Revised Weekday Road/Trail Closures for Port Gamble Park

The roads leading into the area surrounding Hope, ET, and Ranger will be closed to recreational use on weekdays until logging is finished. Yellow and Orange are the closed roads and logging areas. The closure has been expanded because the initial closure boundaries were ignored and people were not yielding to vehicular traffic on the roads. This is creates safety concerns. One person was actually hit by a low boy, but is thankfully ok. The closure is scheduled through January but Pope has consistently finished early by as much as a month. During the closures access to the park should be made through the South end via Stottlemeyer or Port Gamble Rd gate. You will still be able to go North from the Bayview Parking area. South end via Stottlemeyer or Port Gamble Rd gate.

Pope Resources’ Timber Harvest in Port Gamble Heritage Park

Since 2007 Pope Resources has been working with a broad coalition of stakeholders as part of the Kitsap Forest and Bay Project to conserve forestland in North Kitsap, and prevent development.   In 2014 Pope Resources sold 535 acres (the Shoreline Block) to Kitsap County for conservation and development into the Port Gamble Heritage Park.  That purchase included both land development rights and the standing timber on the land.  In December of 2016, Pope Resources sold Kitsap County an additional 1,360 acres of land in the Port Gamble block, increasing the Park to about 1,900 acres total.  However, in this second sale, Pope Resources retained the right to harvest the standing timber for 25 years.   After Pope Resources harvests the existing timber and replants new, the new trees will belong to Kitsap County. 

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