Winter 2007-2008

The Wild Cascades The Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council Winter 2007-2008

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  The North Cascades THE WILD CASCADES  Winter 2007-2008 Conservation Council was formed in 1957 “To protect and In This Issue preserve the North Cascades’ scenic, 3 President’s Report — Marc Bardsley scientific, recreational, educational, and wilderness values.” Continuing 4 Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan: NCCC Perspective this mission, NCCC keeps government — David Fluharty officials, environmental organizations, 6 Council Hires Executive Director and the general public informed about The Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan issues affecting the Greater North Cas- — Carolyn McConnell cades Ecosystem. Action is pursued 7 Wild Sky Wilderness Update through legislative, legal, and public Update: Granite Falls Motocross Park — Bruce Barnbaum participation channels to protect the 8 Big Dam Threatens Similkameen River — Rick McGuire lands, waters, plants and wildlife. settlement Reached on Baker Salvage Appeal — Kevin Geraghty Over the past third of a century the Collaboration? — For a seat at the negotiating table, they are jeopardiz- NCCC has led or participated in cam- ing their true role — Erica Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times paigns to create the North Cascades 2 luna Cirque — Tom Hammond National Park Complex, Glacier Peak 5 Fifty Years of Research at South Cascade Glacier Wilderness, and other units of the — Wendell Tangborn National Wilderness System from the W.O. Douglas Wilderness north to the 9 ski Area Mania Trashes Backcountry — Mark Lawler, Sierra Club Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the Henry M. Cascade Chapter Jackson Wilderness, the Chelan-Saw- 20 in Memoriam: Bella Caminiti, Marion Hessey and William K. Longwell tooth Wilderness, the Wild Sky Wil- 21 Public Land Losses Are Serious — George Early derness and others. Among its most 23 Our Public Lands — Auctioning off Nevada — New York Times Edito- dramatic victories has been working rial with British Columbia allies to block 24 Harvey Manning Statue — David Fluharty the raising of Ross Dam, which would have drowned Big Beaver Valley. Cover: Billowing clouds tower above Excelsior Ridge during an unsettled win- The NCCC is supported by member ter day, from a campsite in Yellow Aster Meadow near Tomyhoi Peak. —Bob dues and private donations. These Gunning photo contributions support the full range Bob Gunning, a long-time NCCC member, was the photographer (with Ed Cooper) for the book, The Alpine Lakes, by Brock Evans, the first “battle” book published by the Liter- of the Council’s activities, including ary Committee of The Mountaineers Books way back when (1971) in our fight for the publication of The Wild Cascades. As Alpine Lakes Wilderness. a 501(c)(3) organization, all contributions are fully tax deductible to the The Wild Cascades extent allowed by law. Membership dues for one year are: Low Income/ Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council Student $10; Individual $30; Family Editor: Betty Manning $50; Sustaining $100; Grizzly Bear Editorial Board: John Edwards, Tom Hammond, $250; Howling Wolf $500; Lifetime Carolyn McConnell and Rick McGuire $1,000; Other, $______. Printing by EcoGraphics The Wild Cascades is published three times a year (Spring, Summer/Fall, Winter). North Cascades Conservation Council Letters, comments, and articles are invited, subject to editorial review. P.O. Box 95980 The Wild Cascades Editor University Station North Cascades Conservation Council Seattle, WA 98145-2980 University Station, Seattle, WA 98145-2980 NCCC Website The Wild Cascades is printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink. www.northcascades.org

 The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 NCCC Board

President Marc Bardsley Founded in 1957 Board Chairman SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Patrick Goldsworthy

Vice President Charles Ehlert The President’s Report Winter 2007-2008 Treasurer Tom Brucker

Secretary It is a true statement that environmental issues in the North Cascades con- Phil Zalesky tinue to become more numerous and more complex. To meet the challenges, your board of trustees has elected to maintain our traditional values while ramp- Executive Director ing up the overall effort to influence those very important decisions that must Jim Davis be made. In order to accomplish this, the opportunity has been taken to hire a paid staff person, the executive director, to ensure that all relevant issues are covered. In the past, board members and regular members have attempted to Bruce Barnbaum respond to events whenever possible and have done quite a good job. However, Jim Davis it has not always been possible for volunteers to devote enough time to thor- oughly represent wilderness, wildlife and nature in general. It is my hope that Polly Dyer with a staff person we can make a more profound impact on protection of the natural environment. John Edwards Several things need to occur to make this approach work. First, board members and the general membership need to work as hard as ever to allow the ex- Dave Fluharty ecutive director to do his job effectively. Many of us have vowed to work harder and do even more in order to support the efforts of our new director. Secondly, Anders Forsgaard we are reorganizing existing efforts and interests into five program areas. These would be: Wilderness and park expansions and oversight; Forest and watershed Karl Forsgaard management; Wildlife protection; Off-road vehicle issues; Communication. It Kevin Geraghty is envisioned that most activist requirements will be covered by one of these program areas. You are invited to help us in the area that interests you. Third, Tom Hammond Administrative and time-sensitive issues will generally be handled by an executive committee composed of the executive director, president, vice president, Phil Leatherman chairman of the board, treasurer, secretary, and two at-large board members. The final goal and perhaps as important as any, is the need to increase the mem- Betty Manning bership and to provide adequate funding for these programs. To pay for the new executive director, to fund legal and administrative actions on logging and Carolyn McConnell unacceptable development, and to provide for public outreach will require your thoughts and the sacrifice of both time and money from all of us who think the Rick McGuire North Cascades is worth the effort.

Thom Peters

Mike Town

Ken Wilcox

Ted Wilhite

Laura Zalesky

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan – NCCC Perspectives David Fluharty

he National Park Service has initi- into account the impacts of previous other concerns about land exchanges) and ated a planning process to evaluate efforts to stabilize the river, prevent ero- trades one environmental problem for oth- Tthe Stehekin River Corridor in light sion and to protect residential and ad- ers. Fee simple purchase is the preferred of the significant change in flooding re- ministrative facilities. There are lessons tool as opposed to purchase of easements gime in the last 10-15 years. In this period, to be learned from these measures that and other measures. Lack of funding for the Stehekin River has experienced three can contribute to our understanding of such purchases from Land and Water flood events that exceed the previous what is happening in the river today and Conservation Act funds or from founda- historic flood of 1948. Furthermore, these in the future. tion and other private sources is part of floods have occurred in the fall instead of 3. The NPS should conduct a full-basin the problem the NPS faces with respect the spring. This raises the question of the analysis of the river and likely events to exercising conservation management. effect of global warming. The NPS expert in the upper basin that will influence While NCCC recognizes that the NPS can on this topic, Jon Riedel, indicates that the generation of sediment and woody consider land exchanges as a management the Stehekin River valley may be the bell- debris. tool a full set of land management options weather for climate change in the Pacific 4. The NPS should clearly articulate the should be considered so that the effects of Northwest due to its connections with the effects of its most recent policy guide- each can be compared. Puget Sound lowlands in its headwaters line revisions on this planning activity, 1. The NPS should explore with floodplain and its eastward flow to Lake Chelan. The especially how the policy of “non-im- property owners and FEMA and other NPS is requesting input on what it should pairment” will be applied. agencies with emergency and flood con- include in its planning through a scoping 5. The NPS should clearly articulate a goal trol responsibilities, options for funding process for the Stehekin River Corridor for the Stehekin River floodplain that to assist in getting out of harm’s way Implementation Plan by early March. allows natural processes to continue un- through sale of flood-prone properties. Please send comments on line to impeded so that it can evolve under the 2. The NPS should explore possibilities for http://parkplanning.nps.gov/noca new winter dominant flow regime. The land exchange on other federal lands or by snail mail to: development of new sand and gravel outside of LCNRA. Palmer [Chip] Jenkins, Superintendent bars, the change in flow around logjams 3. Any considerations of land exchanges North Cascades National Park Service are all part of the rhythm of the river. should fully explore the trade-offs with Complex This creates habitat for fish and wildlife other habitat and visitor impacts factors 810 State Route 20 and is the goal of riparian restoration in that occur when riparian zone prop- Sedro Woolley, WA 98284-1239 the lower basin. Presently, the goals of erties are exchanged for other lands protecting private and public facilities NCCC offered scoping comments to outside of the floodplain. are dominant; however, these goals can Superintendent Jenkins at the Seattle only be achieved with long-term sustain- Perspectives on Potential scoping meeting, January 24, 2008. Please able measures which must include not Management Actions consider these comments and use them in fighting the river. your personal comments to the National As required by law, each proposed man- Park Service. 6. The NPS in developing and implement- agement action must be compared against ing this land process is dealing with a no action alternative. This baseline is myriad other interests, including state valuable to have as a way to compare all We at NCCC very much support the NPS and county agencies and their respon- impacts – positive and negative for the en- in taking a holistic approach to manage- sibilities. As the prime representative vironment as well as for property owners, ment of the Stehekin River Corridor. This of the national interests in protecting public facilities and visitor experience. is long overdue and given changing cli- the integrity of LCNRA, the NPS must With respect to the potential manage- mate it is imperative to revise the manage- do its utmost to lead in the direction of ment actions the NPS listed in the scoping ment approach. While the focus may be on long-term sustainable management of document, NCCC can offer some com- the middle to lower portions of the river, development in the lower Stehekin River ment: the contributions of upstream mass-wast- basin. ing [i.e., landslides] must be taken into 1. Continued reactive response to peri- account. The NPS is dealing with planning General Perspectives on the odic flooding may seem contrary to the for the “General Management Plan” as well Land Management Plan intent of the overall Plan. However, it is part of the base case and needs to be as the “Land Protection Management Plan. NCCC has fully supported protection of analyzed to be able to compare costs 1. NPS should consider the designation of the floodplain from development and has and benefits among alternative strate- the whole Stehekin River as a Wild and seen land acquisition from willing sellers gies. A shift back to a spring dominant Scenic River. as a key tool in accomplishing that goal. flood regime, for example, would We have resisted the use of land exchange 2. In addition to the changes in the hy- likely make this a responsible fiscal to accomplish this purpose because this drologic regime for the Stehekin River strategy. Thus, the NPS must seek and merely changes the location and nature of basin, the NPS should identify and take utilize the best scientific understanding the human footprint on the valley (among

