OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Olympic National Park is seeking public input on the proposed rehabilitation of the Cape Alava and Sand Point trails located within the park’s Ozette area.
The Cape Alava and Sand Point trails access each end of a 3-mile section of beach creating a popular 9-mile triangular wilderness hike, beginning and ending at the Lake Ozette Trailhead.
Ozette is the busiest trailhead for overnight wilderness use in the park. Approximately 9,500 linear feet (70 percent) of the total 13,533 feet of boardwalk on the Cape Alava and Sand Point trails is in poor condition. These trails are in designated wilderness.
Interested members of the public are invited to comment on the preliminary alternative concepts. The initial concepts include a no-action alternative to continue current management, replacing the boardwalk in-kind, or converting non-wetland sections of the boardwalk to turnpike (a series of ground-level wood boxes filled with gravel and soil).
More information about this project and the preliminary alternative concepts is available at the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment website at parkplanning.nps.gov/OzetteTrails.
Comments may be submitted directly on this site by clicking on “Open for Comment” and following the links to review the document and submit a comment. Comments will be accepted starting today through 11:59 p.m. on April 26.
The information obtained during this civic engagement period will be used to identify and refine the elements and alternatives under consideration in an environmental assessment. The EA is anticipated to be released for public review this summer.
Comments can also be mailed or hand-delivered to: Olympic National Park, Attn: Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor, Ozette Trails EA, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
