthis25plusyearsof development of the trail: StanEngle,BillHarmon,ClaudiaPeters,Donna Tait, Bernie Dixon, Mary
Itwasadaywithstrongrainandgenerallymiserableconditions,butthestudentsworkedhardandaccomplishedallof theproject in time toextendthedayintoanadditionalfivemilesoftrailimprovement.Thetrailhadlargepuddlesofwatercreatingmudaffectingallofthetrailusers.Thecrewduglargedrainsforthepuddleseliminatingthemandgivingthetrailthechancetodryoutovertime. TheUpperCarbonRiverTrailhasbeencreatedbythejointeffortsofthePierceCountyBCHandtheFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalition.WhiletheentiretrailrunsfromRustontoBuckleyineasternPierceCounty,thesectionconstructed jointly isabout sixmiles longandprovides the linkbetween the Foothills Trail and Mount Rainier National Park. The trail isnowabouttwo-plusmilesshortoftyingintothePark,butit ishopedthatonceeasementissuesarecleared,itwillcompletethedistancemakingabout54milesoftrailsforusebytrailusers.
Mission:ThemissionoftheFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalitionistoassistPierceCountygovernmentandcommunitiesinthecreation,maintenanceandusageofaconnectedsystemofnon-motorized trails for healthier people from Mt. Rainier to PugetSound.TheFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalitionisa503(c)(3)non-profitorganization.
Trail Supporter Ads:TrailSupporteradsarepublishedforafeeof$25perquarteror$100foroneyear,paidinadvancetotheCoalitionandsentto the Ad Manager, Loras Gassmann, P.O. Box 192, Puyallup, WA.
Colquhoun, George Sleet, and last, but certainly not least Clay Gatchel. Now, on to the completion of the Foothills Trailconnection to the Mountain from Cascade Junction through Wilkeson, Carbonado, Melmont, Fairfax and on to Mount Rainier National Park. TonyTipton,DirectorofPierceCountyParksandRecreationhasmovedontonewchallengesasSpecialAssistant in the Pierce County Finance Department.Tony has been great to collaborate with on all Parksrelatedwork.Tony,wewillmissyoubutcongratulations,andweknowyouwillstillbearound.ScottHall,longtimePierceCountyParksandRecreationmanagerhasbeen named Interim Director of Pierce County ParksandRecreation.CongratulationstoScott,andwelookforwardtohelpingbuildforthefuturewithyou.Thesechanges and others were announced by the newlyelected Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier -congratulationsonyournewjob! WearequicklyapproachingourbusyseasonwithmanyworkpartiestoimproveandmaintainthetrailforrecreationalusersaswellasthemanyupcomingeventsthatwillinvolvetheFoothillsTrail.AcouplebigeventsthatwearealreadyatworkonaretheRainiertoRustonRelay and Ultra and Buckley to Orting Half Marathon. Routinetrailmaintenancemayseemredundanttosome,butitisnecessarytoensureeveryone’senjoymentwhiletheyusethetrailforrecreationaloreventpurposes.It’salways trail season, so grab your gloves, boots, andenthusiasm and come on out and join us for a workparty.Noexperiencenecessary. LikeanyorganizationtheFRTTChasmanymovingparts that keep us moving forward. Each and everyperson that gets involved, even in a seemingly smallway to them, is amemberof theCoalition teamandhelpsusALLofusbuildtrailsforfuturegenerations,onesmall,orlarge,stoneatatime.Sograbyourgloves,computers, ideas, time,or knowledge and joinus forthisexcitingyearahead!