 The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 of the effects of global climate trends 6. it is not clear what action is entailed in 11. Removal of “endangered” facilities in determining its basic strategy for the this mapping exercise especially with might also include relocation of such Stehekin River of the future. the caveat “under existing conditions.” facilities. 2. Continuing to be available to advise We anticipate changes in conditions. 12. Removal of derelict structures and on proper response to flooding is a re- 7. according to NCCC understanding, all human-placed debris piles from the sponsibility of the NPS that would not lands in the current inventory of lands floodplain seems useful. Are there oth- change under any foreseeable alterna- identified for exchange are outside the er physical structures, like berms and tive. floodplain. The protection of riparian ditches, that might also be considered 3. NCCC would caution that we are habitats was the chief purpose of the for alteration if they create or exacer- operating under a land management previous LPP. Thus, until the present bate problems on the floodplain? plan that still has a significant amount inventory of property for exchange 13. Removing non-native plants from of land identified for exchange. Fur- is utilized, it would seem unneces- floodplain is part of NPS on-going con- ther identification of exchange land sary to look for “new” exchange lands trol efforts. Application for pesticides requires a survey of need, how much “outside” of the floodplain. Prior to any should be considered only as a tactic property in the floodplain is being pro- initiative as proposed there should be of last resort and only after removal posed for exchange by property own- a systematic identification of properties of sources of disturbance and entry ers. How much is eligible for buyout in the floodplain with owners willing points for invasives, like the Stehekin under FEMA guidelines? How much is to consider an exchange or fee simple airstrip are considered. being offered for fee simple purchase purchase. If there are few, they should 14. Relocation of a campground or camp- by willing sellers. It is not obvious at be able to be accommodated under the sites should be part of a much larger this point that more land is needed current LPP. If they are many, further envisioning of long-term visitor needs for land exchange purposes. If such exploration could be warranted. Note for the whole valley under changed proves to be the case then there must that this indeed calls into question the circumstances. Based on recent NPS be a systematic evaluation of all eligible viability of land exchange as a solution statistics, for example, today’s visitor parcels and a clear identification of the to the floodplain problem. use of the upper valley above the road public benefits for each parcel and the 8. While it is consistent with a long-term end is comparable to visitor use prior reason for including it in land desig- perspective to continue to do research to the road closure by floods. This nated for exchange. While we are fairly on long-term bank stabilization that points to a demand for low-elevation certain this approach is what the NPS does not constitute a management walk-in camping. As costs of lodging would propose, the present statement action. Already the NPS has made the increase, there may be more demand of this potential action makes it sound case that it is using the best known for low-elevation camping. Thus, the like the NPS could be on a continual techniques for stabilization. These have floodplain is one condition but other “shopping mission” for exchange lands. failed given a very rambunctious river. factors might be considered. Not all lands should be considered The real decision is either to plan for 15. Restoration of native riparian veg- for exchange. Many lands in LCNRA continual unmanaged river dynamics etation in developed areas may be have such high natural resource or or to decide that we know enough and advisable. In addition, the NPS should scenic values that they would not are willing to spend enough money consider similar measures in the upper be considered eligible for exchange. to try to control the river. The latter river to help control the entrainment There must also be realistic discussion choice then becomes what to apply of sediments from disturbed source of how properties in a floodplain are and when to apply it and compare the areas. appraised under current conditions as environmental and cost tradeoffs. 16. Accept some facilities in floodplain? the probability of flooding and damage 9. We understand that it is advisable This seems to contrast with the thrust clearly decreases the value of lands for to analyze the stability and effect of of the other actions and the intent of fee simple purchase or for exchanges. log jams. However we would ask the the plan. Perhaps the intent of this po- 4. New floodplain maps are definitely NPS to consider how any manipula- tential action is to set criteria for what needed and they will clearly identify tion could be used to enhance fish facilities can occur in the floodplain new problem areas. It will be key to and wildlife habitat and other aspects if a) they serve a public purpose, b) a long-term sustainable approach to of the river environment. The role of suitably protected from flooding, and management for these maps to attempt large woody material in the river and c) do not exacerbate flooding or flood to project future conditions that will its sources and transport are equally control measures. affect the shape of the floodplain and important to analyze as where it is associated risks. This would involve the deposited. Large woody material is a measures NCCC identifies with respect natural part of the river ecosystem and NCCC will suggest other potential to managing the full river hydrography. a long-term perspective must be kept. management measures in its written comments. At the present time, there seems 5. reinvigorating the land exchange The disruption of the natural regime to be a need to address how river recre- process is only one of the measures to in the early 1970s may have altered ation is affected by various river corridor be considered. The NPS must also seek people’s perception of the natural con- management measures. Identification of funding for acquisition of flood-prone dition of the river. A long-term perspec- possible modification in the training of properties from willing sellers. It could tive calls for a resetting of perceptions. river guides, instructions for visitors, etc. investigate land exchange for public 10. Relocating the road system should who are using this river for recreation may lands outside the boundary of LCNRA, consider public and private access be indicated. etc. approaches that are not necessarily conventional roads.

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  Council hires Executive Director

eeking to expand its mis- litigation in such diverse areas the link between childhood cancer and sion and programs in the as timber harvests, off-road pesticide exposure and preventing smok- SNorth Cascades, the North motorcycle trail construc- ing among youth. For the past 14 years, Cascades Conservation Council tion, and Blanchard Mountain he has focused on conservation issues. In (NCCC) has employed Jim Davis protection. 1998, he became president of Show-Me as its first full-time Executive Indeed, it has become appar- Clean Streams, a Missouri non-govern- Director. ent to the board that an execu- mental organization dealing primarily The NCCC, which celebrated tive director will be needed with water quality issues. His interest in its 50th anniversary last year, to maintain NCCC’s ability “to North Cascades conservation issues led to has long operated on the protect and preserve the North research projects on public attitudes to- citizen activist model. Under Cascades scenic, scientific, rec- ward grizzly bears and use of public lands. the direction of its volunteer reational, and wilderness val- This conservation work expanded in 2003 board, the council has achieved ues” in the 21st century. Only when he moved to Olympia to co-direct considerable success: being by having a full-time presence the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project. Jim is instrumental in the creation of the North can the council maintain its influence over currently adjunct faculty at the Huxley Cascade National Park, in defeating Seattle North Cascades conservation issues. College of the Environment at Western City Light in the Ross Dam controversy, Jim Davis brings to the council a Washington University and president of and many other conservation issues. The career as a longtime activist. Raised in the Conservation Partnership Center, a council continues to be very involved in the midwest, he obtained bachelor’s and nonprofit organization focused on the conservation controversies and opportuni- master’s degrees from the University of interactions of humans and wildlife in the ties in the North Cascades. Current efforts Missouri and a PhD from the University North Cascades. include promoting the Wild Sky Wilder- of California at Berkeley. His early career Jim has been an NCCC board member ness, opposing fish stocking in national at the Missouri Department of Health since 2000. He currently lives in Belling- park lakes, improving Ross Lake Recre- and University of Missouri focused on ham, Washington where he is married to a ation Area management, and coordinating public health issues, such as investigating physician and has two children.

