County Delays Decision On Closing Orv Park Landowners Near Riding Area Unhappy With Abuse Of Property

Muddy fun can still be had at Liberty Lake ORV Park.

For now.

Spokane County commissioners voted Tuesday night to delay a decision on whether to close the off-road vehicle riding area after hearing contentious testimony from a dozen riders and property owners.

The 350-acre riding area sits atop the county park at the south end of Liberty Lake, near the Washington-Idaho state line.

Motorcycles, ATVs and four-wheel-drive trucks have raced through the park’s maze of trails for 30 years.

“If riders would stay within the park, I’d be happy,” said Ron Knudsen, who owns 150 acres near the park’s eastern boundary.

But in order to gain access to what riders call “some of the best scenery,” such as Mica Peak and Signal Point, they rumble across private land.

The park’s boundary fence, bought and installed with state and federal grants, has been torn down and pulled out of the ground in some places, said Wyn Birkenthal, manager of Spokane County Parks and Recreation.

Rider David Marzetta attributes the destruction to a small number of off-road enthusiasts.

“It would be a terrible shame to see this (park) go away,” said Marzetta, who’s been using the Liberty Lake park for eight years. “I’m looking forward to bringing my two sons to the park to ride. But we don’t really care what you do as long as you maintain a riding area for us.”

Maintaining the park has not been easy. No one is assigned to patrol it. A large sign with the park’s rules has been hit with “occasional shotgun blasts,” said Birkenthal.

Riders have also broken signs which mark closed trails. In some areas, the wooden signposts have been pulled out of the ground and left along trails.

Officials are also concerned about erosion at the park. This season’s snow melt is rushing through ruts created by riders at “waterfall flow” in some areas, said Birkenthal.

An erosion study, completed in February 1996, recommended these three options:

Do nothing.

Improve the drainage problem and allow ORV riding to continue.

Improve the drainage problem and close the park to ORV riding.

The county Parks Advisory Committee and Parks Department staff are recommending that the park be closed to off-road vehicles.

But the grants allowing the county to acquire the ORV area stipulate that if the riding area is sold, an alternative site for that use must be provided.

“We keep losing places to go, and we keep increasing the use of available places,” said Jeff Williams, president of Northwest Off-Road Racing Association. He said riding areas in Seven Mile and Airway Heights are crowded and “it’s just going to get worse.”

Landowners near the Liberty Lake park, however, spoke out against the abuse of their property.

“These riders said it themselves,” said Knudsen. “They’re teaching their kids and grandkids that it’s OK to ride on private land, and that it’s OK to cut your own trails.”

The deadline for written public comments is March 25. Commissioners are expected to issue their decision by April 1.

, DataTimes