Main object is to stop new timber sales Logging planned for the Libby and Buttermilk creek areas would harm endangered fish, mammals and birds and violate environmental laws and the U.S. Forest Service’s own land-management plans, according to a lawsuit filed by a conservation group to stop the 50,000-acre Mission Restoration Project. The lawsuit, filed […]
Methow Valley Ranger District
Restoration and repairs to close some USFS recreation areas this summer
Some popular locations in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will be temporarily closed or have crews doing restoration and repair work this summer. Forest officials advise visitors of the following changes and projects: • An extreme windstorm on June 25 blew down thousands of trees across the Methow Valley and Tonasket Ranger Districts, according to Shannon […]
USFS, rock climbers team up to stem damage at Methow sites
The Methow Valley is one of the fastest-growing rock climbing areas in the state. Its many attractions, including relatively low crowd levels, a wide variety of varied pitches, and easily accessible terrain, have made it a rising star among Washington’s many climbing destinations.
Mike Liu: Community trailblazer
When Mike Liu became Methow Valley Ranger District nine years ago, he recognized the vital relationship between his agency and the small community that is surrounded by the 1.3 million acres of national forest lands he was hired to manage.
Building community connections has been a priority for Liu, who will retire on June 22.
A forest health prescription
The U.S. Forest Service truck shuddered over the dirt road as Sara Billings, fuels assistant fire management officer at the Methow Valley Ranger District, drove up into the Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest outside of Winthrop last week. She was visiting a prescribed burn that was underway in …
USFS proposes to ‘adopt’ Buck Mountain trail
The Buck Mountain trail, a few miles north of Winthrop, is one of the Methow Valley’s premier mountain biking destinations, offering spectacular views of the Methow Valley and distant mountains. The 13-mile loop trail, also popular with horseback riders …
Sun Mountain trails project begins soon
The network of mountain bike trails at Sun Mountain will get 22 miles of new single-track trails, including a trail along Thompson Ridge offering sweeping views of the Methow Valley and surrounding mountains.
The trail construction project is expected to get underway as soon as conditions allow and will …
USFS: ‘no significant impact’ in Mission Restoration Project environmental assessment
The U.S. Forest Service has issued a “finding of no significant impact” in a draft of its final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Mission Restoration Project, a forest restoration plan affecting more than 50,000 acres in the Libby Creek and …
Methow Valley named ‘priority area’ for trail maintenance and repairs
With more than 1,000 miles of trails, but funding to maintain only about 300 miles each year, the Methow Valley Ranger District has been chosen as a priority to receive additional resources to address a backlog of trail maintenance.
As one of 15 “priority areas,” around the nation, the Methow Valley Ranger District …
RCO grants will support trail, campground maintenance projects
Trail and campground maintenance projects in the Methow Valley Ranger District have received funding through the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) following passage of the …