The Stehekin River Corridor Implementation Plan Comments given by Carolyn McConnelll, Seattle, 2008

Dear Superintendent Jenkins: While I support the goal of prevent- lands for exchange is deeply alarming. Thank you for the opportunity to con- ing and removing development from the It encourages the idea that any land in tribute comments in regards your scoping floodplain, I am alarmed that the NPS Stehekin is potentially available for private for a Stehekin River Implementation plan. continues to identify land exchange as a acquisition, and thus accelerates devel- I am a third-generation Stehekin prop- primary means of doing this. The entire opment pressures. Such a move by NPS erty owner and sometime resident. I am Stehekin Valley is federally protected and would therefore be highly irresponsible. also a member of the board of directors of it is a derogation of NPS responsibility to I strongly urge fee-simple land acquisi- the North Cascades Conservation Council. trade away any public land in Stehekin. tion as the means for removing or prevent- Please take the following into consider- Land trades do not limit development; ing development in the floodplain. While ation. they merely shift development around this lack of funding for land acquisition may be small and unique valley. Indeed, they may NPS should study the individual and a barrier, lack of clarity by NPS about its even encourage development, by encour- cumulative effects of previous efforts to will to enforce its mandate to protect the aging landowners who may have land that manage the river, as these contain impor- Stehekin Valley unimpaired are equally is practically undevelopable to believe they tant lessons about future actions. Many of to blame. Clear public statements that the can exchange it for more developable land these have had harmful effects on the river NPS will resist development in the flood by threatening harmful development, and and have in fact worsened damage due to plain and impairment of the river’s free it may encourage people to purchase par- flooding and erosion. flow to the full extent of the law would go cels in Stehekin with the aim of exchang- a long way toward protection of the river, The NPS should clearly articulate a goal ing it for more developable public land. even in the absence of additional land for the Stehekin River floodplain of allow- The list in the Land Protection Plan of acquisition funds. And NPS should press ing natural processes to continue unim- lands available to be traded away by NPS hard for more funding for land acquisition. peded. NPS should consider the designa- amounts to a shopping list for developers. tion of the whole Stehekin River as a Wild Sincerely, Thus, the suggestion in scoping docu- and Scenic River. Carolyn McConnell ments that the NPS may identify further

 The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Wilderness Update

The Wild Sky Wilderness bill, which 4113, a bill to expand the Alpine for a very long time has been almost- Lakes Wilderness by adding the but-not-quite across the finish line, Pratt valley and nearby areas is still there as this issue of The Wild to it, as well as designating the Cascades goes to press. The bill is Pratt a “Wild River.” Judging by held up by politics in the Senate, the long difficult road which specifically Senator Tom Coburn, Wild Sky has traveled, it is prob- Republican of Oklahoma. Coburn ably unlikely that this bill could has managed to throw a spanner pass in this election year. But into the workings of the Senate on establishment of wilderness ar- many fronts. The package of which eas takes time, and designation Wild Sky is a part has been held up of them is not a job for those by him for many months now. One lacking in patience. Reichert of his demands for letting it through has established congressional is an amendment that would allow interest in protecting the Pratt, a firearms to be carried in national big, low and wild valley, and that parks, something which would is a worthwhile thing in itself. make it extremely difficult for the Perhaps his bill will someday park service to combat poaching. At Looking down the Pratt valley from near Pratt be incorporated into a larger some point, things will have to start lake, Bessemer Mountain in the distance. wilderness effort including other moving, and we hope to have news —Harry Romberg areas. Whatever the future holds, of Wild Sky passage in the next Wild NCCC plans to work on perma- Cascades. Meanwhile, 8th district Republican Dave nently protecting more of the Reichert has formally introduced H.R. North Cascades as wilderness.

Update: Granite Falls Motocross Park

Snohomish County has received numer- mention that the nearest freeway off-ramp will, of course, be mixed with exhaust ous updated documents from consultants to the site is nearly 18 miles away. It makes fumes. about various aspects of the proposed no reference to the severe impact of dra- There is no mention of the fact that cut- 79-acre Granite Falls Motocross Park, four matically increased traffic on traditional, ting down carbon-sequestering trees and miles east of Granite Falls on the Moun- quiet recreational uses along the MLH replacing them with gas-burning vehicles tain Loop Highway (MLH). A review of (hiking, kayaking, mountain climbing, creates a carbon footprint of well over those documents by the Mountain Loop bird watching, etc.), the uses that every 1,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per Conservancy reveals serious flaws in anal- member of the NCCC cherishes. year. ysis, numerous contradictions between There is no mention of the disruption The report glosses over the severe (and even within) documents, as well as to those traditional activities in the noise impacts to local emergency services both many important issues utterly ignored. report, either. There is little discussion of from on-site injuries and from dramatical- Yet it appears that the County Plan- impacts of noise levels on nearby residenc- ly increased traffic on all access roads to ning and Development Services Depart- es, nor of the impact to the property val- Granite Falls, and on the MLH from there ment (PDS) — which has never seen a ues. The noise report appears to indicate to the site. major development it didn’t like — will — astoundingly — that noise levels with Three of the reports give four dramati- recommend a “Determination of Non- the tracks in operation will be lower than cally different hours of operation. Significance” for the project (i.e., no EIS ambient noise levels currently! There is no in-depth discussion of two will be required because, in the eyes of No report discusses the danger to the PDS, there is no serious environmental threatened species — marbled murrelets entire Stillaguamish River valley from and spotted owls — found nesting nearby. impact from the project). PDS will likely motocross vehicles and ATVs fanning also recommend a rezone of the 466-acre out from the project site to nearby forest The Mountain Loop Conservancy property from “Forestry” to “Forestry service roads and off-road locations. No (MLC), newly renamed from the former and Recreation.” report discusses the possibilities of major Stillaguamish Citizens’ Alliance, is leading Here are a few things that PDS appears conflagrations started in the hot dry sum- the fight against permitting this odious to be overlooking: mer months from such unauthorized uses, project. For those wishing to contribute which cannot be adequately policed. to the MLC — and for the preservation The traffic report makes no mention of the traditional values and recreational of how 20,000 people could be accom- One report makes the astounding claim opportunities along the Mountain Loop modated for national events. It makes that due to watering down and grooming Highway — please send checks made out no mention of the fact that the MLH, a of the tracks at the project site, “No dust to the MLC, P.O.Box 1097, Granite Falls, two-lane road, is the sole access road to will leave the site”. This is a patently false WA 98252. The MLC is a 501©3 organiza- the site, nor does it mention that all ac- statement, as clouds of dust will emanate tion; all donations are tax deductible. cess roads to the MLH for a minimum of from the project with dozens or even hun- 10 miles are two-lane roads, nor does it dreds of riders kicking it up daily. The dust — Bruce Barnbaum

