Learn To Manage Our Outdoor Bounty

Once upon a time, a cross-country skier at Mount Spokane State Park didn’t have to worry about snowmobiles. A solitary hiker didn’t have to contend with mountain bikes. The occasional horse rider or huckleberry picker had plenty of room to roam.

Those days are long gone. Conflicts between outdoor enthusiasts have forced the state to consider boundaries to separate incompatible uses. And although none of the user groups are thrilled about losing some of their playground, they should appreciate the state’s effort to fashion a compromise.

Let’s face it: Our population is growing. Our recreational land is finite. And our tastes in recreation differ.

A generation ago, camping spots on summer weekends were easy to find on North Idaho’s lakes and rivers. You didn’t need a reservation to go backpacking at Mount Rainier. Downhill ski slopes were cheap and uncrowded.

Assuming recreational pressure on mountains and forests will only grow, user groups must figure out how to get along. Mount Spokane is a great place to start. The citizens advisory committee that’s worked with the state parks department for six years on a Mount Spokane plan has listened to everyone’s concerns and tried to meet the needs of the different groups.

The plan isn’t perfect, however. It fails to resolve the question whether to expand the downhill ski area into the northwest side of the mountain. It makes sense to expand downhill skiing opportunities at Mount Spokane rather than develop a new resort at a pristine area elsewhere. After years of complaints about the ski hill there, the state has put a new contractor in place. The next step is fulfilling the vision for a bigger Spokane-area ski resort.

The citizens committee would like to see the largely undisturbed northwest slope preserved as a natural area. But in fact, the plan calls for setting aside about a third of the park to protect areas that are especially wild. While those efforts are commendable, nobody’s going to mistake Mount Spokane State Park for a wilderness area. Its primary and historic use is recreation.

It’s possible to accommodate both skiing and preservation. The state could allow new ski runs and still set aside other areas of the park that remain in their natural state. Perhaps a ski expansion could help the state meet another goal: to finance construction of summertime bike-only trails in the alpine ski area.

Managing Spokane’s playground is a tough job, and it’s important this attempt succeeds.

The battles between user groups must stop. Bikers, hikers, skiers, horse riders and snowmobilers share more than just a common love of the park. They are the most effective advocates for better recreational management of public lands.

Even though our lakes and forests are getting more crowded, the Northwest still is a great place to live. Let’s all work together to help preserve that livability.