Missoula, MT — The National Forest Foundation (NFF), Lake Quinault Lodge, and the Olympic National Forest recently completed crucial trail restoration work on the Forest’s Pacific Ranger District. Through the NFF’s Forest Stewardship Fund, guests of Lake Quinault Lodge donated funding to the NFF. The NFF granted the funds to local conservation partners to complete these restoration projects, which were supervised by Pacific Ranger District personnel.

The NFF and Forest Service worked with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to undertake some of the work. Participants, made up of 14 urban high school students, brushed trails, repaired a trail turnpike and replaced a deteriorated bridge with a new puncheon bridge. The project also introduced the youth to camping and recreational hiking. The SCA program helps to achieve important conservation goals, as well as build the next generation of conservation leaders, and inspire lifelong stewardship of public lands.

The NFF and Forest Service also worked with the Washington Trails Association (WTA) to conduct projects important for watershed and habitat protection, as well as for the safety and enjoyment of National Forest visitors. Volunteer crews from the WTA, including both adults and high school students, conducted maintenance and restoration work on the Colonel Bob Trail, the West Fork Humptulips Trail, the Quinault Lakeshore Trail, and Gatton Creek Falls Trail.

“At Lake Quinault Lodge we recognize the importance of playing a role in promoting stewardship of the Olympic National Forest,” says Hiedi Olson, General Manager. “The natural beauty of our backyard is a large part of what draws people to our community, so we know being involved in projects to maintain the forest is crucial.”

The NFF, Lake Quinault Lodge, and the Olympic National Forest will be conducting additional projects in 2014.

About Lake Quinault Lodge

Lake Quinault Lodge has long been a gathering place for Pacific Northwest vacationers. The lakeside lodge is located in the heart of one of only three temperate rainforests in the world and offers hiking, biking, fishing, boat rentals and tours of the lake and rainforest. Lake Quinault Lodge is also home to the Roosevelt Dining Hall, where Franklin D. Roosevelt dined during a trip that would later result in Olympic being named a national park.

About Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park

Located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State are the Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park. Olympic National Forest is a diverse landscape, from temperate coastal rain forest, to the salt water fjord of Hood Canal, to the peaks of Mt. Washington. At 628,115 acres, the National Forest nearly surrounds Olympic National Park. Olympic National Park is 922,651 acres of preserved coastal, mountain and rainforest terrain. It is the fifth most visited national park in the United States, drawing 3.3 million visitors in 2010 and is located near Seattle, Wash., Vancouver, British Columbia, and other northwestern population centers. Declared a national park in 1938, the region is also a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Preserve and 95 percent is declared wilderness, a further protection above national park status.

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