West Coast Marine Trails

June-July 1999

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web

by Doug Lloyd

The Pacific Northwest has a long history of human habitation-up to ten thousand years in a region of dense forests, indigenous peoples traveled nautical pathways.

These inhabitants crossed bays and island-hopped by dugout canoe; they followed shoreline river routes and coastal corridors of Oregon and Washington State, plied the island strewn waterways of the Gulf, and up the coastal inside passage of British Columbia and Alaska. Using small craft, they gradually established routes in search of food and commerce, even warfare, developing a network of favorite haul-out points and areas offering shelter or other camping amenities along the way.

Today, the human powered recreational traveler usually does so by easily beachable kayak-purely for pleasure. Pulling out to rest or set up camp, they find sites by experience, guidebook or even serendipity. But while there is relative freedom to camp when one yravels in remote areas, finding a good camping spot can be much more difficult in populated parts of the coast.

WASHINGTON WATER TRAILS

One area that has undergone rapid urbanization is the Puget Sound /Georgia Basin. This may be the reason that the first group to deal with the land-use problems was the Washington Water Trails Association (WWTA) formed in 1990. Their mission includes the establishment of access points, resting places, and camping sites, while working to ensure environmental integrity and educational opportunities through the stewardship of marine and inland waterways.

The Cascadia Marine Trail system stretches 150 miles from Olympia to Pt. Roberts near the BC border and the BC Ferries terminal at Tsawwassen. It includes over 40 campsites and some State Parks and other owner agency sites.

WWTA also partners with innkeepers, B&B establishments and other venues, and has a mandate to create new sites and opportunities. Other initiatives include the recent establishment of the Willapa Bay Trail, and a proposal for a spur trail along the Hood Canal and link with a possible Olympic Peninsula route. An eventual link may also occur one day with the Lower Columbia River.

The WWTA is already working with Oregon state on the Lewis and Clark water trail on the Columbia river down from the Bonneville dam. They have also established the Lakes to Locks Water Trail-a day use trail presently extending from Lake Washington through Lake Union, through the locks, and into Puget Sound. This has been accomplished working with Seattle City Parks, the National Park Service, and Port of Seattle. Eventually it will include all of Lake Samish and link to Lake Washington and to the Sound.

An umbrella organization called the North American Water Trails Network lobbies in support of groups like the WWTA and was instrumental in helping them bring about the trail through legislative endorsement. They suggested an exclusive requirement allowing for only wind and human powered craft which is now law. The legislation also provides and permits future reciprocity with other trails and other countries, in terms of an annual pass. A number of water trails exist in North America, and in all cases, the recreational community of that locality is very thankful they acted when they did.

WWTA requires membership application, and provides a guidebook with updates, a newsletter, and promotion of a Code of Ethics. Members are encouraged to participate in organized workshops and stewardship works.

An annual permit fee gives a member with a small boat, unlimited access to water trail campsites (though campsites that are also within an official park may require payment of that park's additional fee). A single use permit fee for a member's one-time use of an exclusive WWTA's site is five dollars US.

The permit fee is set by Washington State Parks and the money goes to a dedicated account at parks. It is completely independent of the WWTA membership fee, and is available at state parks with sites, REI, and other outfitters/ retail stores. The permit is $20 for 1999, as it was for 1998. It is good only at the State Park Cascadia Marine Trail Sites - not at sites owned by other agencies (over 1/2 the sites), nor is it good at other marine campsites owned by WA State Parks. The type of boat covered by the permit is a human or wind powered beachable craft with no motor..

(The single night fee is $7 per person over 12 years per night for 1999. That is paid at the site only.)

BC MARINE TRAIL ASSOCIATION

Another non-profit society (this one formed in 1993) dedicated to ensuring recreational access is the BC Marine Trails Association (BCMTA). With conservation values at its heart, the BCMTA has proposed a 900 km trail from the Gulf Islands through the Inside Passage, to Prince Rupert. They are working toward a goal of a campsite approximately every 15 km along the entire BC Marine Trail route, with outhouse facilities at appropriate locations and an emphasis on lessening the environmental impact on our wilderness resources.

