State Plan For Land Exchange Makes Some People Nervous Swap Would Enlarge Mt. Spokane State Park, Put Other Areas Off Limits

State parks officials are near to making a deal to obtain a coveted parcel of land inside Mount Spokane State Park, but northwest Spokane residents fear they will lose out in the exchange.

The parks department wants to trade for 160 acres of timber land on Quartz Mountain that is owned by a Gig Harbor, Wash., development company. The parcel on Quartz Mountain, which is southeast of 5,800-foot Mount Spokane, is surrounded by state park land.

The state has three parcels of land it would consider trading for the Quartz Mountain property. One is at Riverside State Park; the other two parcels are near Mount Spokane. The state will decide what land and how much it is willing to offer after appraisals have been done.

However, the Riverside State Park land, off Seven Mile Road, is a crucial part of any deal because it has about 60 acres offering sweeping vistas that could be developed.

That scares horseback riders like Ken Carmichael, who rides the dry creek beds and dun-colored bluff at least twice a week. He fears a developer would cut off access and ruin the park’s sparse beauty.

“To have this big a park this close to Spokane is a big asset, and it will never come back if we trade it away,” said Carmichael. He lives across from land that could be traded away as part of a proposed swap.

“We’d hate to see the gain of Mount Spokane State Park come at the expense of Riverside State Park,” said Barbee Scheibner, a fellow horse enthusiast.

State parks planner Dick Fankhauser calls the swap a good deal for Spokane. It will expand cross country ski trails, and the deal would protect land that would likely be mined by the Gig Harbor group, Talmo Inc.

“We want to get Quartz Mountain and have wanted to get that for some time,” said Fankhauser. “We don’t have cash, but we have surplus land.”

Representatives of Talmo Inc. did not return phone calls.

The other two parcels considered for swapping, to the northwest and southwest of Mount Spokane, would be logged if traded, said Fankhauser.

The Riverside State Park land on the swapping block is also being considered for “natural forest” designation. If approved, the land could be declared off-limits to hikers and horses.

“That could mean reduced recreation opportunities, because we are trying to preserve the natural forest areas,” said Fankhauser.

That confuses Carmichael. “If it’s so valuable, why would they trade it to a developer?” he asked.

The parks board will listen to testimony at the Tuesday meeting and make a decision on the land swap within a week.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map: Spokane land swap

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ADD YOUR INPUT Public comments on the proposed land swap will be taken Oct. 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Student Union Building at Spokane Falls Community College. Call parks planner Dick Fankhauser at (360) 902-8658 for more information.