Contact:
Chip Jenkins, supervisor, 1-503-861-2471 ext 401 (Astoria)
Fort Clatsop National Memorial, email: chip_jenkins@nps.gov

Doug Babb, 503/802-4104 (Portland)
Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, Inc., email: dougb@cfmpdx.com

ASTORIA, OR- Two volunteer youth organizations have begun transforming a vision into reality in time for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration in Oregon next year.

High school students cleaning and building trails in the dunes at the western trailhead near Sunset Beach access road (Astoria Country Club exit off US Highway 101).

They're building the first legs of a trail replicating the route the explorers may have taken from the original site of Fort Clatsop (http://www.nps.gov/lewi/) to the Pacific Ocean, a few miles away. Sixteen high school students are working this week on what eventually will be a 6.5-mile trail from Fort Clatsop National Memorial to Sunset Beach south of Warrenton and the Camp Rilea National Guard training center.

"The trail will become a living memorial commemorating the historic events leading to the Northwest's inclusion in the United States," says fort supervisor Chip Jenkins. "It will expand Fort Clatsop's living history program and serve as a legacy project to commemorate the Lewis and Clark bicentennial."

Once completed in November 2005, hikers may stroll through a varied landscape from Fort Clatsop -through wetlands, along the edge of a coastal lake and through shore-pine covered dunes. The fort is a replica of Lewis and Clark's encampment during the winter of 1805-1806 and is a popular tourist destination on the Oregon Coast.

Work crews provided by the Northwest Youth Corps (www.nwyouthcorps.org/) and the Student Conservation Association (www.thesca.org/) will be trailblazing during August. The students are working on both ends of the trail - the first mile from the fort and the trailhead in the dunes near Sunset Beach, west of Neacoxie Lake (also known as Sunset Lake).

"These wonderful students are part of a tremendous volunteer effort to build the trail," Jenkins says. "Major engineering and construction firms also are donating services to build three bridges and a boardwalk through marshy areas. An underpass below U.S. 101 will be built by the Oregon Department of Transportation as part of the trail.

"The value of donated time and materials is going a long way toward covering the trail's $3.1 million construction costs," Jenkins says.

"We continue to need donations of materials and cash to complete the project by Nov. 11, 2005, when Oregon starts a five-day celebration of the bicentennial," Jenkins adds. Individuals interested in making donations may contact Jenkins at 1-503-861-2471 ext 401 (Astoria), or by email: chip_jenkins@nps.gov.

Companies volunteering time as part of the project team include: the engineering firms of David Evans and Associates, Inc., W&H Pacific, OBEC Consulting Engineers, KPFF Consulting Engineers, as well as Weyerhaeuser Co., Geotechnical Resources, Inc., Parametrics, Vigil Agrimis, Inc., Spencer B. Gross, Inc. and Walker Macy.

Numerous federal and state agencies also are involved, with the National Parks Service and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department taking the lead in project coordination. Other government organizations involved include: Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Military Department, Oregon Division of State Lands, Oregon Solutions, Clatsop County and the Governor's Community Solutions Office.

Project communications support is being provided by the Portland-based public affairs consulting firm of Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, Inc. CFM is donating public relations services and creating a Fort-to-Sea Web site, expected to be online later this month.

The new trail coincides with a plan by the federal government to establish the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. A federal study released in February recommends the addition of the three sites in Southwest Washington along the Columbia River to the Fort Clatsop unit. Proposed legislation would add:

• Station Camp off U.S. 101.
• Megler's Safety Rest Area near the Astoria Bridge, a few yards down 101 - Clark's Dismal Nitch which was the site of an historic Corps of Discovery vote.
• And, federal land within Fort Canby State Park near Ilwaco, where a memorial to Thomas Jefferson would be developed.

The sites will be protected through a partnership of federal and state governments and willing private sellers.

Related story: An estimated 500 descendants of the Lewis and Clark expedition, from 32 states, will have a chance to view trail construction when they visit Fort Clatsop and the Astoria-area on Aug. 13-14. On Saturday, Aug. 14 the fort will be hosting the reunion from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Clatsop County Genealogical Society has been "registering" descendents of the Corps of Discovery.