NEAH BAY — The road spanning the width of the Makah reservation now holds the title of the state’s first tribal-sponsored scenic byway.
The state Transportation Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved designation of the 12-mile-long road as the Cape Flattery Tribal Scenic Byway.
“That’s good news,” Makah Tribal Council Chairman Gordon Smith said Wednesday after hearing about the designation. “We’ve definitely been pushing for that.”
Although tribal leaders hailed the designation, it drew criticism from local residents who oppose the tribe’s practice of whaling.
“There will be very little cooperation or camaraderie on this corridor” as long as the Makah hunt gray whales, Margaret Owens, a Joyce resident and co-founder of Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales, said Wednesday.
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