By Pepper Fisher

CLALLAM COUNTY – The destructive storms of last November caused a lot of damage to Robin Hill Farm Park in Clallam County, with hundreds of trees being blown down. It created an unsafe condition to the point that the park was closed for months while trees were removed.

The park is open now, but the cleanup and restoration of the trails and other areas will be going on for months to come.

Director of Clallam County Parks, Fair, & Facilities Department Don Crawford says there have been some misconceptions about the current state of the park, with some people thinking the work is done, and he wants to clear that up.

“Oh yeah. The larger scope of the work is the trail restoration because, unfortunately, to get all the trees out, what we had to do is, we prioritized anything from 50 yards of the centerline of every trail. So, if there were trees that went down in the park that are were not within that, we left them. And so, the problem is, when you take out all those trees with equipment, you’re going to leave ruts and…so now it’s all about cleanup.”

Crawford said the cleanup effort involves a lot of work, a lot of money and the cooperation of multiple federal and state agencies.

“Yeah, we’re working with FEMA to get FEMA funds, and that’s part of a much bigger effort. The state had to get a presidential declaration of a disaster and so, that’s all been done. And the governor signed off on it. And so, now they’re just in the phase of getting the bureaucracy moving forward. And so, it’s going to take a bunch of people most of the summer and into fall to get the trails cleaned up and then to go in there and replant.”

Crawford said he welcomes the chance to clear up any misconceptions there may have been about the state of the park, and to keep those emails and phone calls coming if you have any concerns.

“I do want to say, I want feedback good, bad or ugly about any of our parks, because people see things I might not, and my staff might not see, and we want to know. So, thank you for that.”