Riverwalk to Foothills Meeker Trailhead The4.1mileRiverwalkTrailcurrentlyendsunderthe railroad bridge on East Main Avenue behind
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by Dixie Gatchel, Active Transportation Coordinator
Tracking Progress of Safe, Affordable, Active Transportation for Everyone
Continued on Page 9
Stortinis. Bicyclists and pedestrians currently musttraveltheverynarrow134thAvenueEast,sharedwithmotor vehicles, to reach the Foothills East Puyallup(Meeker) Trailhead. Construction on Riverwalk Phase VI,OptionA(FromtheStortinitrailheadalong134thAvenueEastandcrossingVanLieropParktojointheMeeker Trailhead) is funded and will begin as soon as conditionspermit.TheCityofPuyallupapproved“ErnieBayConnector”asthenamefortheoverallconnectionin honor of our late president emeritus Dr. Ernest C.Bay. The ShorelineAlignment Option B (Would runalong thePuyallupRiver andprovidea linkbetweenthe Stortini and Meeker trailheads) is preferred. We have grave concerns about severe traffic congestionimpacts which will occur if Pierce County approvesthe massive Mickelson warehouse development in this beautiful,fragilearea.Thisisespeciallysoduetoany degree of public disclosure or input regarding the negotiations. We are especially concerned thattheCityofPuyallupwasrefusedco-leadstatusinthenegotiationssincetheyaremandatedtoannextheareainthefuture.
Helping to Raise Money for Unfunded Repair Job Trailusersgoing fromthenewlyconstructedpartof the trail, near the pin-pile bridge, to the seriouslydamagedoldpaved2008partareinforabumpyrideduetoseriousdamagecausedbytreerootincursionfromthe bordering cottonwoods. In January, the FoothillsRails-to-Trails Coalition applied for a $50,000 grantfromtheDoppeltTransformationFundadministeredbytheRails-to-TrailsConservancy.Adecisionisduethis
Foothills Trail - South Prairie to Buckley (Phase 2) Actually experiencing the magnificent pin-pilebridgeup closeon a recent visit blewmymind.Theongoing construction work during Phase 2 includespaving and constructing a new small bridge over anintermittent stream. Phase 3, the connection throughCascadeJunctiontoSo.Prairie,willstartthissummer,completingbytheendof201719milesofpavedtrailfromBuckleytoPuyallup.
When it snows, as we just wit-nessed,itcanbeawinterwonderlandontheFoothillsTrail.Dependingonthe temperatures, snow and ice canlinger for days. To my knowledge,this paved trail is never plowed. Ihave seen people snowshoe, ridebikes andwalk there. It is all good;soloorwithfriends.Thisphotographwas made after a healthy snow andincludes a colorfully dressed personwalkingonabridgeontheFoothillsTrail near Crocker. There is a largeparking lot, a picnic area for familyorfriendsandtheCarbonRiverrunsunder the bridge less than a quartermileupthehill.Onasnowladen,sunnywinter’sdayitisasstrikinglybeautifulalocationasanywhereyoumayfindinPierceCounty.
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http://www.bonneylakebike.net
by Bob Rowan, Editorial Advisory Board MemberVisions of the Foothills Trail
Photograph Copyright 2017, Bob Rowan
Many people nowadays live in aseriesofinteriors…disconnected
by Buzz Grant, Coalition PresidentWetlands or Victory Bridge History The Wetlands or Victory Bridge on the FoothillsTrailisPierceCountyBridgeNo.PRT27195E,locatedbetweenSR162(OldPioneerWay)andSouthPrairie-CarbonRiverCountyRoadEast,northerlyoftheCarbonRiverandbetweentheTownofSouthPrairieandtheCity of Orting. It is 1388 feet northerly of NorthernPacific Railroad and Foothills Trail’s Milepost 22. This bridge/trestle has great significance to theFoothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition (Coalition) andtheFoothillsTrail ingeneral.Thiswas the lastof themajorcourtcasesconcerningtheCitizensAgainsttheTrail(CAT)andtheirfighttostoptheconstructionoftheFoothillsTrail.This