The BCMTA recently formed a partnership agreement, in principal, with the WWTA and will eventually link up to the Cascadia Marine Trail somewhere between the San Juan and Gulf Islands. When this does occur, a name for the entire route may require some consideration by all parties. The marine trail for BC has a number of sites already established but negotiations with native, government, and corporate land managers are ongoing, with some of the more difficult sections yet to be discussed (though a list of proposed sites is about 95% complete). Financial considerations are still a concern, which prevents some momentum. A "Marine Trail Act" would be of invaluable backing, as it was with the WWTA. In any event, the new BCMTA must keep the members updated and continue to keep on keeping on. Other kayaking organizations in BC also need to give full support to the BCMTA. A fully functional trail as originally envisioned will be a slow process.

Many BC paddlers have supported the BCMTA in the past but may have lost contact with the organization over the last year or two. There were some problems with the membership data base when the head office relocated to southern Vancouver Island and then back again to the BC mainland. If you have not received your newsletter, please contact the BCMTA. Mail is currently flowing via a temporary address, and a new office will soon be open in the spring of 1999 (it is currently undergoing renovations). Phone numbers and addresses are listed below. Peter McGee, founding member, is also back on the board of directors. Paddlers everywhere thank Peter for his vision and commitment.

The BCMTA has a new guide book out, Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest Coast. This is not to be confused with a core marine water trail, but covers the area in general and is representative of parts of a core marine trail and some arterial routes. (The book includes a section on the Cascadia Marine Trail.) There is an obvious unity throughout the book that seeks to establish a clear message of care and conservation. All royalties from the book go toward the initiatives of the BCMTA.

A brochure with sections of the linear core trail is to be published this year. In the meantime, sites are being developed and need to be maintained, so please get involved. Local opportunities are available for site work (a work party is going to Blackberry Point on Valdez Island in the Gulf Islands in April).

BC'S CENTRAL COAST AND ALASKA

The new frontier for kayaking, the Central Coast of BC, is on the forefront of land management issues. With new pressures like the Central Coast ferry service distributing people in a more diverse way, and with the threat of fish farms and other developments hanging over the coast, it is opportune to speak up now and establish routes and sites.

The government convened Central Coast Land and Coastal Resource Management Plan is a 2 year long, multi-stakeholder process which is trying to determine a plan for the future of this vast area.

Long time kayakers like Seattle's Randel Washburne note that in his early years along the central BC coast, almost the only signs of humans found during his long treks north were archeological ones above the high tide line such as coast watch stations from the war, totems, cabin ruins, old mink traps, and occasionally a campfire ring overgrown with moss. Back then, preservation and management were irrelevant. Where one camped or built a fire didn't much matter.

Randel has seen big changes in just the last 20 years, and he doesn't like to think about what the Central Coast could become like in another 20, without wise development decisions by government.

The inside passage through Southeast Alaska, as wild and untamed as it is, is slowly showing signs of development too. Homesite-applications and other pressures are increasing, while industry and intensive logging increasingly threaten the status quo. Fortunately, great tracts of coastal land already fall under the protection of parks status, and this may be part of the reason Alaskan paddlers have been slow to see the need for a marine trail in their area. Major sponsorship at the federal or state level might also be needed, as much of the land is under government jurisdiction. Different trails require different partnerships. The new governor is said to be trail friendly, and this may be the time for the northern communities to act. Certainly, the idea of three major marine trails linking from Olympia to the Alaskan Panhandle is of monumental significance. We can only hope that the waters that divide might also one day unite.

CONCLUSION

Marine trails offer not only recreational enjoyment, they also offer a new way to preserve and protect our wilderness assets. Water trails, unlike hiking trails, do not make you conform to a predetermined pathway-the paddler is free to choose their own routes and deviate wherever safe to do so. Paddlers need to practice low-impact techniques, and support good stewardship programs. Water trails are an important part of the history of our coast and will continue to be so with your support. As you plan your 1999 kayak adventures, consider rediscovering some of these ancient pathways on the sea, but do so with an eye toward the future.

BCMTA,1668 Duranleau St., Vancouver BC V6H 3S4. 604 689-7575. Web: http://members.tripod.com/~jralittle/bcmta.html

WWTA, 345 - 4649 Sunnyside Ave North, Seattle WA 98103-6900. 206545-9161. Web: http://www.eskimo.com/~wwta/

Doug Lloyd is a frequent contributor to Wavelength.