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  Big Dam Threatens Similkameen River Rick McGuire

t the farthest northeastern corner of many birds and animals now living there area of this ecotype extends into Canada. the Cascades, an attractive but little will be gone forever. There is even a place referred to as the A known valley is under threat from Most of the drainage basin of the Si- “pocket desert.” Perhaps nowhere else in a very big dam. So big, and with such dire milkameen River lies in British Columbia, the world would such a place be consid- consequences, that one wonders if they although the Pasayten and Ashnola rivers, ered a desert, but from the perspective can really be serious about building such a major tributaries, originate in the United of green, forested British Columbia, and thing in the year 2008. But the Okanogan States before flowing north to join the Parks Canada, it is a very unusual place, Public Utility District (PUD), appears to Similkameen in British Columbia. The and worthy of protection. be quite serious about building a dam at Similkameen flows south into the United The United States’ portion of the Si- Shanker’s Bend on the Similkameen River, States before looping east about 20 miles milkameen is a land forgotten by time, a inundating up to 18,000 acres of rich to join the Okanogan River south of Oro- valley bottom, half of it in Canada, and ville. Princeton and Keremeos are major drowning the largest remaining stretch of towns on the Canadian side, and the lower wetlands and productive braided channel B.C. valley has many orchards and farm Looking north from Chopaka river habitat anywhere in the eastern Cas- fields. Big cottonwoods line much of the cades. If Okanogan PUD gets its way, the river. Along with some nearby areas in the Mountain to Similkameen val- lush Similkameen valley, a green, life-filled Okanagan (spelled differently in Canada) ley lands in Canada. Shanker’s corridor through a mostly dry landscape, valley, parts of the valley in Canada are Bend dam would flood just will be turned into an eyesore of sterile proposed for inclusion in a new Canadian about all of the valley bottom mudflats. A strikingly beautiful place will national park. Although there are many become an ugly, repellent place, and the millions of acres of “shrub-steppe” grasslands visible in this picture. land in the United States, only a very small — Jim Scarborough photo

 The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 picture postcard of the way eastern Wash- plied with power by the Bonneville Power emerging as a major cheerleader. Mean- ington used to be, and still is here. Chopa- Administration (BPA) and its big dams on while, vast quantities of the water pumped ka Mountain, at 7882 feet the easternmost the Columbia River. There is no electricity from the Columbia are lost through summit of the North Cascades, stands high shortage in Okanogan county and electric- evaporation from aerial sprinkling, the above the green, braided channel of the ity prices are among the lowest in the most wasteful form of watering, and by far Similkameen, and bighorn sheep are often U.S. Okanogan PUD, however, does not the most common in the Columbia basin. seen on its steep eastern escarpment. Pine own any big Columbia River dams like its Unlined canals also lose large volumes. Yet dotted grasslands, briefly green in wet neighboring PUDs in Chelan and Douglas the agencies show little interest in moving springs, tawny brown the rest of the year, counties. Perhaps the Shanker’s Bend toward sustainable irrigation via conserva- cover the lower slopes of Chopaka and the project is a way for them to feel like power tion, instead looking to dam and drown other mountains surrounding the valley. producers themselves, albeit minor ones, ever more places, clinging to business as Trees grow more thickly farther up the instead of merely a BPA customer like most usual. slopes. It is an inviting, savannah-like land- of the other PUDs in Washington state. A Shanker’s Bend is but one of these scape, delightful to wander through, its at- case of dam envy? projects, the one most directly affecting tractiveness perhaps having something to Whatever their motivations, the the North Cascades. Directly below the do with ancient, subconscious memories Shanker’s Bend project would be a com- Shanker’s Bend damsite is Enloe dam, of places where humans first evolved. The plete disaster for the Similkameen valley. dating from the 1920s. Before proceed- little settlement of Nighthawk has some Sadly, it is just one of a number of proposing on Shanker’s Bend, Okanogan PUD interesting original pioneer era barns and als which, if implemented, would mean is proposing to first rebuild Enloe, which cabins, their big squared wooden timbers further disaster for the already severely was abandoned because it was cheaper to baked a dark chocolate brown by the degraded ecology of the Columbia basin. buy power from BPA than to operate the intense summer sun. A 9-to-5 U.S.-Canada The construction of Grand Coulee dam. If Okanogan PUD can convince the border crossing still operates north of dam and the subsequent transformation Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “town.” Not so long ago, before the Bush by the “Columbia Basin Project” of arid (FERC) that Similkameen Falls, just below administration’s permanent “war on ter- grasslands into irrigated cropland was one Enloe, was always a barrier to anadromous ror,” it was the kind of place where it was of the triumphs of the New Deal. From fish, then the rebuilding of Enloe without not unusual for a traveller to have to get Grand Coulee dam, huge volumes of water provision for fish would pave the way to out of his car and go find the border guard are pumped uphill to the “Grand Coulee” construction of Shanker’s Bend dam and in order to get clearance to cross. Exten- valley, an ancient route of the Columbia all the destruction it would bring. sive wetlands cover much of the valley bot- cutting south through Douglas and Grant At present, no salmon pass beyond Si- tom along the looping channel of the slow counties. Water is pumped from the Co- milkameen Falls and Enloe dam. There is moving Similkameen, a green, bird-filled lumbia up into the Equalizing Reservoir, some question as to whether Similkameen oasis in this otherwise arid area also called “Banks Lake.” That reservoir Falls was always a natural barrier to anad- All this will change if the Okanogan is impounded by Dry Falls Dam, which is romous fish, which the Okanogan PUD PUD gets its way. A 260-foot-high dam crossed by Highway 2 just west of Coulee claims is the case. But the falls does not would be constructed at Shanker’s Bend City. From the highway one can see where have much drop and similarly sized falls on the lower Similkameen, drowning the a very large river of water flows out of the on other comparable rivers are surmount- entirety of the U.S. part of the Similka- reservoir through a channel cut in the able by salmon. There is evidence that it meen, and a good bit of the Canadian por- basalt rock. may actually have been early day mining, tion. The old pioneer buildings at Night- The waters of that river go on to irrigate which was widespread on the Similka- hawk would be no more, Palmer Lake over 650,000 acres, all of them heavily meen, that killed off the river’s salmon would be under 145 feet of water, and subsidized by taxpayers. But apparently it runs. Enloe dam has since prevented any the miles of wetlands with their countless is not enough to satisfy the thirst. Vari- chance of them returning. red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds ous agencies are looking at a number of This question of fish passage at En- would vanish. The orchards and fields projects to store even more water, includ- loe dam will be critical in determining on the Canadian side would disappear, ing such questionable, energy guzzling whether the Shanker’s Bend dam can replaced by flat water in late spring and schemes as new pumped storage reser- be built. Okanogan PUD claims that early summer, and sterile mudflats the rest voirs near Yakima, and the flooding of there was never natural fish passage past of the year. lower Crab Creek, an important wetland Similkameen Falls, therefore they should In place of all that, the PUD would area and part of the Columbia National not be required to provide fish passage at get a small amount of electric power, 84 Wildlife Refuge. The Crab Creek dam is a rebuilt Enloe dam. If FERC rules that megawatts at full flow (Grand Coulee particularly egregious, a $2.7 billion dollar no fish passage is required at Enloe, then produces nearly 6000), which even they project that would drown a productive there would be no need for fish passage admit will last for only a small part of the wetland ecosystem which was supposed to at the Shanker’s Bend dam immediately year during peak runoff. There will be wa- be protected as mitigation for other areas upstream, greatly reducing its cost and ter storage, which they claim will benefit destroyed by the Columbia Basin Project. increasing the likelihood of it being built. downstream fish and other water users. It would destroy extensive spawning areas There is also the question of flooding They also claim there will be recreational in the name of storing water for down- many thousands of acres of Canadian benefits, presumably for jet skiers and stream fisheries. lands. The British Columbia provincial power boaters who might be expected to The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has government is encouraging a gold rush razz around aimlessly on the reservoir in teamed up with Washington state to push of hydro development anywhere water early summer before most of it reverts to these and other destructive projects, with mudflats. Okanogan PUD is well sup- Washington governor Christine Gregoire Continued on page 10

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  Big Dam Threatens Similkameen River Continued from page 9 DAM UPDATE

“R.O.S.S.” Committee Forms Again!

