The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is planning for the future of recreation on 53,000 acres of state trust lands and natural areas in and around the Valley.

DNR is inviting the public to an open house, 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, January 18, at Snoqualmie Middle School, to kick off the planning process and get feedback from citizens.

The Snoqualmie corridor, located in eastern King County, offers opportunities for outdoor recreation near the ever-growing Seattle metropolitan area. In the past 20 years, DNR has increased the amount of land it manages in the corridor. Some are state trust lands—working forests; other lands form the largest network of natural areas in the state.

The 53,000-acre planning area includes two newer DNR-managed properties: the Raging River State Forest, purchased in 2009 to replace state trust lands previously transferred out of trust status, and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA), which was designated in 2009 by Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands.

The first part of the open house will be a brief presentation by DNR staff on the planning process. Following the introductory presentation, the public will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas about recreation in a “listening station” format.

While the main focus of this effort is to develop recreation management plans for Raging River and Middle Fork Snoqualmie, the planning process also involves DNR-managed lands with existing management plans, such as Tiger Mountain State Forest, West Tiger Mountain NRCA, Mount Si NRCA, and Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area. The corridor also includes recreation lands managed by federal, state, and local entities. Although planning will not include activities on those lands, this strategic planning process will look at ways to improve coordination with managers of many of these lands.

For more information about the Snoqualmie Corridor Recreation Plan, visit: www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/Topics/RecreationPlanning/Pages/amp_rec_snoqualmie_corridor_recre.aspx