bridge is where CAT’s back wasbroken (thus Victory) and Mary Harris andhergroupwerefinallydefeatedaftermanyattemptstostopthetrail. Whathappened?Welllikeanybattleinanywarthereareturningpointsandthisbridge is our turning point. Ms. Harris got aDecreeinPierceCountySuperiorCourtinanattempt toconvert250 to300feetof land adjacent to the Northern PacificRailway Right of Way that she ownedintoover4000 feetof rightofway, thismightbecalled“landgrabbing”withoutgiving notice to adjacent owners, whichcouldbeinterpretedasaviolationofherowncall to arms, “The adjacent ownersoftherailroadrightofwayareentitledtorailroadrightofway.” As the story goes Ms. Harris got her first Decree in SuperiorCourtthensheandsomecohortswenttowork.Greg Horne, president of Ski Park Farms that is adjacent eastacrossthecountyroadheardchainssawscuttingonthisbridgeandbeingatrailsupporterwenttoseewhatwasgoingon.Shallwesaywordswereexchangedand
amemberofthePierceCountySheriff’sOfficestoppedby to talkwith all of thepeople andorderedCAT tocease and desist until the courts could decide on thesituation.Withinveryfewdaysorderswerefiledwiththe Court and Ms. Harris won once again in Pierce County Superior Court in front of the same judge.NowwestarttheAppealprocess,twohearingsintheWashington State Appellate Court and one the StateSupreme Court all were lost by Ms. Harris. She knew thosejudgesdidnotunderstand,sosheappealedtothe
UnitedStatesSupremeCourtwhorefusedtohearthecase,becausetheyfeltitwasastate’srighttypecase,thus Ms. Harris lost in the highest court in the land. Ahardfoughtvictoryforsupportersof theCoalition,whichtookfiveyearsof litigation.Wewoninall the
Photo of Dottie Selby by John Selby
Continued on Page 7
Parks,AnnPasquier,CarolynQuintella,Joseph&KarenRemboski,Calaude&PamRudd,William&SandraSacklin, John & MarySpoonerFarmsTheOldCanneryTownsend,CarolWilkersonHistoricalSociety
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Support the Foothills Trail-Re-signup for Fred Meyer Rewards Program This isagreatwaytoraisemoneyforourFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalitionwithoutanycost toyourpersonal Fred Meyer Rewards. Our supporting households dropped from 190 to 76 because some folks missed thenoticeshownbelow. It isnot too late to re-sign-just follow instructions in letter shownbelow.PleasespreadthewordtoyourfriendsaswellandaskthemtoenrollandwatchourFoothillsTrailgroworgetyourfriendstosignupaswell.
CommunityRewardsCustomerRe-enrollment-#94355
Dear Nonprofit Community Rewards Participant (Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition), Fred Meyer CommunityRewardsCustomerRe-enrollmentbeganonJune1,2016andgoesthroughJune30,2016.YoursupporterswhohavetheirRewardsCardlinkedtoyourorganizationwillbenotifiedaboutthere-enrollmentprocessviaanemailthatwilleasilyallowthemtochoosetore-linktheirRewardsCardtoyourorganization.Pleasenotethatallhouseholdsthatdonotre-enrollduringthisperiodwillbedroppedonJuly1.Yoursupportersmaystillre-linktheirRewardsCardonlineafterthere-enrollmentperiodbyvisiting:www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards
Thankyou
Memberships/Donations TheFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalitionisanon-profitorganizationwithamissiontoassistPierceCountycommunitiesinthecreation,maintenance,andusageofaconnectedsystemofnon-motorizedtrails for healthier people from Mount Rainer to Puget Sound. The following people and organizations haverenewedtheirmembershipsormadeadonationbetweenNovember2016-January2017.BerryIII,JohnBerryBruceDees&AssociatesCoblio,Nicholas&TeriDavidson, MadelineEnlow,TomFrazer,Philip&DawnGant, Colleen & DouglasGard, LoriGassmann, Loras & CarolynGiddings, William & RochellGipe, Betsy & Rob
