Gifford Pinchot officials brief Cowlitz County on Spirit Lake outflow EIS, SR‑504 closure and forest thinning plans

Johanna Kovarik, forest supervisor for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and Nick Granham, acting district ranger for the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mount St. Helens Ranger District, briefed Cowlitz County commissioners on a range of forest issues, including the Spirit Lake long‑term outflow review, summer roadwork and commercial plantation thinning plans.

Kovarik said the Forest Service plans to publish a draft environmental impact statement for the Spirit Lake long‑term outflow project in July and will solicit public comment. She described interagency tabletop exercises and thanked Cowlitz County emergency management for participation in moving the agency's emergency response plan to an "emergency action plan" aligned with national standards.

"That effort accumulated in a tabletop exercise, which included several federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers as well as Cowlitz County Emergency Management," Kovarik said.

Officials said the long‑term outflow project is a congressional directive to examine alternatives for Spirit Lake's outflow and that safety is the top priority. Commissioners and residents asked whether options under study include alternatives to the existing tunnel and whether the plan would address logs and sediment in the lake; Kovarik said those topics are covered in the draft EIS alternatives and that the public will have an opportunity to comment.

Granham described an unusually active summer of road and bridge work on the forest and said the State Route 504 approach to the Johnson Ridge Observatory remains closed because of a landslide; the estimated re‑opening date remains 2027. He also confirmed that some visitor services continue at the Coldwater Science Learning Center and that Ape Cave timed‑use permits and recreation.gov access are in effect for the season.

On forest management, Kovarik said a forest‑wide commercial plantation thinning and potential control lines environmental analysis covered about 136,000 acres of plantations (replanted stands under 80 years old) under consideration for commercial thinning and fuels treatments to slow fire spread. She said the project includes a GIS story map that shows treatment areas and noted fuels‑treatment methods such as piling and burning.

"That project, is an environmental analysis that looks across the whole forest at about a 136,000 acres of, plantations," she said.

In response to public questions, officials clarified that "thinning" in this program is implemented as commercial timber harvest: "Thinning for us is logging. We're, thinning trees that are under 80 years of age," an official said. Kovarik added that the forest has recently produced about 30 million board feet in recent years and that a portion of timber receipts is returned to counties (the county share depends on federal receipts formulas).

Officials discussed fire staffing: the forest had around 30 firefighters distributed across the unit at the time of the briefing, predictive services showed normal or above‑normal risk for June and July with above‑normal expected in August and September, and the Forest Service emphasized public observance of fire restrictions.

The presentation also included updates on partnerships and volunteer groups: Mount St. Helens Institute continues to provide interpretive services and volunteer support; Backcountry Horsemen volunteer groups assist with trail maintenance; and the Forest Service plans a monument management plan revision that will include public comment on travel and horse access.

Commissioners and speakers asked about economic links to logging, timber receipts and how forest revenues are spent. Kovarik said timber revenues and receipts fund sale‑area improvements (culverts, watershed work, road maintenance and fuels treatments) and noted the agency's obligation to balance multiple uses, including conservation, recreation and providing sustainable timber to local mills.

Officials said they will share the draft EIS and the annual road maintenance plan with the county emergency manager and return to the commission for further updates as the projects progress.