Environmental Study Of Lechtenberg Park

[freeztar]

what bothers me is that this is the kind of stuff people will go find specifically to rip up for sale if they know it's there. any attention i bring to the park in order to protect it, is also advertising to those who would exploit it & hasten its demise. damned if i do, damned if i don't. :eek_big: who ya gonna call.

Well, I don't think too many people are out looking for polypores. Just don't say anything about finding morels or chantrelles and things should be ok. :eek:

[Turtle]

Well, I don't think too many people are out looking for polypores. Just don't say anything about finding morels or chantrelles and things should be ok. :eek_big:

 

well, you'd be mistaken i think judging from all the adds selling those bracket fungi as medicine. besides the south-of-the-us-border folks staking out pot lands in the national forest just a few miles east of lechtenberg, we have asian & russian folk staking out mushroom grounds, plus everyone staking out huckleberry grounds, hunting grounds (couple of locals beat the hell out of a hunter n of carson because he was hunting their area. ), camping grounds, shooting grounds, toxic dump grounds (big PCB one a few years back), mining grounds, woodcutting grounds, & no doubt many other grounds i have yet to run across. :doh:

 

but now the point here in this thread is for me to accurately/scientifically describe for you, and per se you-all, dear tender readers, what is in lechtenberg park so that it can be recognized & utilized for what it is. one of the last remaining largely-undisturbed-climax-mixed-forests on the entire lacamas creek drainage. well, and of course it's just yet another of my obsessions to investigate & catalog & learn unknown stuff, but rather than about numbers it's live stuff this time. :D who we gonna call bro? :D then, just 15 miles west we have clark college & wsu campuses and both have many departments with an interest here that they already take field trips for. with a new development planned right next to the park's eastern boundry, on a freakin' flood plain no less :doh: , there is going to be an uptick in intrusions soon anyway. i'd rather see it in the nature of upticks in visits, and not see this unique county park plowed & paved for parking and swingsets.

 

oh...have i been on my high horse again? :rant: :lol: well, i daresay i'm the expert on the current biota of the place & I know where to lead my steed for feed & water there. :D i'm about to the end of my photo catalogue from last trip, and though we had our first below freezing in 6 weeks temp last night, i suspect something new is there. i found a new official list site today of rare plants in washington, some endangered, so i assure you if i have yet to find any, it's only cause i haven't looked right yet. it's fresh off the flower press & i have yet to peruse it, but it looks a dandy for an amateur botanizer like moi. :eek:

 

Selected Rare Vascular Plants of Washington - Alphabetical List

 

ps bingo!! DNR listing of Trillium parviflorum Soukup

 

if i dare a repost, i quote john muir, who is said to have said, "the clearest way to the universe is through a forest wilderness." on we go thens; mind your step . . . . . .

[Turtle]

always handy to have a map when minding the step, so i prepared one. sorry for the large size but i have to keep the Google map copyright info intact. :lol: i haven't learned yet if there is a way to make a clickable thumbnail of an album image. :eek_big: so, this is a google map detail of the se corner of lechtenberg. the proposed development is the big ugly red X. Google map gives the elevation at 192 feet above mean sea level. 600 feet to the west is a 30x50 foot footprint marked blurrily as "foundation" & Google map gives the elvation as 190 feet ams.

 

 

now the thing is, i have visited that footprint with that intrepid rascal racoon and i/we can tell you, and do so, that it is in fact a concrete slab foundation....under 6" of forest litter and flood silts & sands. :rant: now i haven't tracked the history i'd like to have of that homestead (project for independent study project for a history student at local schools. :doh:), but best guess is mid to late 1930's. (trash heap there to south of foundation; forensic anthropology independent study project for local student(s) :D)

 

well, that lays the foundation of my claims & considerations.

:eek:

/forums/images/smilies/banana_sign.gif

[freeztar]

I'm with you on the concern.

 

I did some sleuthing to see if I could find anything about the park that we haven't discussed here yet and anything about future develpoment.

 

I found this quote from an anonymous source: "This "park" is in designation only. It is privately owned. The park designation is to keep any future development from happening. Trespassing without permission is not accepted. The golf course to the West (Green Mountain) is part of the same 500 acres of property including the "park"."

Lechtenberg Park - Mill Plain - RecreationParks.net

 

:eek:

[Turtle]

I'm with you on the concern.

 

I did some sleuthing to see if I could find anything about the park that we haven't discussed here yet and anything about future develpoment.

 

I found this quote from an anonymous source: "This "park" is in designation only. It is privately owned. The park designation is to keep any future development from happening. Trespassing without permission is not accepted. The golf course to the West (Green Mountain) is part of the same 500 acres of property including the "park"."