Longtime readers of The Wild Cascades may remember NCCC’s epic battle to save the Big Beaver and upper Skagit valleys from inundation by High Ross dam. NCCC’s comrades on the Canadi- an side in that effort were called “ROSS,” for “Run Out Skagit Spoil- map ers,” surely one of best names ever adopted by any grassroots environmental group. worthy s NCCC and ROSS were suc- old

G cessful in keeping Seattle City Light from drowning thousands

atrick of acres of the North Cascades for P a few extra megawatts. Okanogan PUD’s plans to build Shanker’s flows downhill, and has granted scores of nately, NCCC is far from alone in opposing Bend dam and drown the Si- permits for destructive projects all across these unnecessary, harmful projects. The milkameen valley for far fewer the province. Although Canadian conser- Hydropower Reform Coalition, (HRC) a megawatts have sparked a rebirth vationists are having a tough time fighting national group which NCCC has recently these projects, historically even pro-de- joined, has extensive experience with of the ROSS committee, which velopment Canadians have tended to turn such projects and will be taking a lead now stands for “Run Out Similka- into diehard environmentalists when role in opposing these threats to the meen Spoilers.” confronted with threats from south of the Similkameen. There is also growing local border. When Seattle City Light wanted to opposition. NCCC will be coordinating its Everyone at NCCC looks flood the Skagit valley in Canada by rais- response closely with HRC and others. The forward to working closely again ing Ross Dam, a huge outcry was raised. If Similkameen is one of the least known yet with ROSS to put a stop to this the dam had been Canadian, it’s hard to most ecologically productive and unusual latest senseless outrage. Both imagine that there would have been such parts of the North Cascades. NCCC and groups are fully committed to a level of protest. A dam in the United others are determined that it not be sac- thwarting Okanogan PUD’s dam States flooding a large area of scarce, rificed for a few megawatts of power for a valuable valley bottom, as Shanker’s Bend few months of the year. and empire building plans, and would do, will likely face stiff opposition More information on the Shanker’s to keeping the Similkameen free from Canadians, not just environmental- Bend, and Enloe dams can be found on flowing. ists, but also from many who might hap- the Hydro Reform Coalition website: pily acquiesce to similar destruction were www.hydroreform.org. Much information it homegrown. on the Columbia Basin Project and new Okanogan PUD is currently attempting dam proposals there can be found on the to gain permission from FERC to rebuild website of the Center for Environmental Enloe dam, without fish passage, before Law and Policy (“CELP”) at www.celp.org. moving on to Shanker’s Bend. Fortu-

10  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Settlement Reached on Baker Salvage Appeal Kevin Geraghty In the conservation world, nobody an unattractive option for meeting the tim- in company with the Pilchuck chapter of much likes national forest “salvage” sales, ber targets. The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie the Audubon Society. Although we were timber sales which follow tree mortality has not tried to conduct a blowdown prepared to litigate against the “salvage” from fire, pathogens, or blowdown. The “salvage” sale in LSR since the inception proposal in its original form, the Forest word “salvage” conveys the traditional of the Northwest Forest plan over fifteen Service proved willing to meet us halfway. agricultural idea that dead trees which are years ago. This past summer, however, We were able to reach a settlement. In one left to rot in the forest after they die are the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie broke with large, lightly-affected unit of 140-year-old wasted. But from an ecosystem perspec- fifteen years of practice to propose an LSR forest, logging plans called for cutting tive snags and downed logs are not wasted “salvage” sale near Baker lake. Although many sound, healthy trees, to get to the at all: they provide food and essential habi- relatively small, it managed to pack a lot fallen ones. That unit was dropped. In ad- tat for a long roster of birds, mammals, of objectionable features into its fifty- dition, several units smaller than ten acres amphibians, insects, and fungi. Downed odd acres. The entire sale was to occur were dropped, because LSR salvage guide- logs also provide establishment sites and in low-elevation primary forest — sites lines stipulate that disturbed patches less slowly-released reservoirs of nutrients with no history of timber exploitation. than ten acres in extent not be subjected to condition and nurture the growth of Some was genuine old growth, some was to “salvage”. In terms of logged acreage, successor trees. A forest without dead and dominated by 140-year-old trees dating the settlement shrunk the original acreage decayed wood is less alive, less complex, to an 1850s fire; and some was regrowth by almost half. On the remaining acre- and less healthy, than a forest strewn following a 1920s fire. Although the Mount age, the original proposal called for the with the persistent rotting carcasses of its Baker-Snoqualmie has plenty of never-ex- removal of all commercially valuable fallen predecessors. Well over 90 percent of the ploited forest, it is overwhelmingly found trees. Under the settlement, 40 percent of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie is designated at mid- to high elevations. On low-relief, such fallen trees within these units must Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) under the low-elevation sites — the most easily acces- be left behind to support natural forest Northwest Forest plan. Although the plan sible places, with the biggest trees — it is processes. We continue to believe that “sal- (a political compromise) does not outright rare, and precious. And the proposed sale vage” of dead trees, particularly in forest prohibit “salvage” logging in Late-Suc- got around many of the Northwest Forest stands with no history of exploitation, is a cessional Reserves (one of the alternate plan’s restrictions and safeguards — the destructive practice which should be dis- versions of the plan, not selected, did so), ones which make small-scale “salvage” in couraged; but we judge that the modified it surrounds it with enough qualifications LSR difficult and unattractive — by ignor- project at least meets the letter and spirit and restrictions to make “salvage” in LSR’s ing them. NCCC appealed this decision, of the Northwest Forest plan.

COLLABORATION? For a seat at the negotiating table, they are jeopardizing their true role

By Erica Rosenberg ties surrounded by public land argue that lands, all Americans have a stake in their Op Ed they need room to expand. Others believe management, and they have not designat- Los Angeles Times, lands worthy of protection are still threat- ed these representatives. Even the most in- January 21, 2008 ened. The new paradigm means everyone clusive collaboration can go bad: Outliers sits down with their adversaries. who pose a threat to consensus are either There’s nothing wrong with a group of not invited or made to feel unwelcome. people historically at odds sitting down to But these collaborations are trouble- And ultimately, decisions are being made find common ground. Or is there? some, particularly for environmentalists, who risk undermining their mission as behind closed doors. But Congress loves a For decades, our public lands have been well as the very laws that are the basis of done deal. With a local sponsor, Congress a battleground: Timber, wildlife, recre- their power, effectiveness and legitimacy. is inclined to rubber-stamp these initia- ation, wilderness -- which interests and For example, a bill poised for introduc- tives, overlooking the fact that they are an uses should dominate? But now, “collabo- end-run around the suite of laws that safe- ration” is all the rage. In collaboration, tion in Congress would turn into law an agreement reached by one collabora- guard public lands and keep land-manage- diverse stakeholders (as they invariably tag ment decisions an open process. themselves) -- environmentalists, develop- tive group on how to manage Montana’s The Beaverhead bill, for example, triples ers, off-roaders, timber companies, county 3.3-million-acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge the acreage where logging can take place officials -- hash out an agreement on how National Forest. The stakeholders -- Mon- from what was in the Forest Service’s plan. to manage their local public lands and tana Wilderness Assn., National Wildlife It requires an environmental analysis then submit it to Congress for approval. Federation, Trout Unlimited and timber companies -- had one thing in common: only for individual logging projects rather A few deals already have been enacted, They hated the management plan pro- than the plan as a whole, thereby waiv- and another half a dozen are in the works posed by the Forest Service. So they came ing the bedrock U.S. environmental law, across the U.S. Collaboration has been up with their own plan specifying which the National Environmental Policy Act. It touted as the solution to “gridlock” on our areas can be logged, which can be opened also allows logging in roadless areas -- a national forests. Timber companies and up to off-roaders and which should be radical departure from the Roadless Area their allies gripe that the normal process recommended to Congress for wilderness Conservation Rule that environmentalists -- extensive analysis, citizen involvement designation. championed during the Clinton era. Other and the right to challenge agency decisions deals have sold off vast acreage of public -- has ground all “management activity” Sounds reasonable enough. So what’s wrong? To start, as owners of the public lands in exchange for wilderness designa- (read: logging) to a halt. Western coun- Continued on page 18

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  11 Luna Cirque Tom Hammond

