Last January (2010), my buddy, Greg Sweeney asked me to take a ride with him to Rustler's Gulch to just see what it was like.

Greg's family has owned property on Eloika Lake just to the south along the West Branch of the Little Spokane River and was involved in helping the area become a public non-motorized hunting and recreation site. Since the WDFW was designated by the state to manage this 2,772 acre property, one of its first responsibilities is a "Management Plan". This involves a series of steps including: a boundary staking survey which is now done; a Cultural Survey to make sure there are no natural or historical areas that will be disturbed; and public input on site usage through a Citizen's Advisory Group. This is where we have gotten involved as a founding CAG member. On November 6, a CAG work party met at the west entrance a WSU Senior Project student we recruited to survey the site. The work party came up with what we think is the optimum plan for the trail head. Troy, our student, is in the process of putting the existing topography on Auto Cad so we can detail the design, put it out for comment and then submit to the WDFW manager for input and approval. We expect the draft plan in January and our goal is to have at least partial approval of the CAG-IEBCH Trail Head project by the time the snow melts and the ground thaws out sometime in May. Work parties will hopefully follow soon after all these required steps are completed.

Meanwhile, the NE Chapter is very involved in planning of an East Side entrance to Rustler's Gulch on Fertile Valley Road not too far west of Highway 2. Between the highway and the Little Spokane River Wildlife Area is almost a section of Pend Oreille County timber land that is also going to have to be developed for public access. We expect to learn more about P.O. County plans for the east side at a Parks Advisory committee meeting in Cusick on Dec. 15.

We look forward to receiving your input about keeping our commitment of "Adopt-a-Trail" at the west entrance near Horseshoe Lake so call or drop me a note anytime.

Bob Spickard, Pres.