By Marcy Stamper A proposed forest-improvement timber sale in the Wolf Creek area won’t allow healthy regeneration of the forest and could exacerbate erosion into the Methow River and endanger fish, according to Conservation Northwest. The conservation group submitted comments this week to the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the proposed Virginia Ridge […]
Conservation Northwest
Commissioners open 365 miles of roads to ATVs
There are now almost 365 miles of roads open to ATV riders in the northeastern part of Okanogan County, with the adoption of a resolution by the county commissioners on Monday (Nov. 27).
After considering comments from the public and land-management agencies about …
Court order requires closure of 600 miles of roads to ATVs
Okanogan County Commissioner Andy Hover has been talking with all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riders, public land agencies and environmental groups to try to come up with a balanced policy that will satisfy a court order — finalized last week — to consider environmental impacts before …
County must close 597 miles of roads to ATV traffic
Okanogan County will have to close 597 miles of roads to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and do a thorough review of possible environmental impacts before opening any more roads to the vehicles.
The ruling is …
County asks state’s high court to hear ATV case
Plaintiffs cite potential environmental damage to miles of local roads By Marcy Stamper Okanogan County is petitioning the state Supreme Court to hear a case about ATVs’ access to 600 miles of county roads, saying the environmental groups that filed the original lawsuit have not shown they suffered actual harm from the county’s decision to […]
County asks appeals court to review ATV ruling
Attorneys for Okanogan County have asked the state Court of Appeals in Spokane to reconsider a ruling issued last month that found the county had failed to adequately analyze the environmental impacts of opening almost 600 miles of roads to wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).
The county’s motion for reconsideration challenges the court’s ruling on technical procedural …
Court voids county ATV ordinance, closing roads to the vehicles
Environmental review called ‘superficial’ By Marcy Stamper Okanogan County’s ordinance opening almost 600 miles of roads to wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) has been invalidated because the county failed to analyze the environmental impacts of allowing ATVs to use these roads, the state Court of Appeals in Spokane ruled last week. In a ruling that the […]
Busy weekends at the Basecamp
North Cascades Basecamp launches its annual soup-and-something-interesting series on Thursday (Jan. 14) with a presentation by local biologist Kent Woodruff about the Methow Beaver Project. All of the Thursday night events begin with soup at 5:30 p.m. ($7 per person) followed by the program at 6 p.m. Coming up: • Jan.21: Celeste and Kip Roberts […]
ATV case in state Appeals Court this week
The appeal claiming that the Okanogan County commissioners did not consider the environmental impacts of illegal all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding nor the safety issues that could arise when ATVs share roads with other vehicles will be heard in the Washington Court of Appeals in Spokane on Thursday (Dec. 10).
The Methow Valley Citizens’ Council and Conservation Northwest …
Environmental groups worry salvage logging contributed to flood
A scientist with Conservation Northwest who visited the areas on Texas Creek that were scoured by a flash flood last week says that a combination of dense, unhealthy forests and subsequent salvage logging contributed to the erosion and debris flows. George Wooten, an associate with Conservation Northwest, and local property …
