Olympic National Park superintendent Karen Gustin said she hopes work can begin no later than Friday to repair Hurricane Ridge Road.

Three engineers from the Federal Highways Administration and park staff spent Wednesday assessing damage to the Hurricane Ridge Road and developing the preliminary design for repairing the slide area.

The repair design calls for removing the remaining fine-grained fill, replacing it with a rock and gravel foundation, installing a larger culvert and rebuilding the road. Repairs are estimated to take six weeks to complete.

The road has been closed since Monday when a slope below the roadway slid downhill, …

Read more »

The Tahoma Audubon Society is holding an intermediate birding course beginning Feb. 1 at the Tacoma Nature Center.

Fred Matthaei will be teaching this new class. He brings a wealth of knowledge about local birds as well as years of experience birding in the area.

The course is designed for the graduates of the chapter’s beginning birding and basic birding classes. Matthaei will be building on what participants have already learned, as well as introducing students to more birding areas during field trips, and heightening bird identification skills. This course is also for avid backyard birders who wish to expand …

Read more »

The 17-mile Hurricane Ridge Road in Olympic National Park is closed indefinitely just below the Heart O’the Hills entrance station, approximately five miles south of Port Angeles.

A slope below the roadway slid Sunday afternoon, destroying both lanes along a 100-foot long section of road. The slide is just beyond the Lake Dawn Road intersection; access to Lake Dawn is unaffected.

A timeline for reopening the road has not yet been developed, although early estimates suggest that repairs may take at least a month to six weeks to complete.

The road closure applies to all entry, including bicycle, …

Read more »

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced plans to close the Skagit and Sauk Rivers to all fishing because of a low return of wild steelhead.

Here are the location and effective closure dates:

Skagit River: From the mouth upstream to Highway 536 at the Memorial Highway Bridge in Mount Vernon will be closed Feb.16 through April 30.

Skagit River: From the Highway 536 bridge in Mount Vernon upstream to the Gorge Powerhouse will be closed Feb.16 through May 31.

Sauk River: From the mouth upstream to the Whitechuck River will be closed Feb. 16 through …

Read more »

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will allow smelt dipping in the Cowlitz River to just four days this winter, citing another poor run of smelt expected to return to the Columbia River and its tributaries

Recreational smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River will be limited to Feb. 6, 13, 20 and 27, between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. with a 10-pound daily limit.

“This fishery is primarily intended to provide information on the size of this year’s smelt run and to avoid significant impacts on the population,” said Brad James, a state fish biologist, said in a …

Read more »

Sister resorts Crystal Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie will donate $1 for every lift ticket sold Saturday to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. Guests will be given the opportunity to match the donation to support earthquake relief efforts.

“We’re glad to be able to help the people of Haiti in our own way during this extremely difficult time,” John Kircher, president of Boyne Resort’s western operations, said in a news release. “Hopefully people will come up and support the cause this Saturday while taking advantage of the improving conditions.”

Crystal Mountain has received six inches of new …

Read more »

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced plans to close the lower portion of the Green River in King County to all fishing beginning Saturday and the upper portion of the river beginning Feb. 1.

The closure covers all game fish species.

The lower Green River from the First Avenue South Bridge in Seattle upstream to the South 277th Bridge in Auburn will be closed from Saturday through June 4.

The upper Green River from the 277th Bridge in Auburn upstream to the Tacoma Headworks Dam will be closed from Feb. 1 through June 4.

The …

Read more »

The State Parks and Recreation Commission Boating Programs group needs volunteers to help staff a booth at the 2010 Seattle Boat Show.

The show runs from Jan. 29 through Feb. 6 at the Qwest Field Event Center. Show hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The show will feature more than 1,000 recreational watercraft on display, as well as seminars and boating accessories. The show also includes the Outdoor Afloat Show on South Lake Union.

Volunteers …

Read more »