Part of the famed Pickets, Luna Cirque to me that I was taking on one of the most spent an hour trying to find a suitable log is perhaps the most rugged, untamed, difficult trips ever, solo, with the idea not to cross Big Beaver, but no luck. That hour untrammeled and wild place in the lower to summit a peak, but just to be in a place. — three exploratory forays crashing brush 48 states. I became aware of the Pickets I finally decided I had to visit Luna Cirque for hundreds of meters of river bottom (a subrange of the North Cascades that regardless — the weather was just perfect jungle, was exhausting. I retreated to the has a ground-footprint about six miles on and would stay that way. I would decide trail (now more than 10 miles in) and de- a side — about the size of Mt. Rainier) in on the Big Beaver trail if it would be Luna cided that I was back to doing the original 1984 when I saw a picture in Fred Beckey’s Peak proper, or Luna Cirque via Chal- plan: Challenger Arm. climbing guide. lenger Arm. It would mean Here was a place I an additional had to see with my six plus miles of own eyes, espe- trail travel, and cially before the overall perhaps thin ring of glaciers an additional 24 disappeared. The miles but the route Pickets in general, finding should be and Luna Cirque in easier, and it was particular, demand the place from a high level of which I wanted to alpine experience view the cirque in and competency the first place. By — errors here, as the time I reached well as uncontrol- Beaver Pass — a lable objective hot 15.2 miles of dangers can spell rugged up and doom for even the down trail hiking, I most seasoned was a wreck. Then mountain veteran. another challenge This would mark presented itself: my second trip to No snow. Reports Luna Cirque. indicated there had been “patches The first time I of snow three feet went was in 1994, High camp on Challenger Arm. Note the snow-slope right of the tent — that is how deep”. But there the net results be- steep the slope is all the way from Beaver Pass. Mount Redoubt, unnamed 7,700 was no snow at ing that the cirque peak, Ridge of Gendarmes and Mount Spickard (L-R) are seen in the background. all. In just a few was visible for only days, all snow had 20 minutes out of Monday, July 2 evaporated/melted from Beaver Pass. five days due to weather, and the end of a friendship. After the trip I was literally in It was a lonely feeling watching the boat I set up camp at the nicest spot in this tears from the physical and emotional toll cruise away, to turn to face the huge valley lonely wilderness campground, right next paid to visit Luna Cirque. called Big Beaver, The last time I stood to the stream, and started boiling water. here I was much younger, had not suffered Using precious fuel I had not expected/ After last summer’s success in the South- grievous injuries, and had two 6'4" com- planned to use to boil water on an 85- ern Pickets, I was emboldened to re-visit panions in their 20s — I had barely made degree day. While there wasn’t snow, there Luna Cirque and see if it is real, so I came it then, and paid a high price. What the were bugs. Many bugs: mosquitoes, black up with a plan to approach via Challenger hell was I doing? flies, deer flies and horse flies. I bet I had a Arm and perhaps even climb Mt. Chal- tick on me at some point too. Retreating to lenger. But as the date approached, a few What I did was begin hiking. The first the tent, I tried to stay cool while drinking prospective partners withdrew, and I was few miles felt okay, but then things started boiling water to offset the dehydration. left to take on this daunting adventure to hurt. Things that normally don’t hurt. Because I was solo, my pack was heavy. alone, or change destinations. Note that a Tuesday, July 3 It wasn’t riding right, and I wasn’t on my couple of people said “Wow, that route re- Tuesday dawned hot. The steep for- ally looks tough, and I’ve heard about the game. Oh, and it was much warmer than forecast — I was on the road to dehydra- ested/vegetated cliffy slope that is the Northern Pickets—I think it’s too much terminus of Challenger Arm forms the for me.” tion, and I was only five miles in on the easy part. I was trying to find the same off- south side of Beaver Pass, the path to my As I sat one day at a traffic light in the U trail route up to Luna Peak and it wasn’t ascent to Luna Cirque and the Northern District contemplating the trip, it occurred nearly as obvious as it had been in 1994. I Pickets. I cached food and my trekking

12  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 poles at Beaver shelter and headed into turn the first peak form- TRACKLESS marshes and jungle that form ing Challenger Arm, but the headwaters of Big Beaver Creek (a literally climb right over river in any other state, including Alaska). it. Then came a huge de- I really thought, with the popularity of scent — several hundred the Pickets, and the numbers I had seen feet of hard-fought eleva- the previous year, there would be obvious tion to get around the tracks. Not so. Instead, it was a true route- next ridge. Before I could finding adventure, made even tougher by turn that ridge, I had to cliffs, brush, and bugs. It is hard for me to traverse a steep snow communicate how difficult the bugs made slope. I was so intent on this entire mission. As I swung from tree getting on with it that I to tree ascending the insanely steep ridge, didn’t really pay too close clutching at moist, mossy heather, salal, attention to my traverse. slide alder, and other things, deer flies Suddenly I was falling. would literally erupt from the vegetation It really wasn’t a and fly directly in to my mouth, nose, ears, big deal. I didn’t even eyes, and other places. THOUSANDS of look down to see what them. Finally, I hit snow. Hallelujah! I was might be below me, just almost manic as I tore my crampons off focused on an easy self- the pack and put them on my boots. (This arrest. But the snow was place is incredibly steep, and the snow was soft in the hot morning hard enough that it required crampons sun and my shaft point while leaving the trees.) It was time to say stuck before I could ro- goodbye to the bugs, and get to the alps! tate my pick for a proper I ascended another thousand feet, now arrest. I fell though my on snow two meters deep to a point where planted ice axe and thus I could see everything I had come to see: my right arm was ripped The Cirque, including the olive-drab lake out of its socket by the on the floor, and all of the high peaks of leash of my axe. It was the Northern Pickets that define this amaz- a rather gruesome view, ing cirque. Feeding the low valley of Luna dangling by my leash, my Creek (again, a river in any other state) I arm strangely and gro- counted 15 major waterfalls coming off the tesquely apart from my north arm of Luna Peak alone! The sound torso. Well this wouldn’t Luna Peak rises more than a vertical mile above the of Luna plus Big Beaver “Creeks” flowing do! As I brought my left low valley of Luna Creek. The north and west arms of a kilometer below was a low rumble. All hand across my body to the peak are pictured here. of those waterfalls filled in the mid and force my arm back into treble, with the occasional icefall and rock- place, my ice axe freed fall providing thunderous additions to the itself and I found myself falling again, two more large peaks/ridges to turn, symphony of the North Cascades. accelerating quickly, with the axe wav- complete with thousands of feet of descent I should note that Luna Peak is one of ing its sharp metal around my face. But and re-ascent. I was happy to make a high the most significant mountains in all of my left hand found my ice axe instead of point on Challenger Arm and enjoy Luna the Cascades. Shuksan may be the flagship my right arm, so I decided with this good Cirque in all its wild, icy, precipitous glory. of the range, but Luna is most certainly fortune to arrest with my left. The motion I crashed in my tent upon return — an- one of the most remarkable, visually, of arresting with my left arm, while the ice other 8-hour day of hot hard travel. It was and topographically. For Luna forms and axe was leashed to my right arm brought time to rest. indeed, defines the entirety of the two it back into the socket. I collected myself, Thursday, July 5 largest cirques of both the Northern and kicked a platform, and leaned my forehead Southern Pickets: Luna and McMillan and knees into the snow. Whew. Then I Thursday was a much needed rest day. I cirques respectively. Luna Peak is literally realized just how steep the slope really moved my tent off the snow, and placed it a gigantic landform in the shape of a Mari- was — almost as steep as a ladder. literally on a fang of rock overlooking the Luna valley and cirque. The tent offered ners compass, with four HUGE arms that One might think it would be really scary great shelter from the blazing sun and radiate away to the north, east, south, and to be alone, injured 20 miles in and a ver- bugs, and placed as it was, I could enjoy west, defining the very essence of alpine tical mile up from the nearest sign of civi- most all of the views in relative comfort. relief that is the North Cascades. lization, but this is the Northern Pickets. Then the wind came up! Glorious! I mean No time for fear! So instead of retreating Wednesday, July 4 to say it was really blowing, and blowing and making my way back the rugged miles the bugs away. Woo Hoo! I spent two won- This would be the day I would try to get to high camp, I continued on. I wanted to derfully cool, bug-free hours really taking to Challenger Glacier and climb Peak 7374, experience this cirque as much as possible in this amazing cirque. Very powerful. and perhaps Challenger itself. I finally on this wonderful, sunny, summer day. Very peaceful. (with rest, a day pack and cool morning Of course, I didn’t make it much farther, breeze) figured out that I not only had to certainly not to Challenger, as there were Continued on page 14