Hughes,DonaldIrion,RaymondJohnson,Bertil&NancyJondall,CharmianKerr,AdamManke, Kathleen – The Spar Marlene’s MarketMartineau, NicoleMeshke, Beth & DavisMiller, John & JoycePalmer,John
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Wetlands or Victory Bridge History Continued from Page 5
13608-A Valley Avenue East • Sumner 98390http://www.oldcanneryfurniture.com
courts except Pierce County Superior Court. SomecourtexpenseswerepaidbySkiParkFarms,amajorportionbytheCoalitionandalotofpro-bono(un-paid)workbyDonnaRoper,nee’DonnaTait (Whopassedin November 2016) of the Tacoma law firm of Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim as well as attorneys Bradley Maxa and Stephanie Arend whoarenowjudges,allparticipatedondifferentpartsoftheappeals. Ski Park Farms conveyed the land it acquiredincluding the Wetlands or Victory Bridge to PierceCountyParks&Recreationshortlyafterthefinalcourtorder. The expenses were a major drain at that time onthesmallnon-profitFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalition,buttheendresultwaswellworthitbecauseCATnevermadeanothersuccessfulattemptatstoppingthetrail. In early 1998 the Coalition, under advice fromPierce County Public Works, started refurbishing theWetlandsBridgeunderamatchinggrantfromtheStateof Washington Recreation and Conservation Office(RCO)$25,000RCOand$35,000FoothillsCoalition. DuaneHankinsandDonPartingtonsupervisedthe30pluspeoplewhodidthevolunteerworkonthe195footlongbridge.Wereplacedquiteafewrottenrailroadties and the ties previously cut by Ms. Harris. Coalition Director Ken Woolery remembers going under the
bridgewithPublicWorkspeopletolookforrottentiesandsuch.Whenremovingtheoldtiesthereweretwoareasthatjuttedouttoholdtwo-55gallondrumsofwateroneach5footby16footspaceforfirefightinginthesteamenginedays.Well,thebalancewasupsetbythetieremovalandaboutfiveorsixpeoplehadmovedout of the way when suddenly their weight on thatjuttedoutsectiondidabouta15secondslowrollintothewetlandsfourfeetbelow.Itwasveryhumorousaslongasnoonegothurtandtherewasalotoflaughingafterwards. WorkstartedonweekendsneartheendofJulyandwascompletedonAugust15th.Thebridgewasdeckedwith40ofwhatarecalledglue-lamssections.Aglue-lamis12footlong2x4’swiththreesixfootlongboltsandnuts.The2x4’saresetontheirside,glueinjectedand thenuts andbolts tightened thusmakingapieceofdecking12feetby6feetby3&5/8thsinchesthickweighing500to600pounds. The jutting out platform that had been used bytherailroadforwaterdrumswasconvertedtoincludebenches for sittingand lookingoutover thewetland.ThewetlandswereformedbyasmallcreekthatflowsfromSkiParkFarmsunderSouthPrairieCarbonRiverRoadandintoalowlyingmarshunderthebridge/trestlebetweenthetworoadsandthenflowsintoSouthPrairieCreek.
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http:rambletown.appspot.com/is an excellent website that features geocoded trail information in their GoogleMaps.
The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy has also been mapping trails nationwide on theirtrail finder site at http://www.traillink.com featuring detailed trail information,
Here’syourchancetowinafreemembershiprenewalintheFoothillsRails-to-TrailsCoalition.Ifyoucandescribe the location of the photo below before anyoneelse does, youwillwin a one-year individual membershiprenewal.(Sorry,boardmembersareexcluded.) The photo in the December issue was of theWetlandsBridgeontheFoothillsTrailwestofSkiParkLake.Itwasguessed by Carol Townsend. Congratulations, Carol! YouknowyourPierceCountytrails! Let’s see how well our members do on this easy [email protected] “HowWellDoYouKnowYourPierceCountyTrails?”Good luck! The winner will be announced in the next issue.Ifyoudon’tknowyourPierceCountytrailswellenoughtoguess,thengetoutthereandexplorethem!Youaremissingout!
by John Selby, Board MemberHow Well Do You Know Your Pierce County Trails?
