THE WILD CASCADES The Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council Spring-Summer 2020
visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 1 THE NORTH CASCADES CONSERVATION COUNCIL was THE WILD CASCADES Spring-Summer 2020 formed in 1957 “To protect and preserve the North Cascades’ scenic, 3 President’s report — Phil Fenner scientific, recreational, educational, 4 N3C Actions — February to June 2020 and wilderness values.” Continuing 6 Heather Meadows flower phenology and pollinator monitoring project this mission, N3C keeps government — Jim Davis officials, environmental organizations, and the general public informed about 7 The world turned upside down — Ed Henderson issues affecting the Greater North 8 The latest update from Monte Cristo Cascades Ecosystem. Action is pur- Two significant trust land transfers in play sued through administrative, legal, and public participation channels to 9 Update and reflections on state action to limit dredging for gold in protect the lands, waters, plants and Washington streams and rivers — Dave Fluharty wildlife. 10 An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest by Adam M. Sowards — Over the past half century N3C has Reviewed by Ronald Eber, Sierra Club led or participated in campaigns to create the North Cascades National 12 Thousands object to filling Gold Creek Pond. Here’s why: this land is land for every American — Bob Mecklenburg, Friends of Gold Creek Park Complex, Glacier Peak Wilder- ness, and other units of the National 14 “Boulevard-like” Deadhorse road project threatens big trees Wilderness System from the W.O. 15 Interview with District Ranger Erin Uloth Douglas Wilderness north to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the Henry M. 16 In Memoriam: Peter Hardin Jackson, 1966-2020 — Tom Hammond Jackson Wilderness, the Chelan-Saw- 17 N3C enters new phase of relicensing of the Skagit River Project 553 tooth Wilderness, the Wild Sky Wil- New name for a familiar threat — Marc Bardsley derness and others. Among its most dramatic victories has been working 18 N3C scoping comments on the Environmental Assessment of the Lower with British Columbia allies to block Thunder Creek Trail and Camp Modifications — Dave Fluharty the raising of Ross Dam, which would 19 Grizzly recovery update from NPCA have drowned Big Beaver Valley.
N3C membership application N3C is supported by member dues and private donations. These contri- butions support the full range of the Council’s activities, including publica- COVER: This gorgeous undated photo of Image Lake by Skagit photographer Lee Mann was found in the collection of N3C founder Patrick Goldsworthy. Lee’s notes say “Gla- tion of The Wild Cascades. As a 501(c) cier Peak Wilderness Area. Glacier Peak from the ridge above Image Lake. Short dis- (3) organization, all contributions tance from the proposed open pit mine.” are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Membership dues for The Wild Cascades one year are: Living Lightly/Student $10; Individual $30; Family $50; Sus- Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council taining $100. EDITOR: Anne Basye EDITORIAL BOARD: Philip Fenner, Anders Forsgaard, North Cascades Tom Hammond, and Ed Henderson Conservation Council P.O. Box 95980 Pat Hutson, Designer | Printing by Abracadabra Printing University Station The Wild Cascades is published three times a year (Winter, Spring-Summer, Fall). Seattle, WA 98145-2980 Letters, comments, and articles are invited, subject to editorial review. N3C Website The Wild Cascades Editor www.northcascades.org [email protected] North Cascades Conservation Council PO Box 95980, University Station, Seattle, WA 98145-2980
The Wild Cascades is printed on recycled paper.
2 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 N3C Board
Officers president Philip Fenner vice president Founded in 1957 Carolyn McConnell SEATTLE, WASHINGTON treasurer Tom Brucker The President’s report Spring-Summer 2020 Lisa Bergman, pro tem Members of N3C see opportunities, not just threats, in this time of corona- secretary virus. Situations like this provide a glimpse (as Socrates told us) not of how to Marc Bardsley fight the old, but of how to build the new. I’m seeing the phrase “Reset for a New World.” This may be our chance! As Ursula LeGuin said, “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often Other Directors begin in art, and very often in our art—the art of words.” Here are a few words that might help. Scott Crain As the economy starts to ramp up after the pandemic, the last thing we (and Dave Fluharty especially nature) need is a return to “business as usual” before COVID-19: the gospel of limitless growth and consumption. The natural world has had a nice Anders Forsgaard breather during our pandemic lock-down. We can all breathe a lot easier now thanks to the reduction in traffic and industrial air pollution. If you live here, David Gladstone I’m sure you’ve noticed how clearly the North Cascades are etched against the horizon when clouds clear. And the relative quiet that now pervades our cities Ed Henderson where rumble and roar once did. People walking and riding bikes. Animals seen returning to former habitat in cities. Do we really need any better evidence to Kurt Lauer compel us to change our ways? How about we consider continuing to work from home if we can, since we know it’s possible and it will help save the planet? Thom Peters With unemployment now at the highest levels since the Great Depression, I expect there will be more stimulus money flowing soon. The question is, how will it be spent? You’ll read more opinions on that in this issue, but I agree with Advisors Colin O’Mara of the National Wildlife Federation who recently in the New York Times wrote that we need a new “tree army” along the lines of the “New Deal” Brock Evans Civil Conservation Corps (CCC). A modern, eco-revised CCC 2.0 could do a lot of good. Let’s hope the majority of Americans vote to replace this most rapa- Kevin Geraghty ciously anti-environmental administration in November; then such things will be possible. Tom Hammond Meanwhile, back to the here and now, we have a NEPA crisis. We need your help today to keep track of what our land management agencies are planning Paul Kendall and doing. We keep seeing very short comment periods on their proposals, and if we miss one, we have no future recourse. So, I’m asking our members to Fayette Krause email me personally when they see the Forest Service, Park Service or State DNR announce any new project. The sooner we hear, the sooner we can take a look Dave LeBlanc at the site and get our comments filed. Thanks! If you need a little inspiration (and who doesn’t these days), read the review Thom Schroeder and use our member discount to get your copy of the new book just out: An Open Pit Visible from the Moon. It chronicles one of our most epic campaigns, to stop an open pit mine from desecrating one of the finest places in the Cas- cades or anywhere, Glacier Peak Wilderness. Public opinion was crucial then and it’s crucial now. Stopping the Marblemount quarry one year ago was a clas- sic example of how out-front public resistance can help push off harmful proj- ects. When the next threat erupts, we’ll be ready because you’re with us! Enjoy the quiet, the clear air and warm sun of Spring, wash your hands, stay distanced and mask-up in public. And keep in mind—a lot of things have changed, but not N3C’s mission!
