Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Reiter Workshop Announcement from DNR

We had a great public workshop on January 13 in Monroe.  More than 100 people attended to learn what kinds of volunteer opportunities are available at Reiter, to share their ideas about where to do restoration and where to locate trails, to sign up to be part of a work group, and to get trained to help with citizen patrols.
If you weren’t able to attend the meeting, you can still sign up to volunteer and/or share your ideas with us.
Please send your response electronically to reiterfoothills@dnr.wa.gov, or mail a hard copy to David Way at 919 North Township, Sedro-Woolley WA 98284. 
Training to participate in citizen patrols through our forest watch program is taking place in late January.  The training course was very popular and the first session is completely full (60 people signed up).  We will offer future training sessions and let you know when those opportunities become available.
Field Days Scheduled
Join us for a field day to learn about how things are progressing at Reiter with restoration and trail development and to share your ideas.  Field trips are scheduled for February 6 (restoration), February 20 (motorized trail area), and February 27 (non-motorized trail area), beginning at 10:00 a.m.  We will send participants more detail as to location, etc, closer to the field dates.  Please contact us at reiterfoothills@dnr.wa.gov to sign up – and let us know your contact information (phone and/or e-mail) and which date you would like to join us.  The deadlines for signing up for the field days are a week prior to each field day - January 30th for the February 6th  field day, February 13th for the 20th filed day, and February 20th for the 27th field day
Progress in the Field
Work continues in Reiter Foothills Forest. At a work party on January 17, more than 40 volunteers showed up, along with three donated tractors, four off-road rigs, and four small trucks to haul wood chips to stabilize stream areas.  Volunteers helped with the following projects:
·       Picked up garbage dumped on Forks of the Sky State Park.
·       Began restoration efforts on three main stream crossings.
·       Began restoration efforts at the northern end of Reiter Pond.
·       Hauled wood chips to restoration project locations.
·       Began restoration on several hundred feet of impacted trail surface.
It was a very successful work party.  Folks are excited to get out and help restore impacted areas in hope of getting the Reiter Foothills open as soon as possible.  The majority of the volunteers were members of Reiter Trail Watch and other 4x4 recreationists.
Thank you to everyone who showed up for the workshop and for the many on-the-ground work parties. We can’t do it without you!
Candace Johnson
Assistant Region Manager, State Lands
Northwest Region
Department of Natural Resources
360-854-2803

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