Stehekin Valley Road Relocation

There is a threat to the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and we need your help!

A bill is in Congress to reconstruct Stehekin Valley Road near Stehekin, Washington, in a new location: on top of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) from High Bridge to Bridge Creek Campgrounds.

For decades, the PCT has been on an old, narrow, historic wagon road that is closed to motorized travel. Currently, the Trail parallels Stehekin Valley Road. (Click here to see a map showing the locations of the existing road and the current PCT.)  In 2004 and 2006, sections of Stehekin Valley Road were obliterated in the same floods that damaged the PCT in the Glacier Peak area. After an Environmental Assessment, North Cascades National Park decided to end the road at Dolly Varden Campground and not rebuild the road, leaving foot and equestrian access to that area of the Park via the PCT.  The PCTA supported this decision.

In response to pressure from Stehekin residents, in 2009, Rep. Doc Hastings authored a bill (H.R. 2806) that passed through the House of Representatives removing hurdles for the reconstruction of the road.  According to National Park Service (NPS) officials, the only alternative location for the road is on 3.5 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail between High Bridge and Bridge Creek Campgrounds. In 2011, the bill was reintroduced as H.R. 2352. Clearly, the PCNST continues to be threatened.

Work by the NPS to find an alternate location for the Trail has been limited to a narrow strip of land between the current PCT and the Stehekin River. We believe this area would not provide both a stable trail and adequate separation from the motorized road. PCTA staff reviewed the situation on the ground and found no suitable location for the Trail that could be built using conventional means.

We ask that language be added to the legislation requiring the design of an appropriate, prudent and feasible route for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and that it be completed and in use before construction of a road on top of the current trail proceeds.

On September 15th,, 2011, the National Park Service spoke in opposition to the bill’s current language in front of the House Committee on Natural Resources.  The PCTA provided written testimony for the hearing.

Now is the time for action! Write Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray now to let them know you want language that protects the PCT added to the bill! This is truly at the heart of one of the most beautiful and remote sections of the entire PCT.  Action that would degrade the Trail experience would set a worrisome precedent for other projects. It would harm the PCT and indeed other national scenic trails.

Please contact these Senators now!  This key section of a National Scenic Trail within a National Park deserves more consideration than it has received to this point.  There are countless PCT users that are an important source of revenue for Stehekin; I am sure that residents would want to ensure that the PCT in their backyard remains an exemplary section of the Trail.
Thank you in advance for your help in protecting this threatened section of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.