By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The latest dream being pursued by the Elevate PA group in Port Angeles is to improve the view residents and visitors get when they enter downtown coming from the east.
As it is, drivers come down the hill on Front Street and, instead of having a spectacular view of the harbor and the strait, what we see are the alders and understory plants that block the view.
On Saturday, March 30, Elevate PA, which is comprised of downtown business and property owners, as well as representatives from the business community under the umbrella of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, held a work party of volunteers to begin the big job of removing non-native plants and trimming trees to open the view.
A second volunteer work party is planned for this coming Saturday, April 13, to plant hundreds of donated native plants along the bluff, and more help is needed.
North Olympic Land Trust’s Tom Sanford is one of the organizers.
“As you realize, with a forest like that, it’s going to grow and change over time. The main tree species in there is alder, and that’s got a shorter lifespan so we know that over time that will change. And we want to see that change to some species’ that are purposely planted there, that we’re going to be able to maintain and keep a nice open view deep into the future, for years and years to come.”
Invasive plants such as blackberries and ivy are being replaced with native plants such as snowberry, salmonberry and osoberry. All have been donated by the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. It should be mentioned that the effort has not been planned out by amateur gardeners.
“We were able to get a Department of Natural Resources Community Forest Grant to help with this work. And with those funds, we hired John Bornsworth and Peninsula Environmental Group to consult us. We wanted to make sure we maintain slope stability, we wanted to maintain the view, and we wanted to make sure we make a nice, healthy forest stand. It really can become the model of bluff management all along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.”
Volunteers for this Saturday’s event will be meeting at the south of the Red Lion parking lot downtown. The work is scheduled to begin at 9:00am and continue until noon.
Volunteers are advised to wear thick clothes and bring work gloves. Most of the tools needed for the work will be on hand, but if you have a favorite pair of loppers or shovel, feel free to bring them along. Also, don’t forget to bring water and a snack.