Phil Fenner [email protected] visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 3 DEFENDING WILD EXPANDING, AREAS AGAINST ESTABLISHING, DAMAGING AND PROTECTING N3C INDUSTRIAL USES WILDERNESS AREAS Why it matters: resource extraction — Why it matters: federal land designation mining, logging, hydropower — is the as Wilderness and Park is the gold Actions most harmful use of public land. N3C standard of ecosystem protection, strives to save what remains wild, miti- precluding most damaging industrial and gate what’s been lost, and restore what’s commercial exploitation. FEBRUARY to been damaged. JUNE 2020 Submitted scoping comments to Continued public participation in the National Park Service on a pro- Advocacy carried out by the Seattle City Light (SCL) Skagit posed environmental assessment Hydroelectric Power Relicensing. (EA) for relocation of a trail and dedicated N3C volunteers As the relicensing process moves campground in the Thunder Creek to the next phase with the Federal Valley, off Ross Lake in the south Energy Resource Committee (FERC) unit of the North Cascades National in the last three months N3C board members have been Park in the Stephen Mather Wilder- participating on the Steering Com- ness. Our comments highlighted to protect and preserve mittee and Resource Workgroups the fact that Thunder Creek was meetings since January 2020. (See recently added to the Stephen the North Cascades lands, page 17.) Mather Wilderness and the use of helicopters should be minimized waters, plants, and wildlife. rather than use as extensively as proposed. (See page 18.)
Joined Wilderness Watch, a national organization that protects against incursions into the National Wilder- ness Preservation System.
4 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 PROMOTING PROTECTING ANCIENT FORESTS, WILDLIFE ENVIRONMENTALLY AND WILDLIFE HABITAT SOUND RECREATION Why it matters: like real estate, they’re just not making ancient forest anymore. We seek to restore watersheds and fisheries damaged from decades of heavy logging and IN WILD AREAS road building and protect significant forests from degradation. From microscopic fungi Why it matters: balancing access with to top predators, the wilderness ecosystem’s living members are interdependent, so economics and Wilderness preservation, keeping viable populations of each species is essential to preserve the ecosystem for we evaluate motorized use and places future generations. where it needs to be limited to reduce land impacts and recurring road repair costs. Joined a Washington State Environ- Continued supporting SnoKing mental Policy Act (SEPA) appeal to Watershed Council’s (SKWC) appeal the Middle-May timber sale in the of Snohomish County Permit to Skykomish Valley near Wallace Falls “rebuild” the Index-Galena Road in Sent email to the Washington State State Park by Department of Natu- North Fork of Skykomish River Bed. Congressional delegation support- ral Resources (DNR). This appeal is The old roadbed is now the new ing inclusion of residential environ- attempting to save the last remain- river bed in this salmon-bearing mental education in the COVID-19 ing stand of mature second-growth stream. The COVID-19 shutdown relief legislation. in the valley. Legal representation is has delayed the court hearing of by Washington Forest Law Center. this appeal until later this summer. Signed joint letter supporting the There will be no construction this Legacy Roads and Trails FY21 Ap- Under intense public pressure the year. propriations in the Federal budget. Washington State legislature passed and Governor Inslee signed a new Joined an Amicus Brief opposing the Renewed membership in LEAVE NO law governing motorized suction Lake Kachess Pump Station, part of TRACE dredge mining. N3C has signed a the Yakima Plan. The pump station new joint letter to Departments of would take 200,000 acre-feet of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) and Ecology water out of Lake Kachess, lowering advocating strong, enforceable the lake 80 feet below natural low regulation of the sport of suction water level during drought. It will dredge mining in salmon-bearing take years of abundant rainfall to streams. (See page 9.) refill the lake to normal levels.
Submitted comments to the Forest Signed joint letter opposing a dam Service opposing the Gold Creek on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell in Restoration Project just East of southwest Washington. A dam here Snoqualmie Pass near I-90. (See would degrade a salmon-bearing page 13.) stream by destroying over 12 miles of riparian habitats, eliminating crit- ical spawning and rearing habitat for spring Chinook and steelhead, and increasing water temperatures to near lethal-levels.
visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 5 Heather Meadows flower phenology and pollinator monitoring project By Jim Davis
The Koma subalpine meadows Kulshan Chapter sampling along 600’ of the Native Plant transects at various Society supported elevations from 2100’ a multi-year project to 5600’; determin- to better under- ing the temporal stand flowering availability of nectar plant phenology and pollen through- and pollinator out the pollination behavior in and season; identifying around Heather primary pollinators Meadows. The in subalpine mead- project gathered ows and surrounding information to areas (mostly bumble- determine season- bees); and identifying al variability in flowering plants the availability of that are the primary pollen and nectar source of pollen and for bumble bees in nectar for bumble- the North Cas- bees. Monitoring re- cades. We recently vealed one very early completed the fifth season (first flowers and final year of at Heather Meadows the project. in mid-April—per- Alpine and sub- haps an example of alpine meadows Phlox, Delphinium, and mystery Penstemon on West Church Mountain in early June. what climate change are key North Cas- —Jim Scarborough photo will bring), three cades habitats that “normal” seasons support black bears, blueberries, bumble- of meadow plants. The remaining frag- under our current climate (first flowers bees, and many other species. Whatcom mented meadows may not support the full in mid-May), and one late season (first County is unique in the lower 48 states for range of flowering species that are needed flowers in early June). For 2020, visits to its very high proportion of alpine and sub- by bumblebee colonies so survive through- Heather Meadows revealed another late alpine meadows, which are unfortunately out the pollination season. Extirpation of season, with snow not melting out from under threat from climate change and an one or more bumblebee species, reduced early season flowering sites until late May. array of other human activities. Climate-re- populations of bumbles, and/or barriers to Project volunteers identified 147 native lated tree line migration may pinch out plant species and 23 non-native plant some meadows entirely, decrease meadow species (which are relatively rare in acreage, and fragment meadow habitats. meadows). Six species of bumblebees were Meadow development and meadow over- Climate change, identified, with Bombus melanopygus by use have and may continue to impact these development, and far the most common. The project also meadows. Other threats include annual revealed spatial and temporal patterns of introduction of honeybee colonies (creat- honeybees threaten flowering that are especially important ing competition for native pollinators and alpine meadows for early-season pollinator foraging, when potentially introducing pollinator disease overwintering queens are emerging and organisms), herbicide and insecticide use vulnerable. (minor), and invasive plants. bumble bee foraging (meadow fragmenta- What can we do to protect subalpine Pollinators are essential for long-term tion) may impact pollination, survival, and meadows? Protect meadows from new maintenance of the flora and fauna of distribution of native plants. development (roads, parking areas, ski North Cascades alpine and subalpine Fifteen volunteers from the Koma areas, and new trails). Restrict pesticide meadows. Bumblebees serve as the pri- Kulshan Chapter assisted with the project. use in meadows and nearby forests. Ban mary pollinator for many native plants They visited the Heather Meadows area placement of honeybee colonies in/near in North Cascades meadows. There are every two weeks from snow melt to snow meadows. Remove invasive plants from concerns that a decrease in meadow fall. Major project activities included: iden- meadows. Restore degraded subalpine acres plus meadow fragmentation could tifying all flowering plants that provide meadows. significantly impact bumblebee pollination nectar and pollen in forest openings and
