Ilwaco parks solicits citizen input

The City of Ilwaco Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to fill out a questionnaire to help contribute to the Ilwaco’s Parks, Trails & Natural Areas Plan. The questionnaire can be filled out online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7R56S99, or printed copies are available at City Hall, 120 First Avenue North, Ilwaco. Every Ilwaco utility customer will receive a questionnaire in their August bill. Completed printed questionnaires should be returned to Ilwaco City Hall by Tuesday, August 20, 2013, to ensure your input is included in the survey tabulation.

Ilwaco owns and managed two city parks, Blake Lake and City Park. Black Lake is well known for its fishing, as well as its covered picnic area and beautiful trails around the lake and through wooded areas. Ilwaco City Park has basketball, softball and tennis facilities, and a covered picnic area and children’s play structure.

Other parks, trails and natural areas in and around Ilwaco are owned and managed by other organizations. Cape Disappointment State Park is just west of Ilwaco. The Lewis & Clark Discovery Trail begins in Ilwaco, running north through Cape Disappointment, Seaview and Long Beach. The Port of Ilwaco’s waterfront hosts scenic views and picnic facilities along with its famous summertime Saturday market. The Ocean Beach School District’s athletic fields and gym are available to students and the general public at certain times.

The Columbia-Pacific Heritage Museum hosts the Discovery Garden and Mariner’s Memorial Park. The garden marks a historic site from Lewis & Clark’s journey, and includes indigenous plant species used by the native Chinook people. The Mariner’s wall commemorates community members lost at sea, and includes excerpts from poems by local fisher poets. In addition, Columbia Land Trust and Ilwaco Cemetery Association own open space and natural area properties in and near Ilwaco.

Ilwaco’s Parks, Trails & Natural Area’s plan will document Ilwaco’s current parks, trails and natural areas. It will collect and prioritize ideas for improvements from community members. The plan will enable the city to apply for state grants to make some of those ideas a reality. Community involvement is key to the plan’s success, and the Parks & Recreation Commission invites the public to share their ideas by filling out the questionnaire.