Liberty Road Closue

[Grumpy]

From Merrick Graves:


Please pay attention to this as it will be an area I watch. Also please note there are plans for a new trail access. More info on that as it becomes available. No trail loss here just access! You can currently run the trail and get out via the way you came in.


News Release
Road Closure Will Protect Threatened Steelhead
USDA Forest Service
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Contact: Tina Mayo, Cle Elum Ranger Dist. fisheries biologist, 509-852-1068
Roland Giller, Okanogan-Wenatchee N.F. public affairs officer, 509-664-9314


Website: www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee
Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/okawennf




April 2, 2010

Cle Elum—Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest managers have closed a road located about 10 miles northeast of Cle Elum in order to protect potential spawning habitat for threatened steelhead in a stream in Lion Gulch, a Williams Creek tributary.

Forest Road 9712-113 is closed to motor vehicle use until further notice. It is located in the Swauk Watershed and accessed from U.S. Highway 97. The closed section of road stretches from Forest Road 9712 to the trailhead for off-highway vehicle Trail No. 4W332.

Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts can still access Trail No. 4W332 using Forest Road 9718-112, which winds around to the east in Cougar Gulch.
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest managers implemented the closure because Forest Road 9712-113 crosses a stream in Lion Gulch through a shallow ford. Motorized vehicles that cross the stream can deposit sediment downstream and damage potential spawning areas at the crossing.

“We have so few steelhead that spawn up there that we want to do whatever we can to protect any potential spawning areas in Lion Gulch and Williams Creek,â€