6 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 The world turned upside down By Ed Henderson
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dence will be to put people to work and Service reported a 3 billion dollar backlog the world to the brink of historic chang- money into the economy. It will not be of deferred road maintenance. Hundreds es, a reordering of the way society, the sufficient to show that a proposal is a bad of thousands of miles of hastily and poorly global economy and political power are idea. N3C should be prepared to propose built roads lace the national forests. These organized. It is far too early to predict positive alternatives. unmaintained roads are falling apart and what form these changes will taake. We Two areas of direct concern to N3C are causing untold environmental damage. It only see now the inadequacies, inequities the multi-billion dollar backlog of re- is estimated that a third to a half of these and inefficiencies of the current system in quired maintenance in the National Park roads are not needed and are dead-end dealing with the pandemic. Whatever form system and over 370,000 miles of deterio- spurs built for past timber sales. Rather new systems will take is unknown, but rating roads in the national forests. Both than decommissioning unneeded roads, the N3C’s mission to protect and preserve present opportunities and challenges. the Forest Service is simply closing roads the scenic, scientific, recreational, educa- There are many legitimate infrastructure and letting nature take its course—leading tional, and wilderness values of the North needs for repair and replacement in the to washouts, erosion and sediment-cogged Cascades will remain. National Parks not only for the benefits streams. In the near term the priority is to con- and convenience of visitors, but for pro- N3C would support a massive budget in- tain the virus and protect people. This tection of the parks themselves. We will crease comprehensively planned for a sus- involves the shutdown and social distanc- oppose Disneyfication of the parks simply tainable road system to provide for proper ing. N3C is complying with these guide- for the sake of spending money and gen- maintenance of the required roads and for lines, sheltering-in-place and conducting erating tourist revenue. Locally the North decommissioning of unneeded mileage. our business virtually and online. As that’s Cascades National Park is 94% designated We will resist the cries to keep all existing true for all the agencies and organizations Wilderness, but our experience shows roads. Just as much money can be spent we’re involved with, progress on our proj- the Park Service prefers to undertake and employment provided by proper de- ects is even slower than usual. How long aggressive projects employing motorized commissioning, removing stream-blocking this phase will take and what form and equipment like helicopters which violate culverts, recontouring and revegetation in what increments lifting the restrictions the spirit, if not the letter, of Wilderness of roads no longer needed. In the long will take is pure speculation on my part, protection. So we must anticipate having term removing these roads will restore the and I shan’t go there. Once the shutdown to be even more vigilant in our opposition integrity of the forest, reduce the danger is lifted, restarting the economy will take to that abuse if lack of funding is suddenly of human-induced wildfires, provide more center stage. Over 30 million American no longer a hindrance. There are many unbroken wildlife habitat and reduce have been put out of work and many of environmentally positive opportunities for future road maintenance cost. the jobs they left will not be coming back labor-intensive work in the parks including N3C will work to support increased any time soon. Coping with this crisis eradication of noxious weeds and invasive spending of economic stimulus funds that will require federal stimulus funding in species, revegetation with native plants, protect the environment and produce unprecedented amounts. This funding will trail maintenance and repairs. results for long-term improvements. We present obstacles and opportunities for For N3C the biggest opportunity and believe that the long neglected backlog N3C’s mission. greatest challenge will be the national for- of deferred maintenance in the National No matter what the results of the elec- est road system. For years with the decline Parks and forests offers an opportunity tion in November, the government will be of the timber industry and the reduced to employ many people in labor-intensive making huge amounts of money available volume of board feet cut and hauled out work to restore degraded habitat, restore for infrastructure projects in order to put of the woods, Congress has reduced the people back to work and infuse money Forest Service’s budget. In 2019 the Forest continued on page 8 into the economy. While there are certain- ly many necessary infrastructure needs and decades of deferred maintenance to make up for, many projects of dubious Restore Our Parks Act is the kind of project or little value will no doubt be proposed. N3C would support N3C has opposed many environmentally destructive road and dam proposals and On June 4th, several U.S. senators announced that a new study of timber sales in the past, and we have had their Restore Our Parks legislation reveals that it will support more success based on legal and economic than 100,000 jobs over the next five years and help address more arguments. We will continue to oppose than $12 billion in NPS maintenance projects. The Senate will consid- projects with those failings. But the rules er S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act to address the deferred are going to change! maintenance backlog across the federal land management agencies It will no longer carry much weight that and to provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conserva- a proposal fails to follow legal procedures tion Fund (the Great American Outdoors Act includes the Restore Our or that the cost-benefit ratio is abysmal. Parks legislation). It is projected to provide up to $6.5 billion over five The criteria that will take overriding prece- years to address delayed repairs to infrastructure and asset needs in the country’s national parks. visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 7 The latest update from Monte Cristo Upside down continued from page 7 track will be placed in the ecological function of floodplains and reserve status and not ac- riparian zones, and eradicate noxious cessed by any vehicle. The weeds and invasive species. N3C wants to track will not be fully re- insure that money is spent on things that moved because emergen- are good for the environment and done in cy access may be required ecologically sensitive ways—which tend to to the Waste Repository. It employ the most people and provide the is unclear what form the greatest long-term benefits. reserve status will take The North Cascades Conservation Coun- or how the no vehicle cil’s mission remains protection of the access prohibition will be North Cascades; we will take advantage enforced. of the opportunities in a changing world. N3C has acknowledged With forethought and good planning the receipt of this letter and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 Ed Henderson photo has restated our po- pandemic can be an opportunity to Gretchen Smith, the New District Rang- sition that no private improve the protection of the wilderness er in Darrington, has issued a letter setting motor vehicle access should be allowed environment and prepare it for the future forth the terms of motor vehicle access on in accordance with the terms of the RAM in a changing world. the CERCLA track this summer. Property that authorized the CERCLA track in the in-holders will be allowed to check out Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA) for the a gate key for two days upon a written clean-up. Once monitoring is completed request until the ground water monitoring we will ensure that the track is rendered of the Waste Repository is completed this impassable and undrivable, restoring the fall. When the monitoring is finished, the integrity of the IRA.
