Popular Seattle-area trail could be logged and ‘dramatically change for decades'

Outdoor enthusiasts and environmental advocates are fighting for one of the Seattle-area’s most beloved trails as it stands in jeopardy of being logged.

Lake Serene in the Mount Snoqualmie National Forest is about an hour drive from Seattle and packed on a warm summer day. Over 45,000 hikers each year make an eight-mile round-trip trek through vibrant forests to find Bridal Veils Fails and then Lake Serene.

The U.S. Forest Service owns the public lands where the trail lay, but wood products and timberlands company Weyerhaeuser owns property around it. Weyerhaeuser also owns property that a short span of the trail crosses, according to The Everett Herald.

Environmental Conservation Group Forterra NW has an agreement with Weyerhaeuser to avoid the logging project. But the conservation group needs to come up with $275,000 to make the deal happen.

They’ve launched a fundraiser called “Save Lake Serene.” So far, they’ve raised $96,000.

Forterra and its partners Washington Trail Association are passionate about stopping the logging project because they believe it could dramatically change the trail for decades.

Despite the fact that  logging is taking place on private land, the Forest Service closed the trail out of safety concerns. It could remain closed until July next year, according to WTA.

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