Photo by John Selby
T R A I L L I N E N E W S Issue1Page9
Active Transportation Continued from Page 3
Photo by Buzz Grant
Organic, natural & local...like you!
Federal Way 253.839.0633 - Tacoma 253.472.4080marlenesmarket-deli.com
comingJune2nd.Anyamountreceivedwillbegivento Pierce County as leverage towards the estimated$290,000forre-pavingandremovingrootbarriersfromtrail. The Coalition just wants to have our FoothillsNational Recreation Trail to be spiffy from stem tosternforthefuturegrandcompletiondedication.
19685 State Route 410 E.Bonney Lake, WA 98390Phone: 253-862-8890Fax: 253-862-5211www.fleetfeetbonneylake.com
Meetings:
Monthly Board Meetings:Opentoallmembersandaregenerallyheldonthe4thThursdayofeachmonthfrom 7-9 p.m. at the Heritage Quest Research Library located at 1007 Main St., Sumner. Monthly meetings may be rescheduled, so check our website atwww.piercecountytrails.orgforchanges.
Friends of the Riverwalk Committee:Weareaninformalgroupofvolunteersdevotedtotheenjoymentandbettermentof the Puyallup Riverwalk. Please join us for most Monday mornings* at 8 a.m. at Mrs. Turner’s Restaurant, 701 East Main, Puyallup. We also have a group walkthatstartsat9a.m.followingthemeetingandisopentothosewhowouldlike to join us. *Call prior to confirm in case of cancellation. Bill Hilton(253)302-1104,[email protected],orJanetRich,[email protected],PuyallupCityParks253-841-5447.
Charlie Chat - Weekly Luncheon: InformalluncheonseveryWednesdayfrom12-1p.m.atCharlie’sRestaurant,113 East Main, Puyallup. All are welcome to come and share what they have been doingtopromotethemissionoftheCoalition.Nobusinessisconductedevenifaquorumofmembersispresent.
Washington State Bike Summit - March 20-21, 2017Red Lion Hotel; Olympia, WA Don’tmiss the statewidebike conference in the#1BicycleFriendlyState inAmerica!Advocacytraining,thelatestinbikewaydesignguides,legislativevisitson Active Transportation Lobby Day (Tuesday March 21), the intersection of bicy-cling with health, equity,and other subjects, andmuch, much more. Key-note speakers: Dr.AdoniaLugoonbicyclingandso-cial justice, and Ian Mack-ay on his journey fromPort Angeles to Portlandvia electric wheelchairthat highlighted the needfor complete, accessibleconnections. For more in-formation please use thefollowingweblink:https://www.cascade.org/connect/washington-bike-summit.
Charge my Visa Mastercard CCVNo: Exp.Name:Address:City: Zip:Phone: Signature:Email:
Membership makes a difference!The work we are doing is made possible because of your membership and generous support. Credit cards accepted. $20 Single $30 Family $50 Pathfinder $100 Trail Builder $200 Corporate (Includes a 1 year ad in the Trail Line News) Please email my newsletter to
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Foothills Rails-to-Trails CoalitionP.O. Box 192,
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The Mission of the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition is to assist Pierce County governmentand communities in the creation, maintenance and usage of a connected system of
non-motorized trails for healthier people from Mt. Rainier to Puget Sound.
In spite of the inclement weather a great amountof work was accomplished and students who had noprevious involvement with trail work were given theopportunity to contribute to trail use on the UpperCarbonRiver.
Upper Carbon River Continued from Page 1
Foothills Rails-to-Trails CoalitionP.O. Box 192Puyallup, WA 98371-0021Return Service Request
