Spada Lake. Static
Point lies off frame, to the right.
Photo Mountlake
Terrace web page.
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Summary:
Static Point is likely to become a little harder to get to within the next few years. A long
term planning effort is currently under way and it appears that the State land managers
are not inclined to go out of their way to preserve our access. The most likely scenario is
that the road will be decommissioned two or three miles short of the current parking spot
in the South Fork of the Sultan River.
The expected closure does not stem from any dislike for climbing or a concern for any
impact associated with rock climbing: land managers tell us that much of the current
decision making is being driven by the fact that they simply lack adequate funding to keep
the roads open. We might win a better outcome with greater effort; in the past climbers
have not worked with the land managers over the years even so far as to say that we are
active and interested in the area and at this stage we know little about the planning
process or how funding priorities are set. One thing we do observe is that recreational
access is not as high a priority in current management thinking for the area as we would
like: roads in the vicinity are being closed for a variety of reasons and access for day
hiking, mountain biking, and boating will be reduced as well. We will be sad to see reduced
access at Static Point, if this in fact comes to be.
9/19/2007 Workshop:
On Wednesday, September 19, 2007, Mark Hanna and I attended a "workshop" that was
part of the process toward re-licensing the Snohomish PUD's dam at Spada Reservoir. The
climbing area known as Static Point is approached via roads that serve the reservoir, and
Federal Regulations require that they plan for and provide some degree of recreational
access. Access to the crag is going to be affected by management decisions that are being
made now (the PUD is seeking a license that will last 50 years, so it may a very long time
before the public has an opportunity to provide input in a planning effort of this scale).
The workshop offered a chance to learn about the viewpoints and plans of a variety of
groups with interest in the area and, with this in mind, we went to the workshop to learn
what we could about the process and to say that climbers have been using the area for
almost thirty years and we hope to see continued access at Static Point. The workshop
included attendance by representatives of the PUD, the City of Everett, the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, U.S. National Forest Service, and user
groups including whitewater enthusiasts, climbers, mountain bikers, and miners.
DNR Management at Static Point
Several land mangers are involved in discussions related to the re-licensing project, but
the Static Point crag itself stands on land managed by the Washington Department of
Natural Resources (DNR). Most of the lands managed by DNR are to be managed for
timber harvest which is to support public schools in the State of Washington. The lands
managed for this purpose are termed "trust lands," but smaller portions of DNR lands
receive greater preservation status as Natural Resource Conservation Areas (NRCA's) and
Natural Area Preserves (NAP's). At least two active Washington climbing areas are found
within NRCA's but climbing is not allowed in a CAP. Static Point lies on or near the
boundary of a present NRCA which is going to be expanded and merged with nearby areas
so the crag will lie fully within the new NRCA.
South Shore Road to be Decommissioned
The last two or three few miles of the drive to Static Point utilize the road known as the
"South Shore Road" at Spada Reservoir and a quarter mile on a side road heading up the
valley of the South Fork of the Sultan River (Static Point is located in the valley of this
South Fork). These roads are operated by DNR and the Forest Service. With the coming
expansion of the NRCA, DNR plans to retire that South Shore road and close vehicular
access at Olney Pass, or perhaps shortly down the hill heading toward Static Point just
beyond the pass. At the September 19 presentation, the DNR spokesman indicated that
they will likely not even allow mountain biking on the old road after it is retired.
A large factor in this management decision is the cost of maintaining the road. New forest
practice rules require roads to be maintained to higher standards, and the DNR lacks
funding to bring the South Shore road up to the required standard (in the discussion on
September 19, there was some confusion as to what the need for "fish passable" culverts
might be on some key drainages, but we toured the area as a group and a bridge over the
South Fork of the Sultan River would probably need replacement and at a minium some
culverts upgraded. Also, the road has a history of periodically being swept by slides along
the grade dropping from Olney Pass to the lake. Oddly, in order to replace public boating
access to Spada Lake, they are presently considering building a new road on an old road
alignment that drops to the lake much closer to the entry point (Olney Pass) than the
present boat ramps. It seems crazy that this could be cheaper or that it would present less
environmental impact, but that may be the case.
Current timelines within the DNR road abandonment project call for decommissioning back
to the South Fork bridge (just before the Static turnoff) by 2011, and all the way back to
Olney Pass by 2015. It should also be noted that the original plan would have eliminated
the road by the end of 2009, but the Jackson Hydro re-licensing process is being allowed to
run its course. The new DNR management plan or policy may not be, strictly speaking, part
of that process. Further, the DNR official on hand did not state at what stage any such new
plan or policy may be.
Recreation Priorities
The DNR representative at the September 19 meeting indicated that they have three
primary priorities in the management of NRCA lands: (1) conservation and preservation,
(2) public recreation, and (3) education. Where activities in pursuit of one of the lesser
priorities threatens a higher one, he said, they must look at restricting that activity.
