A cleanup event in Buxton will be held Sunday, April 2 to remove invasive species, clear trees and blackberries and pick up trash along one mile of the old railroad tracks that could someday become the Salmonberry Trail.
The event, held by the Salmonberry Trail Foundation begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to wrap up by 2 p.m.
Participants must RSVP and sign a waiver.
The project will kick off at the intersection of NW Fisher Road and Highway 47, with parking located just east of Highway 47 and north of Fisher Road.
View Larger Map
Those needing restroom facilities can find them at the Buxton or Manning Trailheads on the Banks-Vernonia State Trail.
“Youth are welcome on this project,” an email from the Salmonberry Trail Foundation read. “The goal is to be safe, have fun, and clear one mile of track between Fisher Road and Williams Creek Trestle.”
Participants were asked to bring tools—rakes, pruning saws, or loppers, power tools such as a string trimmer or hedge trimmer if safely used—but to leave machetes or other swinging type implements at home.
Volunteers will also need to bring their own food and water, and should dress appropriately—gloves, long sleeves, jeans, boots—and for the weather.
After a safety orientation, training on invasive species identification, and a review of the day’s work plan, small groups will be sent out to different areas along the track under the direction of a Salmonberry Trail Foundation team member, the foundation said.
The clearing event is the second in the area in as many months. Previously, volunteers met in Manning Feb. 4 and cleared brush, an event that saw locals and various dignitaries join in the work, including Washington County District 4 Commissioner Jerry Willey and Banks City Councilor Marsha Kirk, who also serves as president of the Friends of Stub Stewart State Park and Banks-Vernonia Rails to Trails nonprofit. That event was sponsored by the Salmonberry Trail Foundation, Friends of Trees, Friends of Stub Stewart, and Clean Water Services.
“It was really fun to say we can get this started here,” Jerry Willey said of the work party near Manning during a Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency meeting held at the Hornshuh Creek Fire Station near Buxton on Feb. 16.
A recent uptick in planning and outreach surrounding the development of the trail in western Washington County has taken place recently; among other things, Washington County requested a $630,000 grant in January from the Oregon Department of Transportation to partially plan an approximately 3.2 mile section of trail that would stretch from where the Banks-Vernonia State Trail splits from the path of the Salmonberry right of way in Manning, through Buxton, and to the southern edge of Stub Stewart State Park.
The foundation also held an informational event in Beaverton Tuesday, March 21 about the trail development efforts, and is planning to hold their annual meeting at Public Coast Farms in Buxton in May.
The proposed Salmonberry Trail is an 87-mile corridor that follows the Port of Tillamook Bay Railway From Banks to Tillamook, passing through Manning, Buxton, Timber, Enright, Mohler, and other communities and cities in Washington and Tillamook Counties.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
