Pearrygin wants adjacent land to expand its future boundaries

By Joyce Campbell
Methow Valley News

19/06

Methow Valley, WA - If ever you find yourself in a position where you would like to give your property away, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission would gratefully accept your tax deductible donation.

Last week the parks commission sent 70 letters to landowners adjacent to Pearrygin Lake State Park, stating an interest in possibly including part or all of their property in a "long term park boundary."

"A long-term boundary is the commission’s vision of which lands, from a holistic perspective, would ideally be managed in a way that complements the park’s conservation and recreation mission," according to State Parks planner Brian Hovis.

Selected properties have been identified as "candidates" for inclusion in the park’s long-term boundary. Inclusion may be by acquisition by gift or purchase, a conservation easement on portions of a property, or through supporting the conservation mission of the park in some other way.

The public is invited to participate in a meeting with the state parks planning team next Wednesday, Jan. 11, at Liberty Bell High School from 7 to 9 p.m.

Participants will have the opportunity to understand the range of possibilities for use and development of land, and changes to property boundaries. The planning team will present alternatives that they are considering and ask for further comments.

Park manager Rick Lewis said the planning process is still in the beginning stages.

"What’s most exciting to me is the land’s potential to provide trails and recreational opportunities away from the lake," said Lewis.

Pearrygin Lake State Park is a 694-acre camping park two miles northwest of Winthrop, featuring expansive green lawns leading to 10,000 feet of waterfront on Pearrygin Lake.
The Parks Commission acquired 93 acres adjacent to Pearrygin Lake in 2004. The addition of Derry’s Resort brought the park up to 165 campsites, two group camps, two boat launches and a laundry facility.

All 120 state parks are reviewing plans for development in preparation for the 100th anniversary of Washington State Parks in 2013.

"Pearrygin Lake State Park is a very important park for that plan," said Hovis. "It is very popular, we’ve invested in land acquisition and we want to take the next step to develop the land acquisition." Hovis added, "There is lot of interest within the community."

The outreach program, to explain what is important to the park community, was implemented through one-on-one meetings with key stakeholders, a public meeting in Winthrop and an e-mail query to Pearrygin Lake State Park customers.

The planning team sent 3,000 e-mails to park customers and well over 300 recipients responded with comments on what they would like to save or change.

Thirty-four people attended a public meeting in Winthrop on Oct. 13 and gave input on natural resource, cultural, recreational and park boundary issues.

Recreation issues had the most input at the meeting, with boat management on the lake having the highest level of interest. People were interested in connecting the state park to other trails and to Winthrop via trail, development of equestrian facilities and trails, golf and fishing.
Noise, lake level, campsite development, operation of the go-kart track, trail management and development, and opening the park year round all drew comments from the participants.
Natural resource issues included protection of aquatic and upland plants and animals, wildlife viewing opportunities, fire prevention preparedness, and protection of threatened and endangered species.

Cultural issues include interpretation of Methow Valley history, identification of Native American archaeology and cultural resources.

Boundary issues involve acquisition of land for protection of areas surrounding the park and the effects of acquisition on county and local government tax bases.
Miscellaneous issues included collaboration instead of competition with local businesses, fees, staffing, development of the store, light pollution, shuttle to Winthrop, evaluation of water resources, Okanogan County zoning change, and creating a design standard, budget and timeline.

Following the Jan. 11 meeting, the next stage will be to take the best ideas from the alternative approaches developed with participants and combine them into a preliminary plan. The planning team will also complete a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist that describes environmental impacts of the recommendations.

"It is important that people help us so that the team doesn’t miss an important point," said Hovis.
To share your comments or thoughts about this project, contact Hovis at (360) 902-8635; by fax (360) 902-8666; e-mail: pearrygin.lake.planning@parks.wa.gov; or mail: P.O. Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650.