Natural area a hidden gem south of Battle Ground

BATTLE GROUND — A bevy of AmeriCorps workers fanned out last week across Clark County’s newest natural reserve.

The volunteers methodically cataloged the rich array of plant life in the 81-acre Salmon/Morgan Creek Natural Area. Below a thick canopy dominated by western red cedars, life flourished in an undulating green carpet of lichens, sword ferns and leafy oxalis.

Yet, AmeriCorps worker Amy Barnhart was most impressed by what she didn’t see.

“There’s not a lot of invasive species out here,” she said.

In essence, this is how a mature native forest should look.

The area is pristine compared to the swaths of nonnative holly, ivy and blackberry brambles that have spread across other forested areas, especially on the urban fringe. Intending to conserve it forever, the county bought the property for $2.065 million a year ago to head off future residential development.

“It’s one of the largest stands of relatively mature forest you have within the urban area,” said Pat Lee, the county’s legacy lands program manager.

Ray Steiger, who lives near the main access point off Northeast 161st Avenue, has served as the area’s unofficial caretaker for the past 20 years. His duties entail removing the occasional fallen branch from the rustic trail, placing rock across small stream crossings and picking up litter. Last week, Steiger spotted nine emptied cans of Keystone Light discarded within the hollowed-out stump of a cedar tree that would have been logged nearly a century ago.

“I’ll come in here later and get these,” he said.

He figures dealing with the occasional partier or litterbug beats the alternative: The permanent loss of the existing forest to make way for a subdivision of 90 to 100 homes.

“At one time, there were plats showing houses out here,” Steiger said. “That was one of the fears we had — that this would be developed.”

Western red cedar

Until a year ago, the property had been held by the family that started the nearby Cedars golf course.

Lee said the city of Battle Ground suggested the county acquire a portion of the property more than a decade ago, but the acquisition was put on hold when former owner William Saunders died. The property sits just outside Battle Ground city limits, but neighbors worried that the property would develop sooner or later due to the proximity of city sewer and water service.

Following an appraisal, the county agreed to pay $2.065 million using its Conservation Futures program. The fund is generated from a property tax that enables the county to acquire and conserve open space, farms and forest land.

The area is unusually dominated by Western red cedar.

“You really don’t see a lot of forest in Clark County that’s made up that way,” said Larry Maurin, an AmeriCorps worker who headed a team that documented the site. “It’s mostly Douglas fir around here.”

County officials have no immediate plans for the property, and the long-term plans are low-key.

“To be quite honest with you, I don’t know what I would do out there in terms of adding trails,” said Brian Potter, maintenance program coordinator for the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department. “There are a few areas with drainage issues, but it’s a very, very good piece of property.”

Erik Robinson: 360-735-4551, or erik.robinson@columbian.com.