The Quinault Indian Nation will host a public meeting next week to provide an opportunity for the upper Quinault River valley community and local stakeholders to discuss the Upper Quinault River Restoration-Sustainable Floodplain Management Planning Project.

The meeting will be at the Lake Quinault School at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12.

The course of the upper Quinault River changes relatively often and some of the residents living near the river have experienced flooding and erosion. Management of the river has sometimes been controversial and involves a number off parties, including the Quinault Nation, the Olympic National Park, state and federal wildlife regulators and private property owners.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide the public an opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the project and conceptual alternatives as well as small group discussions with focus on planning areas along the South Shore Road.

“We understand that the goals of the project are fairly straightforward,” said Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation. “Implementing solutions, however, will be complex and require the active participation and patience of local communities, landowners, government road and land managers, recreation users and others who share and care for the lands and waters of the upper Quinault River.”