Army Gives Up John Wayne Trail Talks Military Says It Can’t Make Guarantees Demanded By State Parks Commission

The Army says it’s given up on negotiations to try to resolve a dispute with the state Parks Commission over a section of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

At issue is guaranteeing public access to a 21-mile section of the 250-mile-long trail that runs through the Army’s Yakima Firing Center in central Washington.

The Army says its section of the trail will almost certainly remain open, but it can’t guarantee to provide a replacement trail if the section should be closed.

A replacement trail would cost more than $2 million, which is four times the amount of money the Army can spend without congressional approval, officials said.

“I was shocked and dismayed that the Army chose to break off negotiations,” Cleve Pinnix, director of the Parks Commission, said in a letter sent last week to Lt. Gen. George Crocker, commander at Fort Lewis.

Pinnix told Crocker the Parks Commission had not asked the Army to pay for building a new trail but only to provide an alternative corridor if the existing route is closed.

The state trail, which runs along an abandoned railroad right of way between North Bend and the Idaho border, is popular with hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers.

The Army acquired a section of the trail through condemnation in 1994, when it added 63,000 acres to the northern end of the firing center, which now is about 500 square miles.

The Army also signed an agreement with the Parks Commission that said the Army would provide an alternative trail if the existing one was closed.

Earlier this year, the Army voided the agreement, contending former Fort Lewis commander, Maj. Gen. Paul Schwartz, did not have the authority to make the promises he did.

Now the Army wants the Parks Commission to apply periodically for permits to keep the trail open to the public.

Lt. Col. Gary Hovatter, a Fort Lewis spokesman, said the Army decided to end talks on the matter because the state was insisting the Army build an alternative even if the trail was closed for reasons beyond the Army’s control.

“We didn’t see how we were going to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with that language in there,” he said.

Hovatter said the Army has no plans to close the trail to public recreational use and noted that the Army, to date, has never denied a request to use the trail.