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  13 Luna Cirque Continued from page 13

Friday, July 6 At one point on the descent, while crashing and thrashing, peering up through the rainforest canopy trying to get my bearings, I hit some steep dirt and pine needles. I literally deployed ice axe and gliassaded the dirt! An uncomfortable and bumpy ride, but that's the North Cascades! Soon after, I popped out right at Beaver shelter! One second I was in total trackless- ness, and then on a well-worn trail. I now stood 15.2 miles from the dock, and 23 miles from the trailhead. Finding my poles and food cache intact, and with insistent prodding from the bugs, I beat feet out of there! Many hours later I emerged from the wilderness to find a young couple from D.C. waiting to be picked up at the dock. I asked how they came to be aware of Big Beaver, and they talked about this Peaks of the Northern Pickets rear above the moraine-impounded lake that oc- book by Harvey Manning. I spent the next hour regaling them with tales of the North cupies Luna Cirque. This lake is indicative of much larger glaciers in the recent Cascades, and encouraged them to find past. out about The North Cascades Conserva- tion Council. I pointed back in to that wild, rugged valley and remarked that it I should note I spied several burned would be under water due to the High areas on surrounding mountainsides (par- Ross project if not for the efforts of some ticularly along the “Ridge of Gendarmes” forward-thinking people. and the lower reaches of Big Beaver valley). Fire in the North Cascades does not “destroy” the forest, fire does not “ravage the landscape” or “sterilize and ruin productive forests.” Fire is very much a part of forest ecology and health, as long as humans don’t set blazes all over the place through careless activity, or go in after a fire to “salvage” the landscape and really ruin it by taking green trees and burned trees alike. This landscape self-protects through cleft drainages, steep slopes and rock+snow barriers. That evening I was enjoying another amazing, otherworldly (literally!) moon- rise on the cirque when a bat nearly flew in to my face. I saw a dark shape coming at me, and thought it was a bug inches from my eyes. Instead it was a HUGE bat that spread its wings in a sharp braking maneuver, ending up inches from my face! It was with great tepidation that I went to bed, for tomorrow would mean descent. Descending is always difficult, but down trackless, cliffy, buggy forest with a bum shoulder was daunting. —Patrick Goldsworthy map

14  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Fifty Years of Research at South Cascade Glacier Wendell Tangborn

t was a typical day at South Cascade could be found. These data would be used this morning, or follow the rocky shore Glacier in October — wet, cold, windy, to calculate the glacier’s final balance for along South Cascade Lake, cross the south Icloudy and dark. After breakfast we the year — the difference between total fork Cascade River, and climb the bedrock gathered up the equipment we would snow accumulation and total ablation ridge back to a warm and dry hut? need for the day (ice axes, current meter, (snow and ice melt). One of the vital goals Mark thought the lake route the quick- measuring tapes, snow probing rods, of the project was to measure the glacier’s est and least dangerous so we began the rubber hip boots, collapsible wading rod), balance and determine if it was gaining traverse immediately, after I changed back packed a lunch (a can of sardines, a box of or losing mass. Visibility was now down from rubber hip boots to hiking shoes. Ry-Krisp and a can of apple sauce), dressed to 10 or 15 feet and just staying on the The glacier had occupied this entire lake in the most water-proof clothes we could right course was all we could do. By the just 30 years before, when the ground on find and headed up glacier. The rain time we reached the firn line, the bound- which we walked was covered with ice a turned to snow as we gained elevation and ary between snow and ice, the snow had hundred or more feet thick The lateral mo- a brisk wind from the southwest warned turned back to rain and the wind intensity raine left by the retreating glacier around us that the day was not going to be pleas- lessened slightly. We spent the afternoon the lake was composed of rocks that var- ant. We read ablation stakes and ied in size from a fist to a small au- measured new snow depths as tomobile, and because they were we moved up the east side of the only recently deposited on a steep glacier, avoiding the areas we terrain, were extremely unstable. knew were heavily crevassed but I had not made ten steps when I now covered with a foot or two stepped on a teetering boulder, of new snow. But a boot would which turned over, pitching me still break through occasionally, headlong into a rocky depres- leaving a small gaping hole in sion. I soon understood that the the new snow and warning us remaining one-half mile traverse we were getting into dangerous around the lake required utmost territory. caution for each step. By the time All of this was a little scary for we reached the river, darkness was me, as I had never stepped foot closing in, the rain and wind were on a glacier until the previous sapping our strength and rapidly July (1960), after being trans- diminishing our interest in glaciol- ferred by the Geological Survey ogy, for that day at least. I was now from Minnesota to Washington to The hut at South Cascade Glacier in 1960. beginning to realize that it was work in Mark Meier’s glacier proj- —Mark Meier this type of work that made glacier ect. To say I was naïve would be study so hazardous. an understatement as monumen- Research studies at South Cascade tal as the peaks that now surrounded us. I measuring the discharge of some small Glacier in the North Cascades, were initi- was also unsure of my position as Mark’s streams flowing on the glacier and issuing ated by the Water Resources Division of understudy, which was the word used to from the cliffs below LeConte Peak. These the US Geological Survey in 1957. One of describe my new job measurements would be useful later for the primary goals of the USGS mission By noon we reached the head of the gla- calculating the glacier’s water balance, was to determine how glaciers respond to cier. The wind was now at a velocity such another task that would help us relate the climate change. It has long been known that the falling snow moved more horizon- glacier’s health to the climate. One mea- that glaciers are sensitive to the climate tally than vertically. Just off the glacier we surement was a little frightening as it was and the indelible traces left by glaciers on ate our lunch in a sheltered spot in the lee just above a moulin, into which the glacier the landscape over much of the Northern of a large boulder but the relentless wind stream poured making a thunderous roar Hemisphere portrayed past climates. But and driving snow made eating a chore. We as the water fell 300 feet to the glacier bed. the complex interaction of a glacier with had brought along a thermos of hot water It was easy to imagine slipping on the wet its environment needed to be understood and some packets of a dried cocoa mix, ice, falling into the stream and sliding out with greater precision before past climates envisioning a steaming mug of cocoa to go of control into the moulin (aided by the could be deciphered from their imprints with our sardine/Ry-Krisp sandwiches. But wet hip-boots and the rubberized rain left on the landscape. The impact of a when we poured the powder into a cup gear I wore). Mark commented that if I fell changing climate was not of as great a the wind whipped it out before hot water in he would see to that I was remembered concern then as it is now so the foresight could be added — so our hope for a hot by naming it the “Tangborn Memorial shown by the development of this pro- cup of cocoa was revised to one of tepid Moulin”. gram at that time is remarkable. Luna Leo- water. At the glacier terminus, we had to make pold, son of the world-renown naturalist, We did not dawdle over lunch and a decision quickly, as the rain and wind Aldo Leopold, was chief hydrologist of the quickly began our trek down the west side were picking up. Should we head back Water Resources Division from 1957-1966, up the glacier and pick up our route from of the glacier, measuring those stakes that Continued on page 16