Two significant trust land transfers in play
Despite the challenges facing our get requests that the agency may have Contact me at any time, and we appre- world, N3C continues to advocate for the to include Trust Land Transfer projects. ciate your support for these two projects protection of lowland forests throughout Unfortunately, it is still too early in the located in the North Cascades ecosystem the North Cascades. Currently, we are budgeting process at this time to know of Washington State. targeting two parcels, along the Cascade with any certainty the final DNR agency River and in the Sultan basin, that are risk requests that will be put forward. From: Fayette Krause of being logged. These lands are held in Things are especially complicated going Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 4:18 PM trust by the state and managed to provide into this session with the ongoing chal- Subject: Trustland Transfer (TLT) income for schools. We will be asking lenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, state All — It is very unfortunate that the State the legislature to instead preserve these revenues not meeting previously fore- Senate bill for TLT did not prevail in forests through the trust lands transfer casted levels, and the Governor’s request conference committee in 2019. This Sen- (TLT) program, which removes them from for agencies to implement hiring freezes, ate TLT bill would have moved the nearly income-generation status. Stay tuned for personal services contract freezes, and to 1000 acres of Mt. Stickney into the full action alerts asking our state government plan for up to 15% cutbacks to budgets. protection of the Morningstar NRCA, as to protect these parcels. Meanwhile, here’s From your email I think that you would DNR requested. It is equally unfortunate a recent exchange between DNR and N3C strongly support Trust Land Transfer that DNR did not take advantage of Seattle Advisory Board member Fayette Krause on nominations be considered by DNR for the City Light’s offer to accept TLT for the the two parcels. 2021-2023 biennium for the Cascade River Cascade River tract (approx. 1800+ acres From: WINSLOW, ROBERT (DNR) project and the Morning Star projects. of off-base land).
8 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 Update and reflections on state Nearing the end action to limit dredging for gold in of a Washington streams and rivers complimentary By David Fluharty year of N3C membership? In November 2019 Washington Depart- that in the near term no motorized dredg- Please renew before your ment of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) com- ing will occur in Washington waters. membership expires in July, pleted its revision of gold mining rules in So far there has not been a suit chal- so you won’t miss a single Washington waters. All persons engaging lenging the new regulations. The key in motorized suction or gravity siphon questions to keep in mind are 1) whether Action Alert or issue of The dredging for gold are required to obtain a either agency has the ability to monitor Wild Cascades. Hydraulics Permit Application (HPA) and and enforce the regulations, and 2) what to comply with seasonal closures when loopholes or unexpected consequences adult spawning salmon are can be found and exploited present in a river. Ostensibly in the implementation of the the HPA would apply to steel- Join our N3C regulations. Facebook page! head, bull trout and freshwa- Why increase All of this effort is encour- ter mussels as well. This tight- damage to aging but it still gives me ened the controls over when We’re up to 564 friends and streams with pause to think that manu- and where motorized gold al gold mining can occur growing. Help us build our clout dredging could occur but it gold mining? in freshwaters of the state by friending us and then rec- still does not apply to manual waters under a HPA limited gold mining, e.g., with pans, primarily by the short period ommending our page to your hand held sluice boxes, etc. in the summer and fall when salmon friends concerned about pre- The 2020 State legislature passed a bill are spawning in waters of the state. Why serving the North Cascades. that becomes effective June 11, 2020 that are we not protecting the young salmon prohibits motorized and gravity aquat- emerging from the eggs and rearing in the 293 people like this ic mining in waters of the state that are streams? How does a window for spawn- designated as Critical Habitat under the ing help endangered bull trout that are in 310 people follow this Endangered Species Act for all salmon, some of the streams year round? What is steelhead, or bull trout with designated the effect of present levels of manual gold uses of salmonid spawning, rearing and mining on stream morphology and integ- migration. The map of open areas shows rity? Reflect on this, “4. You may not use the aquatic systems that do not have these vehicle-mounted winches. You may use designated uses are relatively few, locat- one motorized winch and one hand-op- ed in central Washington counties like erated winch to move boulders and large Lincoln, Grant, Adams, etc. In addition woody material that is not embedded, to receiving a Hydraulic Project Approval and additional cables, chains, or ropes to (HPA) permit from WDFW, prospectors stabilize them.” (A boulder is a stream sub- Attention N3C must apply for and be issued an individual strate larger than 10 inches in diameter.) members National Pollution Discharge Elimination WDWF Gold and Fish: Rules for Mineral System (NPDES) water quality permit from Prospecting and Placer Mining, June 11, Please inform us of mailing address the Department of Ecology. The NPDES 2020. For sure a major rain on snow event changes! It’s much easier to update implements the US Clean Water Act to or storm can do a lot to rearrange streams our records and make sure you get ensure that water quality is protected by and rivers but why increase the damage to your copy of TWC, than to wait for the entities operating in state waters. This streams with gold mining? P.O. to return it to us. Thanks! significantly increases the protection of salmonid species in the state. Note, howev- We’re now offering an electronic de- er, that a NPDES permit is not required for livery option for TWC. Just let us know manual gold mining. and we’ll send it as soon as it’s ready, As of April 15, 2020 no applications usually a couple of weeks before the for NPDES permits from gold dredgers paper copies arrive, and not sending had been received by Ecology. Ecology paper will save some trees and some requires that the application be submitted postage. 180 days prior to the proposed activity. Because the issuance of a HPA permit by For either of these, email us at WDFW requires that the NPDES permit be [email protected] and we’ll part of its application one might surmise take care of it. visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 9 An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest
By Adam M. Sowards, University of Oklahoma Press Reviewed by Ronald Eber, Historian, Sierra Club - Oregon Chapter
Image Lake and Glacier Peak at sunrise. — David R. Simons photo
