Thursday evening, folks who live along U.S. Highway 12 spouted off additions to a list of more than 50 attractions that might stop tourists along their road.
In addition to views of three volcanoes — Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Adams — residents listed horse arenas, historic churches, and the longest creek in the state as highlights that make the Highway 12 corridor unique.
Its rural charm is what makes Highway 12 a viable candidate for selection as a national scenic byway, according to Destination Packwood President Maree Lerchen.
Destination Packwood and the Lewis County Convention and Visitor Bureau are spearheading an effort to put together a corridor management plan, for which they received a $185,000 grant this fall from the state Department of Transportation.
Thursday's meeting was the first of seven slated over the next two months to get ideas from residents, starting in Salkum and moving east to Naches, then ending with a final meeting in Glenoma.
Highway 12 is already a state scenic byway from Mary's Corner to Naches. Once a the corridor management plan is completed and approved, the road will be eligible for consideration as a national scenic byway.
"It's not guaranteed, but there's a very good chance of getting national scenic byway designation," Lerchen said.
She stressed that the plan will not be in vain even if national recognition does not come through.
A scenic byway with a completed plan may put up "wayfinding signs" bearing its name and logo, and may put brochures in rest areas.
It would also be eligible for more grant money for improvement projects than other roads.
Lerchen said the main goal of the plan was to stimulate the economy along Highway 12 by promoting travel tourism.
"Rather than having a resort like Disneyland as a destination, we are saying this road, Highway 12, can be a destination and an experience," Lerchen said.
As part of her presentation, Lerchen tried to dispel fears that being named a national scenic byway would infringe on residents' property rights and the rights of business owners.
One Mossyrock restaurateur, Ken Garrison, who owns the Viking Cafe, said he didn't want more bureaucracy in an area where he already can't put up his own sign along Highway 12.
"It's going to hamper me. There's more regulations that go with it," Garrison said.
There would be no new regulations if the road were given the national title, Lerchen explained. Signs are regulated on state scenic byways, so any signs along Highway 12 must already conform to strict state standards according to the Scenic Vistas Act of 1971.
"There's no reason to be concerned," about federal regulations, said Mossyrock Mayor Nanette Crocker, who was not at the meeting.
"I think it's a good thing to be a scenic byway," Crocker went on. "What springs to my mind are those famous scenic byways like the 19-mile loop in Monterey (Calif.) that people seek out as alternate routes to take trips on."
Of the more than two dozen residents at the meeting, most spoke in favor of the plan. They brainstormed about projects that could improve the road — many of them related to safety.
Residents suggested projects such as installing turn lanes and reducing speed limits.
"As we all know, Highway 12 is a very dangerous piece of road: one of the most dangerous in Washington," said Salkum resident Rich Berdan, as the people around him nodded.
Berdan's wife, Ellen, came to the meeting not knowing anything about the project, she said, and left having volunteered to help coordinate local advice.
The Berdans own the Shepherd's Inn Bed and Breakfast in Salkum.
"I'm leaving with a good feeling," Ellen Berdan said. "I can think it would be a very good thing, if we're already a state scenic byway and we could get some national funding in the community.
"I also like the approach they're using, allowing everybody along the corridor to have a chance to get involved," she continued.
The big picture is set, but the details are up to the corridor residents who come to the meetings, said Mary Kay Nelson, executive director of the Convention and Visitor Bureau.
Once complete, the plan has to be approved by the mayors in the communities it affects and by the county government. Lerchen said she expects it to be complete in about a year.
"We're looking for the perpetuation of our communities, so they don't become ghost towns," Nelson said. "If we had every tourist on the road coming there, we'd have our job done."
With only three existing national scenic byways in the state, the status would give Highway 12 a higher profile and potentially draw more travelers, especially if it could be tied into a loop with other scenic roads, Nelson said.
"That would be a goal, is that we become as known as the Cascade Loop," Nelson said. "We would be the Southwest Washington Loop."
