Planning Begins

Mount Spokane State Park

A long-range plan to sort out areas for preservation and recreation at Mount Spokane State Park is being prepared by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Department.

Department planners Daniel Farber and Peter Herzog will begin the project by gathering public comments to define park issues and develop options for responding to those issues.

Eventually, recommendations will be brought to the Parks and Recreation Commission, which will approve a long term management plan for the Park.

This process was just recently completed for Riverside State Park.

The first of several public meetings for the project is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Mt. Spokane-Mead High School, 6015 E. Mount Spokane Park Dr.

This is an important meeting to gather as many ideas as possible on how the park should be managed for recreation and preservation, Farber said.

The ideas and management alternatives will be narrowed and presented at a second meeting early next year for another round of public comment.

The Mount Spokane State Park Advisory Committee already has made an initial list of categories and issues. Among them:

Land classification, signs, facilities, roads and parking areas, natural resource management, boundaries, cultural resource management, education materials, trail management, camping, visitor safety, law enforcement, volunteer organization and concessions, including the alpine ski area.