“When the legend becomes fact, print In 1966, Kennecott Copper announced preserve? Would the public interest in wil- the legend.” The Man Who Shot Liberty plans to operate an open pit mine in the derness outweigh the value of the mineral Valance heart of the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The wealth found there? proposal shocked the conservation com- Sowards provides insight into the real on-the-ground struggle and immense ob- Adam M. Sowards tells more than the munity not only because of the specific stacles and uncertainties faced by conser- legendary story about how a small group place where it was proposed but also vationists where the outcome was not pre- of concerned conservationists organized because it was perfectly legal. While the ordained or predictable. He tells the story and aroused the public to oppose an open Wilderness Act of 1964 formally desig- through the eyes of the conservationists pit mine in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of nated the Glacier Peak Wilderness, it also involved. It goes beyond just the public the North Cascades. It explains the con- included exceptions that recognized prior and published records and digs deep into troversy’s history, the conflict between the valid mineral claims and permitted min- their personal files, recollections, newslet- U.S. Forest Service, concerned citizens and ing. With no environmental laws available, ters and publications of the conservation Kennecott Copper Corporation as well as the central question was whether this groups so that the reader gets a complete the mix of law and politics that lead to the compromise to permit mining in wilder- picture of the grave challenges they faced. story’s undramatic but satisfying conclu- ness areas would actually destroy the sion. places and values the law was intended to It is not just about the political cam- paign to stop the mine but more broadly
10 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 about the Wilderness Act and the public mine on Miners Ridge and so the conser- ers Ridge remains whole because “people interest movement for wilderness protec- vationists and the public interest won. But worked creatively and energetically with tion. Others have summarized the political there is a bigger story without a dramatic dedication and urgency. In the process campaign against the open pit mine but ending. Sowards writes: those involved debated and created the Sowards’ book provides the context for public interest, for it is in engagement as the fight within the broader environmen- Kennecott pursued its plans; activ- citizens that the public interest is defined. tal and wilderness movements. He writes: ists organized; government agencies This was—and is—the means and the watched. But never did a court stop ends to wilderness.” The story of Miners Ridge reveals a the corporation from digging. No I highly recommend reading Adam So- critical episode in wilderness his- legislation nailed the casket lid shut wards’ book in order to learn about those tory….[and] shows how wilderness over the top of the open pit. No mass who fought passionately for the wilderness was made, challenged, and champi- action convinced copper executives they loved and so you can continue their oned in a crucible when the law and to cut their losses and leave the work and preserve their wilderness legacy concept remained malleable, with Suiattle River drainage. No president into the future. Americans still struggling to define signed an executive order banning its limits and protect its integrity. mining in designated wilderness.
While blocking the mine may seem The two sides stood eyeball to eyeball Special 20% discount inevitable from today’s perspective, con- and Kennecott blinked. There was no for N3C members! servationists like Sierra Club representa- climatic finish but in Brock Evans’ words Use code 18N3C20 at check- tive Brock Evans felt “a palpable sense of “endless pressure – endlessly applied” out when you order from near-inevitable doom...It was a matter of determined the outcome. The patented https://www.oupress.com/ life or death, permanent loss or perma- mining claims were never developed and books/15458872/an-open-pit- nent rescue.” It is these personal stories never will because they were sold in 1986 visible-from-the-moon and emotions that Sowards brings to to Chelan County. Eventually they were life. The book is divided into three parts. exchanged for lands outside the wilder- Offer does not apply to e-books. The first, “Bedrock”, tells how the U.S. ness area as part of the 2008 Wild Sky Forest Service came to occupy the North Wilderness Act. Cascades and their efforts to manage “An Open Pit Visible from the Moon” forests, promote multiple uses and protect was the startling headline about an im- wilderness. It also tells about the origins probable conflict over an incomparable of the North Cascades Conservation Coun- place – Miners Ridge in the Glacier Peak cil (N3C) in 1957 and the conservation Wilderness. Sowards concludes that Min- community’s efforts to protect the region’s wilderness. The second, “Challenges”, tells about the many concerned people devoted to protecting the Glacier Peak and North Cascades wilderness and the varied tactics they used to try and persuade politicians, corporate executives and the public about the proposed copper mine that threatened it. Books, movies, photo exhibits and the now famous full-page newspaper ad and other techniques were all used. Sowards provides the background about how all these tactics significantly affected public opinion. You will learn about N3C founders Pat- rick Goldsworthy, Polly Dyer, Grant McCo- nnell, Phil and Laura Zalesky and Harvey Manning as well as the Sierra Club’s David Brower, Mike McCloskey and Brock Evans. There is the “camp-in” led by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Dr. Fred Darvill’s challenge to Kennecott Copper at their 1967 stockholders’ meeting and student activism by Benjamin Shaine from Oberlin College in Ohio. These are the sto- ries about the people who cared enough to dedicate their time and energy to the cause. They are well written and compel- lingly told. Illustration and text fromRoutes and Rocks by N3C member Rowland Tabor, 1965, The third and final section, “Resolu- Mountaineers Books. tion”, tells how it turned out. There is no visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 11 Thousands object to filling Gold Creek Pond. Here’s why: this land is land for every American By Bob Mecklenburg, Friends of Gold Creek Pond
If you come with me to Gold Creek Last July I had a conversation with a hus- their families in rented campers, locals Pond, you’ll be treated to a view deep into ky middle-aged man who spoke as little from the Pass or North Bend who visit the the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, iconic peaks English as I spoke Spanish. As he loaded Pond frequently, and those returning past rising above the forest, their image dou- an elderly gentleman into a wheelchair, the Pond with their full packs, dusty boots bled in the Pond’s reflection. I finally understood that he brought his and unshaven faces from Alaska Lake or the Pacific Crest Trail. The mix of back- But the wildland is only half the story. dad to the Pond as a respite from chronic grounds, languages and ethnicities you’ll From my perspective, Gold Creek Pond dialysis. find at the Pond continues year-round. is one of the very few places that citizens In August I met two veteran hikers of of any background can easily come face advanced age who were so pleased to con- What is especially important about this to face with the best of their public lands. tinue to be able to enjoy the mountains, place was expressed by a Black American Here are my recollections of meeting a few water and flowers in their National Forest. at a Forterra event several years ago. He of the many thousands of annual visitors The next day, I met a grown daughter with said preserving our wildlands depends on to the Pond. her elderly parents from Romania. the support of a citizens of color as they come to represent an increasing propor- Last March, I met two young moms at And I met a grandmother walking the tion of our population. To defend the the Pond who had pushed their toddlers trail with her family in a brilliant sari, places we love, we need to introduce our in strollers a half mile across the snow other women in headscarves, Asian grand- wildlands to people of all backgrounds, from the Sno-Park. That same day at the parents conversing with me through their Pond, other moms and dads were teaching grandchildren, construction workers driv- their kids the basics of snowshoeing and ing to the Pond in pickup trucks, interna- cross-country skiing. tional visitors making the Grand Tour with Gold Creek pond. —Robert Mecklenburg photo