 

Lechtenberg Park - Mill Plain - RecreationParks.net

 

 

bummer. that's it then. i won't be returning. :eek_big: :eek:

[freeztar]

bummer. that's it then. i won't be returning. :eek_big: :eek:

 

Well, I wouldn't trust that info right off the bat. Who knows, it could be another turtle trying to dissuade people from going there.

 

You might want to check with the golf course or the county to see if you can verify this.

[freeztar]

I tried to track down some info on LP by digging around for tax parcel info on the Clarke County website.

 

I think I found the parcel where the park sits.

PIC: Home Page

 

 

The owner is listed as GM Camas (who went to a public hearing for an annexation petition less than two weeks ago).

 

You can click on the first map tif to see the plot. You can see where Lacamas crosses Goodwin Rd. and I think that is Ingles Rd. in the top right corner.

 

This seems to be confirmed by a meeting minutes I found from a commissioners meeting.

 

CPZ2009-00025 GM Camas The applicant asserts that since the most recent Comprehensive Plan update, because of a mapping error, a portion of its property has been mistakenly shown as being outside the Camas Urban Growth Boundary. The alleged mapping error involves approximately 11 acres of parcel 172562-000 west of the comer of the intersection of NE Ingle Road and NE Goodwin Road. The approximately 11 acre portion is currently shown with an Agricultural designation and zoning of AG-20, but the applicant asserts that the relevant portion of the site was included in the Camas UGB and was zoned C-3 with a Community Commercial designation during the 2007 Comprehensive Plan update. Contact: JeffNiten (360) 397-2280, Ext. 4909 or e-mail: jeff.niten(at)clark.wa.gov

 

If you look at the other tabs from the first link, the environmental tab shows that this site has all kinds of restrictions on it, environmentally speaking.

 

The account tab shows the site coded as Urban Holding (UH-20). I looked this up and found this.

40.230.070 Urban Holding Districts (UH‑10, UH-20, UH-40)

 

A. Purpose.

 

1. The Urban Holding-10 acre zone (UH-10) may be applied to protect certain lands identified within urban growth areas from premature development when public policy establishes urbanization criteria such as requiring annexation prior to development. The Urban Holding-10 district is also appropriate where public facilities are inadequate to support development under the urban zoning designation.

 

2. The Urban Holding-20 acre zone (UH-20) has the same purpose as UH-10 except that the area is intended to be developed for industrial or office type nonresidential uses and retention in larger lots will ensure the site is adequate in size to accommodate large industrial or office developments.

 

But, it also has an AG code, which is agricultural land. :eek:

 

Soooo...it seems that the site is indeed privately owned. (unless I'm looking at the wrong area)

 

There could potentially be more to the story if GM has already drawn up plans for development and needed to put aside some of the land in a restrictive covenant to "pay for" the environmental damage caused by construction. That's actually quite common here in Georgia.

 

I would recommend contacting Jeff Niten (email above) and see if he knows anything else. Hopefully he'll say that the tax records are wrong and that GM sold the county some land for the park years ago or something like that.

 

Crazy, huh?! :eek_big:

[Turtle]

I tried to track down some info on LP by digging around for tax parcel info on the Clarke County website.

 

...

 

Soooo...it seems that the site is indeed privately owned. (unless I'm looking at the wrong area)

 

There could potentially be more to the story if GM has already drawn up plans for development and needed to put aside some of the land in a restrictive covenant to "pay for" the environmental damage caused by construction. That's actually quite common here in Georgia.

 

I would recommend contacting Jeff Niten (email above) and see if he knows anything else. Hopefully he'll say that the tax records are wrong and that GM sold the county some land for the park years ago or something like that.

 

Crazy, huh?!

 

crazy anit the word for it; i call shenanigans. :eek: i won't be going back in any regard. your links came up, but without the specifics you mention. no worry, not gonna contact anyone else anyway. as it is, i e-mailed the county last week and am waiting for reply. whoever has control of this land, is not abiding by a 1995 agreement i ran across with the county to keep the cattle out of the creek. the nitrates from the mooers are a big reason lacamas lake downstream has major problems with algae.

 

clearly the bit you first found in that park.net is directed at countering me & this thread. :eek_big: posted last march iirc. somebody's trying to pull a fast one all-right. let this record reflect, that i no longer serve this department. mmmm....maybe i could write one more letter....to the local newspaper.... adieu! . . . .

[Turtle]

... :shrug: mmmm....maybe i could write one more letter....to the local newspaper.... adieu! . . . .

