Wild Sky Wilderness Air Quality Report National Forest: Snoqualmie National Forest State: WA Counties: King, Snohomish General Location: Central Washington Cascade Range Acres: 105,561 Page 1 of 5
Wilderness Categories Year Established 2008 Information Specific to this Wilderness Establishment Notes The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 Designation Clean Air Act Class 2 Administrative Unique Landscape Features Lakebed Geology Sensitivity Lakebed Geology Composition Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest The Wild Sky Wilderness is the newest addition to a 2.6 million acre wilderness complex that straddles the rugged North Cascade Range from Canada to Snoqualmie Pass. The southwestern portion of the wilderness is only 25 miles from Puget Sound and adjacent to the fast growing communities of the Skykomish River Valley. The western part of the wilderness is characterized by very steep slopes and dramatic local relief. For example, from the North Fork Skykomish River near the town of Index, the terrain rises from about 600 feet above sea level to over 6,000 feet, on Gunn Peak, in less than 3 miles. Annual precipitation in this area runs between 150 to 200 inches annually, most of it coming as snow during the wet winter months. Runoff from the rain and snow feed streams that drop into the deep valleys below. This source of clean water is important to salmon which spawn in these reaches and provide exciting spring raft trips on the Skykomish River. Vegetation is dense on the valley walls, composed of Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock at the lower elevations, grading to silver fir and mountain hemlock in the mid elevations to sub alpine parklands in the higher reaches. Timberline in the area is relatively low, between 4,500 and 5,000 feet. The higher peaks such as Merchant, Gunn, and Spire sport permanent ice patches on their north and east slopes. Trails in this part of the wilderness are few and cross-country travel is difficult. East of the Beckler River, and the Straight Creek Fault, the terrain changes dramatically; the local relief is less dramatic, the geology is less chaotic and precipitation less. The ridges are more uniform in elevation and gentle enough to support large meadows. This is trail country! Trails including Meadow Creek, West Cady Creek and Johnson Ridge lead through forest to these flowery meadows. Several trails are open to use by stock animals and wonderful loop trips pass through the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness to the Pacific Crest Trail, and back to Wild Sky. The Evergreen Mountain Lookout is a rental cabin that will continue to operate within the wilderness. At 5,587 feet, it provides a spectacular perch to watch the sunset over the rough peaks of Wild Sky and take in the panoramic view from Glacier Peak to Mt. Rainier. Stands of old growth forest cover portions of the area with large diameter Douglas fir, hemlock and western red cedar. The West Cady Ridge Trail leads through a prime example of these large trees which provide critical habitat for a variety of bird and animal species. Scattered around the new wilderness are forest areas previously roaded and logged. Logging began around 1920 and continued into the early 1990 s. Signs of past mining exploration are also evident, particularly in the Silver Creek area. Young trees are now healing the scars of these past activities. The area holds about a dozen mountain lakes that attract anglers. Lake Isabel is the largest of these at about 1.5 miles long and 200 feet deep. The historic use of float planes is allowed to continue on the lake. N/A Page 2 of 5
Wilderness Categories Visitor Use Mean Annual Precipitation Elevation Range Information Specific to this Wilderness 224-1888 (meters) Mean Max Aug Temp Mean Min Dec Temp Lake Acres 224 Pond Acres 101 Lake Count 3 Pond Count 29 TES Flora Allotropa virgata, Arceuthobium tsugense, Botrychium minganense, Botrychium montanum, Carex stylosa, Chaenotheca chrysocephala, Coptis aspleniifolia, Fuscopannaria saubinetii, Galium kamtschaticum, Hygrophorus karstenii, Hypogymnia duplicata, Leptogium cyanescens, Lobaria linita, Peltigera collina, Peltigera pacifica, Platanthera chorisiana, Platanthera orbiculata, Platismatia lacunosa, Plectania melastoma, Pseudocyphellaria anomala, Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, Ptilidium californicum, Rhizomnium nudum, Rhizopogon parksii, Schistostega pennata, Sticta fuliginosa, Streptopus streptopoides TES Wildlife TES Fish Ozone Sensitive Plants Air Quality Sensitive Lichens Cultural Resources Status/Trends: Acid Deposition: Status/Trends: Nutrient Enrichment: Status/Trends: Ozone Impacts: bull trout, chinook salmon, steelhead AQRV's Fauna Fauna Priority: Medium Fauna Receptor: Fish Fauna Indicator: Concentration of methyl mercury Fauna Trends: Fauna Actions: Sample fish for mercury from the most heavily fished lakes (including both people and wildlife). Collect water quality samples from the same waters during the same site visit. Flora Flora Priority: High Flora Receptor: Lichens Flora Indicator: Changes in community composition Flora Trends: Page 3 of 5
Flora Priority 2: High Flora Receptor 2: Lichens Flora Indicator 2: Concentrations of N, S, P, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ni, Ti, V and Zn Flora Trends 2: Flora Priority 3: Medium Flora Receptor 3: Ozone Flora Indicator 3: Visible injury on ozone-sensitive plants Flora Trends 3: Flora Actions: Increase lichen plot density by 3 more plots to achieve 1 plot/20,000 acre desired spatial density. Revisit plots once every 10 years. Consider surveying vegetation for ozone injury while on site. Visibility Visibility Priority: Medium Visibility Receptor: Scenic Views Visibility Indicator: Regional haze Visibility Trends: Visibility Actions Nearest IMPROVE visibility monitor is located at Snoqualmie Pass (SNPA1). Water Water Priority: High Water Receptor: Water Chemistry Water Indicator: ANC Water Trends: Water Priority 2: High Water Receptor 2: Water Chemistry Water Indicator 2: DIN: TP Water Trends 2: Water Priority 3: Medium Water Receptor 3: Diatoms Water Indicator 3: Community Composition Water Trends 3: Not reported in the database Water Actions: Collect water samples from headwater lakes. Analyze for cations, anions, and nutrients. Challenge Points Fauna Challenge Points: Flora Challenge Points: 4 Total Plots: 2 Desired Plots: 5 Additional Plots Needed: 3 Data Type: Baseline Round 1 Visits: 0 Round 2 Visits: 2 Baseline %: 38 Page 4 of 5
Trends %: 0 Visibility Challenge Points: Water Challenge Points: Page 5 of 5