12 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 ages, and abilities — and to make them readily accessible. Each of us needs such Fill Gold Creek Pond? places at this time. Social equity extends past the city limits. Gold Creek Pond fills an old gravel pit dating back to the construction of the The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Sunset Highway, predecessor of I-90. More gravel was excavated from it in the Forest includes over 4 million acres, the 1970s, but contrary to plans then it was never restored to its natural wetland/ greatest proportion of which is inaccessi- riparian state after the building of I-90. Meanwhile it has become a very popular ble to the majority of citizens. Yet tens of recreation site, something of the Greenlake of the Cascades. Should it be filled thousands take pleasure and inspiration in now? from the 23-acre Pond each year. Many are A group of organizations is proposing that the pond just east of Snoqualmie too young, too old, too infirm, too inex- Pass be filled and a replica of the original wetland be created there. The vision perienced or too ill-equipped to visit the appeals to those to whom landscape restoration sounds like a good thing in backcountry. But they can and do make it principle. It would also be very expensive and carbon-intensive. N3C is evaluat- to Gold Creek Pond. And from this special ing the proposal and its trade-offs. It is important to think critically about where place they can view and experience a small scarce funding could best be used, and to remember the recreational values the measure of the public lands that are their pond provides as it is. The accompanying essay advocates for those recreational joy and their birthright. values. This land does not belong to special interests. It belongs to each of us. Save the As the planning process moves forward, it is important to keep in mind, as the Pond. proponents of this project say, “Given that Gold Creek is National Forest System land, the U.S. Forest Service is the ultimate decision-maker on how this area is managed...” We recommend our members and the public read the proponents’ promotional materials with some healthy skepticism. Send your thoughts to [email protected] and read up on the project here: Petition https://www.change.org/p/michelle-capp-save-gold-creek-pond Facebook www.facebook.com/savegoldcreekpond Website https://savegoldcreekpond.org
Gold Creek pond in winter. —Robert Mecklenburg photo visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 13 The decrepit Deadhorse road 37, east of a mile of FSR 37 away from the North Fork the town of Glacier, offers jaw-concussive Nooksack and into the adjacent slope. This passage to thousands of hikers annually proposed project area is located about who desire to bask in the subalpine majes- three miles up the road from its junction ty of Skyline Divide, beneath the watchful with the Glacier Creek road, where it “Boulevard-like” eye of Mount Baker. Beyond the frenetic proceeds along a low, flat, exceedingly summer season, this national forest road potholed bench above the river. also provides access to the south side of The Forest Service has recently released Deadhorse road the North Fork Nooksack River, recom- an exceptionally brief and decidedly mended for protection under the Wild uninformative environmental assessment project & Scenic Rivers Act. The area needs no (EA) for its desired reroute. Across a total introduction, as evidenced by predictably of 15 pages, the reader may glean that the full parking spaces, human footprints and agency wishes to protect the road from threatens big fire rings in every direction along the river the river’s potentially rowdy meanderings bars, and increasingly trampled meadows by relocating a section of it onto higher up high. ground. Three alternatives are offered for trees To date, the U.S. Forest Service has said where the reroute would depart and begin little about the impacts of recreational climbing the slope from the existing FSR overuse in this Tier 1 Key Watershed and 37 on its west end. All alternatives con- Late Successional Reserve (LSR), crowned verge in the east half of the project area. by the Mount Baker Inventoried Roadless Area above the Skyline Divide trailhead, transitioning finally to the Mount Bak- One of several large western red cedars er Wilderness. But the agency has now that would be lost to the Deadhorse expressed keen interest in rerouting up to road re-route. —Jim Scarborough photo
14 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 The EA states that over 100 trees exceed- vard-like width of 41 feet. The letter rightly specifics can be detected, appears intent ing 40 inches diameter would be taken urges consideration of a right-of-way width on overdoing it. No survey for threatened out via preferred Alternative 3, while of 20 to 25 feet with turnouts instead. species (such as marbled murrelet) was the obsolete segment of existing road In this same vein, the Forest Service is conducted, cumulative impacts and op- closer to the river would be decommis- reminded that the Northwest Forest Plan portunities for mitigation are breezily dis- sioned (along with removal of a damaged, mandates that projects of this sort must be regarded, and there is obvious preference fish-blocking culvert at the confluence designed to minimize adverse impacts. for preservation of FSR 37 versus conserva- of Cascade and Boyd creeks). All project During a site visit in late May, the author tion of adjacent natural attributes. alternatives, though, feature a slightly walked the length of the preferred reroute. The Forest Service must at least nar- greater length of new road construction The forest subject to removal has the ap- row the footprint of this reroute to the than decommissioning. For Alternative 3, pearance of a naturally regenerated stand, minimum clearing widths practicable in this difference would amount to 0.12 mile. perhaps dating back to early railroad-era order to conserve mature LSR forest and The Boyd Creek Interpretive Trail, which logging, and certainly much older than a rich forb community, while offering a stands in the way of the reroute, would be the 80-year limit on new logging in LSR. defensible rationale for how it intends to eliminated as well. Lastly, four rock groins Some conifers whose days are numbered negotiate geomorphological hazards along supporting the existing road would be are quite large, including several robust the reroute which portend future slope removed and engineered logjams (com- western red cedars. The channel migration failures and degradation to the local hy- posed of the cut trees?) installed in the zone of Cascade Creek where it meets the drology. The larger context: The formerly Nooksack’s active floodplain. interpretive trail area appears wide, com- peaceful Mt. Baker Ranger District, of Beyond this primer, the EA offers little plex, and tricky from a road engineering which the Nooksack River is part, has been else to inform the interested public. In perspective, as does the steep and clearly beset of late by one destructive project its comments to the Forest Service, the unstable slope where the preferred alter- after another, including two instances of Mt. Baker Group of the Sierra Club urges native would be blasted upward. There is expanded mining in inventoried roadless development of a more benign reroute little evidence of recent encroachment on areas, as well as a newly revised mega-pro- alternative(s), while expressing concern FSR 37 by the river. posal for clearcutting and commercial about the destruction of currently intact N3C generally supports projects on the thinning across vast acreages of the North late successional forest habitat, whereby Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Fork watershed (more to come soon on impacts are “only addressed in the most that remove problem roads from proxim- the latter). cursory manner.” Of particular note, the ity to rivers and streams, though the devil See the Deadhorse EA for yourself at this letter decries the Forest Service’s habitual is in the details. The Forest Service’s Dead- URL: https://www.fs.usda.gov/nfs/11558/ intention to carve an unnecessarily broad horse road relocation proposal avoids www/nepa/112621_FSPLT3_5246673.pdf swath for the reroute, with a boule- such details to a fault and, where some