Throughout the day, this person indicated a predilection against preserving recreational
access but much of this appeared driven by concern for the expense and effort associated
with managing recreational use more than any hostility toward recreational users. PUD
officials, Forest Service Representatives, and DNR staff discussed expected reductions in
access at a number of locations around the reservoir and several times it was said that
they can't afford to maintain access and they have no obligation to do so. One such
discussion involved the access desires of those who maintain mining claims in the area and
how they will have to bear more of the cost of maintaining access than they have in the past.
However, cost was not the only consideration: when mountain biking advocates asked that
there be some provision for their activity, the DNR guy said they would not permit that
activity around the reservoir unless other entities took over the management of such use
through some sort of interagency agreement, and they would likely not allow it at all inside
the new NRCA. Further, he opined that mountain biking might not even be compatible with
other management objectives even on surrounding trust lands operated for commercial
timber harvest (he suggested mountain bikers go talk to the Forest Service if they want
more areas for their activity). Also apart from cost considerations, he described it as a
benefit that some nearby lakes that are presently day-hiking destinations will become out
of reach for ordinary hikers: the two Grieder Lakes and Boulder Lake. This is going to
provide an enhanced recreational experience for those willing to spend a week on a
backpacking trip, he said.
One group that seems to be receiving a little more favorable consideration is the
whitewater enthusiasts. It was not clear that the agency will spend money or undertake
great efforts in their behalf, but there was considerably more visible rapport between their
representative and the other recreational users present. It appeared that he had spent
substantial time and effort to build that relationship.
General Lack of Involvement With Climbers
In addition to the roadway issues, Mark Hanna and I were disappointed to learn that the
primary spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources demonstrated little
understanding of the type and extent of the climbing activities that had taken place there
over the years and we perceived little inclination to want to work with groups such as ours.
For example, at one point he indicated that if Static Point were located within the new
NRCA, rock climbing would be wholly incompatible with such designation - or at least that
which might utilize any of what he termed "fixtures" and he apparently thought that there
were two types of climbing - bolted and not bolted (in fact, at least two other climbing
areas in Western Washington - Fossil and part of Little Si - lie within NRCA's and include
many heavily bolted climbs; also, the bolt-protected climbing at Static Point is by no
means sport climbing comparable to that at those areas and any management
considerations would be quite different). At another point, he stated that he would have no
choice but to entirely ban all climbing activity if there were found to be Peregrine Falcons
nesting on the cliff (I told him that I doubt they nest there because it is too low of an angle
for them but I added that I don't think any such outright closure has been found necessary
in managing for nesting raptors anyway - at other Washington climbing areas I explained
that management for Peregrine Falcons has varied from the imposition of seasonal closures
for three or four months a year to simply monitoring the situation and imposing no closure
as long as it appeared that climbing activity was not disrupting nesting activity). Although I
doubt there are Peregrines at Static Point or that any significant level of agency
management activity will be required to respond to any expected level of future climbing
activity there, I propose to send them some information about climbing management
alternatives and to try to build a better relationship with the local DNR land managers.
An important issue, as I see it, is that climbers have generally avoided contact with the
PUD or DNR or anybody else. Many climbers who go up there fail to register at the kiosk
where all visitors are asked to register, and it doesn't sound as if they've had any contact
with us over the years nor any way to gauge our interest. PUD personnel recently visited
Static Point to see what we had been doing up there and they did not indicate they found
anything they would disapprove of: the access trail is not intrusive and has not produced
any significant erosion, there is little impact even on the vegetation at the base of the
climbs as the staging areas are mostly on rock or sandy ledges, and you can see little in
the way of bolts or belay anchors from the ground even though the climbing is largely bolt-dependant. However, not until very recently have climbers even said: we go here and we
care about this place. Static Point wasn't on their radar and the agencies present, including
the PUD, DNR, and the Forest Service had no idea that there even existed a nearby cliff
that we were interested in up behind the Kromona Mine (we believe this is on Forest
Service land, and representatives of the Skykomish District were quite interested in the
discussion of this cliff).
Conclusion
It looks as if the road to Static Point is likely to be closed for a lack of funding. However,
we do not know what the planning process may be with regard implementation of any new
plan or policy, nor whether there may be some prospect to impact management - planning
if not to save the road maybe to have mountain biking permitted on the old road bed. We
believe we should do more to maintain a relationship with land area managers than we
have in the past and that, as a user group, we should also work more closely with other
user groups like mountain bikers or whitewater enthusiasts if we are going to maintain
access in remote areas where none of our groups has sufficient interest or money or staff
to fight for every individual road that is likely to be closed in the coming years.
-Matt Perkins
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