 

let's see what this gentle shaking of the world results in.

 

dear environmental reporter,

 

there are right now beaver girdling trees in lechtenberg park on lacamas creek just north of lacamas lake. that's a story alone. but after 3 years of ecological study there, i find yesterday it's supposedly not a county park at all but private!!? story. it's a nesting ground for herons. story. there seems to be shenanigans with development. story. the small-flowered trillium grows there; it's listed as threatened in the state. story. despite agreements in the mid 90's to keep cattle out of the creek north of the park because of nitrate leaching, they are in the creek. story.

 

anyway, here's a link to a science forum thread that gives all the details, complete with videos, photos, and descriptive data of the biota. until or unless i find it isn't private, i won't be returning. feel free to e-mail me or join the forum & ask questions there. >> http://hypography.com/forums/environmental-studies/11272-environmental-study-of-lechtenberg-park-39.html#post292228

 

thanks for your time & consideration,

 

~ Turtle

 

feel free to send them your own comments: >> [email protected]

 

 

time to get to the root of this, dear tender readers. :lol: . . . . .

[Turtle]

alrighty thens! guess who? sun tzu says press on in difficult ground. so it is said, so it shall be done, or in the vulgar vernacular, you gonna eat that?. :lol:

 

i think i mentioned not long ago & just nearby that i e-mailed a guy at the wsu extension office on this a week or so ago when i saw the new beaver activity & he got right back to me & referred me to several addresses. reviewing the last few posts in all the rucous, i see that i failed to mention that i followed up & CC'd that e-mail to clark county parks & rec last friday; i have not heard back yet. in light of the new developments, ought be an interesting reply...or interesting no reply as the case may be. :lol:

 

oh...one other thing, if this is private property, then the invasive himilayan blackberry effusing along, into, and out-of the eastern lechtenberg park forest boundry must be removed by the owner in conjunction with the county weed control board. judging from its proximity to the creek, i rather imagine there are some strict regs on how to do this safely. well, that's probably carefully detailed already in the development plan though, eh? oh but wait... that applies to all owners regardless of any development. :doh: so many regs, so little time. :eek2:

 

let's see...what else? well, the plant id part being effectively over, how bought you armchair urban planners & such throw in your two cents here as if any of this was up to you? that's a rap; smoke 'em if ya got 'em. :shrug:

[freeztar]

I forgot to repost the link for the tax info. You have to go to the site and then enter 172562000 as the tax account.

PIC: Home Page

 

The development notes are pretty sparse on info. I'm going to continue looking though to see if there's anything fishy going on.

 

As far as the cows go, the bigger threat to water quality with bovines is fecal coliform. The algal blooms are probably mostly caused by high phosphorous levels from agricultural runoff.

 

Lake Monitoring - Monitoring - Water Resources - Public Works - Clark County Washington

[Turtle]

I forgot to repost the link for the tax info. You have to go to the site and then enter 172562000 as the tax account.

 

PIC: Home Page

 

The development notes are pretty sparse on info. I'm going to continue looking though to see if there's anything fishy going on.

 

As far as the cows go, the bigger threat to water quality with bovines is fecal coliform. The algal blooms are probably mostly caused by high phosphorous levels from agricultural runoff.

 

Lake Monitoring - Monitoring - Water Resources - Public Works - Clark County Washington

 

nice to have an expert at hand. more the unusual is to have an enthusiastic volunteery expert. :doh: deep genuflections in your spific direction! i knew it was something bad. :lol:

 

was off looking when you posted & found this: Seasonal variation in denitrification in a small eutrophic reservoir: Lacamas Lake, Camas, Washington it is as you say, they say phosphorus that is making the algal blooms. i seem to remember reading the lake is unusually warm too; if so, i attribute this to the deforestion along the creek. the creek is shallow, and in the park at least sitting on a groundrock base, and without shade it's gonna heat up. :lol:

 

mmm...ok & roger on that property id # . i wonder if gm camas is not an individual, but refers to the General Manager of the City of Camas? hold on...accessing....processing...smoking... ...ah; here we go. GM Camas is a Limited Liability Corporation.

GM CAMAS LLC 45.815652

 

wow!!! :shrug: gotta rest, but inasmuch as the small-flowered trillium is in the park, this could be helpful to preserving the forest.

Priority Species Point Sites are defined as areas within 1,000 feet of individual point sites and are identified by WDF&W PHS criteria. These areas are delineated by the presence of threatened, endangered or sensitive (TES) species.

http://www.clark.wa.gov/commdev/documents/devservices/handouts/31b-habfaq.pdf

 

maybe the beaver fit this too? good grief winston!! the game is a-big-foot! :eek2: thnx coyote! ;) . . . . i'm on it like a beak on a turtle. . . . .