Interview with District Ranger Erin Uloth
Erin Uloth, District Ranger of the II). Is this correct? Any available estimate Any reduction to ground disturbance Mount Baker Ranger District of the as to the age of this stand? would reduce impacts to these communi- Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National For- We believe the stand structure and ties. We consider this when we consider est, generously responded to several age was a result of a stand replacing fire the total cost-benefit tradeoff of an action questions related to concerns stem- ~1856. We didn’t see any signs of past log- (the benefits to this action are high for ming from the Deadhorse road reloca- ging. There were visible fire scars on some critically endangered fish species and the tion proposal. Many thanks to Ranger of the larger, older trees. riparian ecosystem). Uloth for her time. A Sierra Club letter expresses concern The “jumpoff” point of preferred alter- Funds for road maintenance on nation- with proposed clearing widths for the re- native 3 from FSR 37 appears to be an al forest lands have been scarce for many route, particularly given LSR zoning in a especially steep and unstable location, years. How were funds for this project Tier 1 key watershed. Is the USFS amena- topped by alder on what is apparently a sourced and prioritized for this specific ble to minimizing clearing widths to the slow-motion landslide. Is this an accurate project? extent practicable? observation? The funds are from WRIA-1 salmon It is policy/practice in the FS to min- We are unsure where exactly you are recovery board funding. This project is imize clearing for any road building or referring to with this statement. That said, protecting critical habitat and has been maintenance activities so long as safety all alignments are preliminary and as we on the project list for several years. As you standards are met. work through the final design process, know, the recovery board is a collaborative Related to the above question, a num- some adjustments to the alignment may be effort comprised of several agencies/orga- ber of quite large red cedars, a rich forb necessary to avoid undesirable locations nizations from the area. community, and the clearly dynamic and for ease of construction. We will also The LSR forest through which the channel migration zone of Cascade Creek incorporate appropriate design measures re-route would proceed appears to be appear particularly at-risk from this to mitigate potential unstable soils as naturally regenerated, perhaps from the project. Would reduced clearing width needed. railroad-logging era (prior to World War mitigate these impacts? continued on page 16 visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 15 Erin Uloth continued from page 15 In memoriam FSR 37 through this section is riddled with potholes, though no “time bomb” with regard to the river potentially taking Peter Hardin Jackson out the road in the near term is obvious. Any estimate as to the likely longevity of 1966-2020 this stretch of 37? We typically don’t speculate on longev- By Tom Hammond ity of roads; however, this stretch of road is in critical habitat and is continually impacting resources in that stretch of river. For a project of this level of complexity, the EA is as sparse and uninformative as any we’ve read in nearly two decades of doing so. Is this a staffing issue? Lack of a dedicated NEPA compliance officer? This EA is in alignment with CEQ regu- lation and meets all federal requirements. The Forest Service has been working for some time to improve our process pro- cedures and improve efficiencies (https:// www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/eadm) The Mount Baker RD has been known for some time as “quiet” and “green” in comparison to other ranger districts. This situation has changed significantly in recent years, with mining expansion into inventoried roadless areas in the N. Fork Nooksack and along the northwest flank Peter Jackson and wife Laurie Werner. —Saul Weisberg photo of the Twin Sisters, a very road-friendly Nooksack ATM plan, the aggressively Peter Jackson passed away March of our most threatened and vulnerable expansive NICE logging/rec project (now 24, 2020 at the age of 53 after battling areas of the North Cascades (read: low transitioning to a similar “vegetation pancreatic cancer. Peter will be sorely elevation, ecologically critical forests, management” project), and the Dead- missed by many people—especially streams and wetlands). I remember horse road project. To what would you those who knew him, called him friend how some people in the conversation attribute this change in atmosphere with- and worked with him—and some who community were closed to new energy, in the RD? Revised management emphasis never met him nor will know of or seemingly jealously withholding expe- from D.C. and or Region 6? Coincidental? understand the efforts he put forth to rience and plans from “newcomers” I am unclear how you are defining make all of our lives better. such as myself. Not Peter: he welcomed “quiet” and “green”? All of our projects are Peter was deeply and meaningfully me with open arms and open mind responding to needs on the ground and involved with efforts concerned with and shared so many profound con- management actions that promote the de- human rights and environmental cepts and ideas—part mentor and full sired future conditions for these areas. As protections. One need look no further partner. He did so in a very deprecat- you know, the FS does not operate mines than the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness ing and soft-spoken manner—humility nor propose mining projects; we respond Area in our North Cascades to un- was one of his endearing traits. That’s to plans of operations put forward by pro- derstand Peter’s history, passion and the kind of attitude and approach that ponents. An increase in mining activity on depth of knowledge for meaningful makes conservation and conservation the district is due to increased interest by lands protections. The legislation that efforts work, and Peter Jackson epito- individual mining claimants, not the agen- led to the designation of the Jackson mized all that is good in such fraught cy. The decision rationale for each project Wilderness, the 1984 Washington Wil- endeavors. is outlined in the decision documents; derness Act, served to help young Peter Speaking for every member of please let me know if you have concerns understand how to move conservation the N3C: Happy Trails Peter Hardin with specific issues. efforts forward, something he was able Jackson, you are missed, and we’re to share with others. thankful for all you gave us. I first met Peter nearly two decades Please see the Everett Herald’s excel- ago as I was coming up to speed on lent write-up: https://www.heraldnet. conservation efforts and how to get com/news/peter-jackson-writer-and- formal protections in place for some scoops-son-dies-of-cancer-at-53/
16 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 N3C enters new phase of relicensing of the Skagit River Project 553 By David Fluharty
