The final 7.6 miles of Forest Service Road No. 56 outside North Bend would be closed under a plan chosen by the U.S. Forest Service to better manage recreation in the sometimes rowdy valley of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.
That would block vehicle access to the current trailhead at the end of the road for the popular hikes to Williams Lake and Dutch Miller Gap in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
The plan calls for a gate to be erected at the Dingford Creek bridge about 17 miles up the valley, and for the final section of the road to be turned into a trail for use by hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers. The plan would allow that portion of the road to be maintained and used by owners of crystal mines and some private landowners in the valley, but the public no longer would be allowed to drive it.
The Forest Service earlier this week issued its decision on the Middle Fork Access and Travel Management Plan, which would take effect next year. It also would close a 6.4-mile stretch of Road 56 between Taylor River and the Dingford Creek gate seasonally, from Nov. 1 through April 14. The lower end of the road would be open year-round, but most spur roads branching off it would be closed.
The plan was developed in response to concerns about reckless shooting, off-road driving, trash dumping, vandalism and partying common to the valley for the past 25 years. Groups such as the Middle Fork Recreation Coalition and Alpine Lakes Protection Society have pushed the Forest Service to do something about those problems for years.
Doug Schrenk, Forest Service environmental specialist, said the restrictions would reduce the cash-strapped agency's road maintenance costs and improve conditions for fish and wildlife by discouraging garbage dumping, vandalism and four-wheel-drive "mudding" that damages vegetation.
"It will help keep unfavorable people out," he said. "We have a shortage of dollars for maintenance of roads and it will allow us to get out of roads we no longer need."
About 80 percent of those responding to the initial proposal released last year favored closing the road at Dingford Creek. But significant opposition to the closure exists among hikers, some of whom object to adding several less than scenic road miles to the hikes into the wilderness.
"There is some concern from private property owners and mineral rights owners," Schrenk acknowledged. "There are also some people concerned about losing day-use opportunity up there."
The decision also opens the Middle Fork Trail, on the opposite side of the river from the road, seasonally to mountain biking.
The decision is subject to appeal, in writing, over the next 45 days. The decision document can be found online at www.fs.fed.us/ r6/mbs /projects/mf_atm.
Cascade River Road to close temporarily
The Cascade River Road in North Cascades National Park will be closed from Oct. 6 to Nov. 1 at the park boundary (mile 18), so that crews can remove a slump that formed in 2001.
The closure is 1.9 miles from the Eldorado trailhead, 4.4 miles from the Boston Basin trailhead and 5.1 miles from the Cascade Pass trailhead. Hikers will be allowed to walk or bicycle beyond the closure.
P-I reporter Greg Johnston can be reached at 206-448-8014 or gregjohnston@seattlepi.com