[freeztar]

GM Camas shows up in GIS data as "Green Mountain Resorts".

 

Actually, Clarke County has a great online GIS mapping system in place and I encourage you to check out all the different themes and layers they have.

 

Clark County MapsOnline

 

From playing with it for a while, the site does have several development permits. They have links to site plan scan, but the links are all dead. Nonetheless, one layer shows that the Washington Dept. Fish and Wildlife has a habitat and species buffer around the whole area where Lechtenberg lies. I think any developer would have a really hard time justifying any disturbances in this area due to wetlands, riparian habitat, species concerns, and archeaological concerns. Hence, it's probably a good thing that it is private because the govmint wouldn't have as hard of a time. I still would not be surprised to find that GM had used a chunk of that land as mitigation for other activities on that parcel. I also wouldn't be surprised if GM has a safe harbor agreement.

 

I couldn't get the "lake link" to work. :lol:

The thing about algal blooms in eutrophic lakes is that it creates a big dissolved oxygen deficit. Another big influence on dissolved oxygen is temperature. As you pointed out, lack of a riparian zone will lead to sunlight exposure (if that ever happens around there ) which heats the water. An agricultural riparian zone, or even an erosive one, can lead to nutrient loading and you have a double whammy. Of course, this low DO will kill the fish and other critters that munch on the algae. So the algae can grow unchecked.

 

Thanks for the nod to expertise, but I'm hardly an expert. Maybe one day...:shrug:

[Turtle]

GM Camas shows up in GIS data as "Green Mountain Resorts". :doh:

 

Actually, Clarke County has a great online GIS mapping system in place and I encourage you to check out all the different themes and layers they have.

 

Clark County MapsOnline

 

 

roger. that map is linked to the property lisiting page you gave too. :) they give a value of ~2.5 million for the whole GM property that includes lechetenberg park; taxes have shot up from $7,000 just 5 years ago to $29,000 this year. :eek: :shrug: i don't know what that's about; i'm not in that voting district.

 

I think any developer would have a really hard time justifying any disturbances in this area due to wetlands, riparian habitat, species concerns, and archeaological concerns. Hence, it's probably a good thing that it is private because the govmint wouldn't have as hard of a time. ;) I still would not be surprised to find that GM had used a chunk of that land as mitigation for other activities on that parcel. I also wouldn't be surprised if GM has a safe harbor agreement.

 

roger again. for all the apparent "protections" for the park, no one seems to know, or at least have published, exactly what is in it that is being protected. :doh: in my experience in the trades, i would not be surprised if a developer takes shortcuts. hopefully this is not the case here.

 

Thanks for the nod to expertise, but I'm hardly an expert. Maybe one day...:)

 

well, you do/did this stuff for a living right? knew right where to look ,right? knew what the implications were for the data you found didn't you? all in a few spare minutes from 3,000 miles away wasn't it? yeah; i think expert is fitting. :thumbs_up :)

 

no replies from anyone this morning. could be a sign everyone is doing some reading of all this :); or not so much. :D guess that's a rap for this mourn morn'. . . .

[Turtle]

i want to return to my immediate concern which is that right now, today, a beaver or beavers is/are girdling hundreds of year old garry oaks in lechtenberg park. there's only so many of them in this 40 acre plot, and when they're gone, they're gone & along with them the shade for the understory trees & when they die so do the shade plants under them like the trillium. now, whoever (or is that whomever?) is responsible for the stewarding of this environmentally sensitive patch that is a county park in name only ought to be aware of what is going on under their noses so they can get to stewarding.

 

so if any of this "protection" talk by everyone we have looked to is anything more than lip service, it's time to get with some real work. :)

[Moontanman]

Well Turtle my man, it looks like it's time to do a little bit of Beaver Shooting! :)

[Turtle]

Well Turtle my man, it looks like it's time to do a little bit of Beaver Shooting!

 

:thumbs_up yes, well you gotta see one to shoot it, and that's no easy proposition. :shrug: but, i'm after practical real-world solutions here, because we really have beavers killing old trees and there really are laws & restrictions about what can, & ought to be done. do nothing, and this forest could be toast in a few months. guess that would end the debate huh?

 

i'll be back later with updates on whether or not i heard from any of the authorities that i have notified. i'm not holding my breath however, and i have several more areas away from this spot already in mind for another environmental/ecological study. supposed to be national forest this time, but hey, maybe that's just in name only too. . . . . :)