Elwha Road Plan Comes Up Short
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Olympic National Park released its Olympic Hot Springs (Elwha) Road Environmental Assessment (EA) in November. The plan addresses long-term access to the Elwha Valley. The preferred alternative, a newly constructed one-mile bypass road designed by the Federal Highway Administration, demands too high a price in environmental degradation and uncertainty. The Park needs to slow down and reconsider.
OPA supports the need to restore motorized access to the Elwha Valley, but the preferred alternative is potholed with problems. The new road requires cutting 18 acres of mature and old-growth forest, including up to 50 potential Marbled Murrelet nesting trees. Most trees are centuries old and some reach seven feet in diameter. The plan also calls for constructing 1,000 or more feet of retaining wall and rock riprap. Some of it will be in, or adjacent to, the existing river channel where it will take a serious toll on salmon habitat.
OPA requested a complete environmental impact statement (EIS) that would look at long-term access for the Elwha Valley in the face of global warming and frequent floods. The EIS should consider a broader range of options, such as a scaled-down road, or all-purpose trail. The largest salmon restoration project in the nation should not be put at risk by a hurried plan and accelerated construction.
OPA’s comment letter lists four major areas of concern:
1) the likelihood of future road washouts downstream of the new bypass road;
2) the destructive impacts of up to 1,000 or more feet of retaining wall on recovering salmon habitat and natural river dynamics;
3) the lack of a current Marbled Murrelet survey of the area or mitigation for removal of 18 acres of prime low-elevation old-growth habitat; and
4) the Park Service’s admission of a need for further geotechnical testing for slope stability while proceeding ahead with planning and permitting.
You can read OPA’s comment letter here. You can go to the Park’s planning site to review the plan.
Elwha Road Proposals Too Rushed
Updated March 10, 2019
Olympic National Park and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are weighing options for rerouting a washed-out section of the Elwha (Olympic Hot Springs) Road. One option, a proposed one-mile bypass road, would be located along the forested toe-slope east of the floodplain and existing road.
An original environmental assessment (EA) for geotechnical test drilling along the proposed route called for construction of a 6-to-10-foot-wide “path for drill rigs that would minimize ground disturbance. Compressed or crushed vegetation would be left in place where practicable, and few trees would be removed.
Instead, the FHWA bulldozed a 10-to-15-foot-wide road for the drill rigs and carved wider landings for the test wells, all in undisturbed forest. Little concern was given to vegetation or other resources.
Now, Olympic National Park has released three preliminary alternatives for restoring vehicle access to the Elwha Valley: 1) no action; 2) construct a one-mile bypass road east of the floodplain; and 3) raise the existing road 10 feet. No test data has been offered and very little information has been released about the size and scale of the proposed road.
OPA has expressed support for restoring motorized access to the Elwha Valley, but we view this process as much too rushed. Further, FHWA’s performance thus far does not inspire confidence. New road construction in a national park requires careful analysis and discussion. The reroute alternative proposes an 80-to-130-foot-wide clearing corridor through mature and old-growth forest with fills up to 30 feet in height. The projected cost for the reroute is $5 to $7 million. Rehabilitating the rest of the Elwha Road to Boulder Creek Trailhead is expected to run to $13.5 million.
This is a large and complex project. It deserves full environmental review and public participation in an environmental impact statement (EIS). A fast-track EA, as proposed, is utterly inadequate.
OPA requested that the Park Service withdraw its preliminary alternatives and begin a public scoping process for a comprehensive EIS. A full consideration and thoughtful analysis of all transportation options and their environmental costs and benefits are essential. If a bypass road is chosen, it should be a modest, two-lane road of a scale and clearing radius in keeping with the existing Park road. A wide, straight highway with 100-foot wide clearing has no place in the Elwha Valley.
You can read OPA’s comment letter here. Comment deadline was March 13, 2019.
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