Columbia County buys 17-mile logging road, crafts plan for new trail
By Staff
Dec 18, 2004 - 12:13:57 am PST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hikers, bikers and horseback-riders will have 17 new miles of trail for recreation in Columbia County.
The county has purchased 17 miles of the Crown Zellerbach Logging Road from Hancock Timber Resource Group --- a
deal that was a decade in the making.
"The acquistion ... is a major effort that has taken at least 10 years to reach," Columbia County Commissioner Tony
Hyde said Friday. "The successful completion of this purchase is the result of a huge collaborative effort on the part of
many agencies and individuals."
The 40-foot-wide logging road begins at Chapman Landing on the Multnomah Channel at Scappoose and runs adjacent
to the Scappoose-Vernonia Road to the city of Vernonia. The trail will link to Oregon's newest state park, Hares Canton
State Park in Washington County.
"At Hancock Timber, it's a cornerstone of our culture to be a good neighbor and try to place lands with special
recreational or environmental value into public ownership," said Bill Marre, Northwest general manager for Hancock
Forest management.
Columbia County used grants for the purchase: $160,000 from Oregon Parks & Recreation and $150,000 from the
Department of Transportation.
Future plans for development of the trail are completion of a master plan to determine the scope of trail improvements,
mitigation of impacts to area residents and replacement of undersized culverts to enhance fish passage.
The Columbia County Parks Department is working with the Scappoose Bay and Nehalem watershed councils to get
funding to complete the master plan and replace the culverts. Both watershed councils, along with local equestrian and
4-H groups, have indicated an interest in working with the county to make trail improvements and help with trail
maintenance.
The CZ Logging Road began as the Portland-Southwestern Railroad in the early 1900s. The railroad carried logs from
Vernonia to Chapman Landing from around 1905 to 1945 when the railroad was discontinued. When Crown Zellerbach
purchased the property, it removed the tracks and ties and began transporting logs by truck.
After Crown Zellerbach sold the property to Hancock Timber, the logging road was no longer used to transport logs, but
Hancock maintained it as a company fire and access road.
Part of the plans for the trail include an emphasis on the logging industry. The trail will provide interpretive opportunities
which detail Oregon's historic logging past as well as information on current logging practices. A portion of the property
--- the Nehalem Divide Tunnel constructed in the early 1900s --- is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.