At the end of April 2020 Seattle City become a much larger project requiring Light (SCL) submitted its Pre-Application planning, budgeting and other bureau- Document (PAD) to the Federal Energy cratic impediments. SCL assures N3C and Regulatory Commission (FERC), which other parties that it will fulfill its obliga- initiates a multi-year relicensing process tion before April 25, 2025. Trust us! leading to replacing its current license N3C’s involvement in the relicensing expiring on April 30, 2025. For over a is to support environmental improve- year, N3C and other interested tribes, ments in the upper Skagit River basin and state and federal agencies and NGOs have specifically to ensure that the more than been meeting frequently to get a running 10,000 acres of land purchased for wildlife start on the FERC process—especially and recreation are serving those purposes; to determine what new studies need to that the North Cascades Institute contin- be performed in order to have sufficient ues to thrive; that revegetation continues information on which to base licensing where needed and invasive species are requirements. controlled; and that unforeseen environ- The 900-page PAD (available at http:// mental impacts with a nexus to the Skagit www.seattle.gov.light.skagit/Relicensing/ Project are mitigated. default.htm if you need some bedtime Web Special about the Skagit Hydro Proj- reading) contains an Introduction (Sec- ect: www.northcascades.org/wordpress/ tion 1), a full schedule for the Integrated programs/skagit-hydro-project-relicensing Licensing Process (ILP) (Section 2), a de- tailed description of the Project facilities, Power towers. —Phil Fenner photo lands and operations, etc. (Section 3) and a comprehensive summary of the natural other participants have ideas or requests and cultural resources in the Project vicin- for studies that SCL rejects, we can take ity (Section 4). Section 5 lists preliminary our concerns directly to FERC at specific New name for a issues for study during relicensing that times in the ILP process. are informed by the extensive amount of Already, concerns over important issues familiar threat research conducted prior to and during that SCL seems unwilling to consider have Marc Bardsley the current license. Appendix G includes prompted the Upper Skagit Tribe to invite information regarding archaeological and N3C and other participants to caucus From time to time, The Wild Cascades historic sites containing cultural resources. outside scheduled SCL meetings on the has reported on the U.S. Forest Service Due to the potentially sensitive nature of need to study maintaining flow of water in plan that would manage the South Fork this information, Appendix G is not being the Gorge Reach, the need to study the po- Stillaguamish River Basin’s timber resourc- distributed to the general public. tential for fish passage through the Gorge es, aka the South Fork Stilly Vegetation The process chosen by SCL for the Reach, and other issues with a nexus to Management Plan. Basically, the USFS project relicensing is the Integrated Li- the Skagit Project relicensing. would like to stage many “thinning opera- censing Process instead of the Alternative tions” that would concentrate on removing N3C is represented in these complex trees younger than about 80 years old. Licensing Process preferred by nearly all proceedings by stalwarts president Phil This in an area that was heavily logged participants. The ILP is a timeline-driven Fenner and board members David Glad- and clear cut in the last 60 or so years. process where opportunities to inter- stone, Ed Henderson, Scott Crain and The goal is to improve the stands and act are strictly scheduled and formal. In David Fluharty. As reported earlier, N3C somehow make the forest better. Draw contrast to the current license developed is intensely interested in holding SCL your own conclusions. Additionally, some in a collaborative fashion, participants are accountable for implementing all agreed roads would be constructed or rebuilt and now simply consultants to SCL in a strictly license provisions in the current license— the area’s major roads would have some controlled process. It definitely feels like the most important being painting trans- improvements. A few years ago, a sale was proposed in the area but there were no being in a straight-jacket. Also, in contrast mission towers in the Ross Lake National bids and nothing happened. to the previous relicensing, SCL is playing Recreation Area in less contrasting colors. N3C has determined that the scale of hardball and seems only willing to do the Because SCL did not perform this activity proposed logging in the Stillaguamish minimum required by FERC’s instructions as part of its annual maintenance as al- under the ILP. SCL repeats often that if lowed in the existing license, this task has continued on page 18 visit www.northcascades.org • www.facebook.com/northcas/ THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 17 Thunder Creek. —Mark Nelson photo N3C scoping comments on the Environmental Assessment of the Lower Thunder Creek Trail and Camp modifications By Dave Fluharty
The National Park Service is preparing an Environmental Assessment for mod- ifications it intends to make in the lower Thunder Creek trail and Campgrounds and asked stakeholders for their concerns. Included is a proposal to remove the New name metal I-beams from the failed hiker bridge to McAllister Camp using a helicopter continued from page 17 or sawing them into small enough pieces to be packed out. N3C commented that the NPS should consider two different alternatives, i.e., Basin is of such a scale that the overall nat- ural environment is at risk. Recently, this 1) leave the failed bridge in place in Thunder Creek, or sale (as modified) was re-advertised and 2) winch the I-beams out of the river and leave them in an out-of-the-way is now under consideration. Now called location. the Green Grouse Sale, you will likely hear In our comments we noted that none of the current maps in the Scoping more about it in the future. We intend to Document or on the North Cascades Complex website showed the Wilderness follow through with vigorous action to Boundary adjustment made in September 2012. This is an important issue be- modify or stop this sale and others that cause of the proposed relocation of about 1500' of the Thunder Creek Trail that may follow. We will as events develop and is threatened to be washed out. N3C understands the need for the relocation but give further details. requested clarification if trail constructions would be done using only non-mo- torized equipment because it is inside of the Stephen Mather Wilderness.
18 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020 Grizzly recovery update from NPCA
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) held an online webinar on May 28th with bear biologist Bill Gaines to talk about grizzly recovery in the North Cascades and to answer questions. N3C reps attended. When asked whether helicopters were being used for bear surveys, Gaines said no. The hair trap sites are all accessible by hiking, and the process of getting permits for helos in Wil- derness, National Park and national forest is very difficult and not worth it. This was good news to N3C! Gaines was cognizant of the shortage of source bears just across the Canadian border, and said north of Kamlooops and in our own Northern Rockies were the places to source bears without depleting sources. He confirmed that the North Cascades grizzly recovery EIS Vahalla Wilderness Society photo process has been paused due to the Administration choosing not to pursue it, but that it is probably no more than a few months from being finalized when it’s restarted.
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A verdant, bountiful wetland in Paradise Valley in Manning Provincial Park in British Columbia, a place that no American lover of the North Cascades can legally get to right now. —Jim Scarborough photo 20 THE WILD CASCADES • Spring-Summer 2020