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  15 Fifty Years of Research at historical analysis and was reasonably be quickly adopted by the National Weath- accessible by trail. It proved to be a good er Service and other government agencies, South Cascade Glacier choice, and as it is rapidly disappearing, but 30 years later I am still waiting. Continued from page 15 may be a perfect example to demonstrate The South Cascade Glacier program em- the fate we all face from atmospheric pol- phasized both glacier dynamics and the ice so it is not surprising that such a strong lution of human-produced carbon dioxide. and water balance of the glacier. A great effort was made to support and fund this effort went into designing and construct- research program. One consequence of our snow hydrol- ogy research on the glacier and in the ing streamflow and precipitation gauges The statement “glaciers are sensitive to North Cascades was the development of an that would operate throughout the year the climate” was made countless times in a harsh environment. Several in published articles and the presenta- significant findings resulted from tions we made throughout the 1960s- this research. One was to learn 1970s, but little did we know just how that by simultaneously measur- sensitive they were. The now impend- ing the glacier’s cumulative mass ing demise of many of them suggests balance and its time-varying flow, glaciers are much more sensitive to we could demonstrate a dynamic the earth’s climate than are humans. relationship between them. It was We should have heeded their warning then possible to establish the link signals long ago. between glacier flow and climate Mark Meier was designated chief of change. In addition, for the first the Glacier Project Office in Tacoma time longitudinal profiles of and served in this position until he ice discharge and glacier thick- retired 1985. I transferred from the ness were calculated from only St. Paul District office of the Water surface measurements. Another Resources Division in 1960. Austin noteworthy contribution was the Post, the imminent glacier photogra- discovery that a glacier internally pher and glaciologist joined us in 1966 stores a substantial amount of and Robert Krimmel in 1968, first as liquid water during the summer a field assistant, then as a hydrolo- melt season and slowly releases it gist. Meteorologist William Campbell, during the winter. The proposi- mathematician Lowell Rasmussen tion that there are large reservoirs and hydrologist Donald Richardson of sub-glacial water encountered became part of the core staff in the considerable skepticism in the 1960s, and glaciologist Steven Hodge, glaciological community, but it mathematician William Sikonia, pho- has since been confirmed for tographer David Hirst and geologist many glaciers throughout the David Frank in the 1970s. Currently world. Sub-glacial water is now William Bidlake is in charge of the South Cascade Glacier on September 24, 1955. considered critical for predicting South Cascade Glacier operation for the response of both glaciers and the USGS in Tacoma, Washington. —Austin Post large ice sheets (such as Green- The snow and ice research at the land and the West Antarctic) to Glacier Project Office was largely directed improved streamflow forecasting model climate change. In the late 1980s, Andrew toward an improved understanding of for mountain basins. The model uses only Fountain mapped the basal water levels by how a changing climate would affect water weather observations collected at low alti- drilling holes to the bed of the glacier, re- supplies that are derived from melting tudes, from established weather stations to vealing new insights regarding the drain- snow and ice. Over much of the United simulate the snowpack, therefore does not age patterns of sub-surface water. States and many areas of the world, snow require expensive and environmentally Measuring the mass balance (the total and ice are important sources of runoff. intrusive helicopters, on-site snow surveys snowfall and ablation of snow and ice) of a Because changes in the climate would and weather stations installed at remote glacier requires intensive field operations alter both the seasonal snow cover and the mountain sites. However, even though the that are time-consuming and expensive, size and extent of glaciers, and therefore forecast accuracy of this model has proven and also means some environmental have a significant effect on water resourc- to be more accurate than snow surveys damage, regardless how carefully we try es, another project goal was an improved and other snow measuring techniques, it to minimize it. Not long after starting understanding of snow and glacier hydrol- has never been accepted by the govern- work as a glaciologist I started thinking ogy. In some parts of the world people mental agencies responsible for providing there must be a better way to make these depend on the water from melting glaciers the public with water supply forecasts. We measurements (my thoughts were likely as their only source of supply during the (HyMet*) currently use it to forecast run- inspired by the necessity of digging snow summer season. The disappearance of off of the Columbia River at the four main pits, sometimes as much as 30 feet deep). mountain glaciers in these remote areas hydroelectric dams and distribute weekly Although it turned out to be possible to will have severe consequences for them. runoff and energy forecasts to energy trad- substitute low-elevation precipitation South Cascade Glacier was selected ers, public utilities and investment banks. I and temperature observations for snow as the main study glacier for this project was certain that a reliable runoff forecast- surveys in runoff forecasting, glacier bal- because it was small and could be easily ing model, which would end intruding ance calculation requires more detailed traversed. Also, it had a well-defined basin into wilderness areas with helicopters and measurements. Snow surveys are used to from which the runoff could be accurately motorized vehicles and at the same time forecast runoff from large drainage areas, gauged, it had well-defined moraines for save taxpayers millions of dollars, would often many hundred square miles in area,

16  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 whereas most glaciers, except in the arctic has embedded in it a memory of the seems unlikely this will be repeated any- regions, are on the order of a few square past climate and responds to the current time soon. We do not know if the cause miles (South Cascade glacier is about 1 climate according to the imprint carved in of the retreating glaciers then was due to square mile). the bedrock by the erosion at its bed. An increasing temperatures, as it is now, or by It took another twenty years after I artificial intelligence expert may be able much lower rates of winter snowfall. Gla- retired from the USGS in 1979 to evolve to construct a neural network model that cier advances 5000 years BP may not have a method to simulate glacier conditions would provide a better explanation, and been so unusual in the Northern Hemi- using observations at distant weather sta- also enhance our understanding of how a sphere but evidence is sparse because later tions. An explanatory paper was published glacier responds to climate change. advances were greater and obliterated the in 1999 in Geofiska Annaler. As with In 1958, a tree stump was discovered earlier moraines. There is ample evidence, the attempts to convince however, that tidewater gla- governmental forecasters ciers in Alaska advanced 3000 to adopt the HyMet runoff years BP and those in the forecasting model, the initial Southern Hemisphere made resistance to the glacier bal- significant advances 4400- ance model by glaciologists 4600 BP. was even stronger — most The chance visit by Harvey simply felt it was impossible Manning and Dick Brooks to determine snow accumula- during a Labor Day storm in tion and ablation on a glacier 1961 had a profound influ- from weather observations ence on my view of how we at a valley weather station should treat our environ- 50-100 miles away. However, ment. Before that I’m afraid the model has been used I was unaware of how fragile successfully for several large the earth really is and how glaciers in Alaska and for oth- easily it can be and is being ers in Washington and is now damaged by blundering accepted as a valid alterna- humans. Listening to Har- tive to field measurements of vey expound his views on a mass balance. Plans are now wide variety of subjects for underway by the Geological those three snowbound days Survey to use this model to was one of the best educa- monitor balance and weather tions anyone could have. I conditions at South Cascade consider myself extremely Glacier on a real-time basis at fortunate that an unseason- their Tacoma offices. ably early and severe autumn In developing this model it snowstorm forced these two appears I may have stumbled stalwart mountaineers to seek on to something about South Cascade Glacier on September 24, 2006. shelter at the South Cascade Glacier Hut (even though glaciers that no one has sus- —Vern Potts, wdt pected and is also the reason both of them deplored its be- the mass balance model ing there but admitted later works as well as it appears to. The PTAA that was just uncovered along the edge they were glad it was). An account of their model (precipitation-temperature-area-al- of the retreating glacier. A radio-carbon excursion to the glacier from where they titude) as it is called, determines a glacier’s date of the wood revealed an age of 4700 were camped at White Rock Lakes can be balance using weather records collected at +/-300 years, which meant that the glacier found in The North Cascades National low-altitude stations with long historical was at one time at least as small as it was Park, by Harvey Manning and Ira Spring. If records, plus the area-altitude distribution in 1958 and in an advancing state about either or both of the two computer models of the glacier’s surface. The area-altitude 5000 years ago. The advance sheared I developed to measure snow accumula- distribution (the AA profile) is a rough off the tree and must have immediately tion and ablation using low-elevation approximation of the spatial orientation of covered the stump with ice as it showed observations are ever fully accepted or a multitude of individual facets that define no signs of decay when it was found. adopted by others, the resulting reduction a glacier’s surface (if each facet is assumed Parallel to this finding, a body was found of human intrusions into pristine wilder- to be a 10x10 foot square, South Cascade in 1991 adjacent to a receding glacier in ness areas should largely be credited to would have nearly 300,000). Each facet’s the Austrian Alps. The Otzi man, as he is Harvey Manning. altitude and inclination is determined by now called, died approximately 5300 years I also feel fortunate to have survived the erosion of the underlying bedrock by the ago and his well-preserved body, like tree hazards of working in the mountains as a sliding glacier and by glacier flow. Glacier stumps in the North Cascades, must have glaciologist for nearly 20 years, especially bed erosion proceeds over geologic time, also been immediately covered by ice that considering my initial naivety and lack of on the order of hundreds of thousands or kept Otzi more or less intact until he was experience. Falling into a glacier cre- even millions of years for many existing found. The conclusions based on these vasse would seem to be the most obvious glaciers. The energy (solar radiation and two coincidental phenomena is that the danger but we seldom roped up while on turbulent heat transfer from the sur- climate from 5-6000 years ago appears to the glacier (which, in retrospect, seems I rounding air), and mass (mostly as snow) have been similar to today’s climate, as must have been horribly dimwitted about each facet receives determine the glacier’s both were marked by retreating glaciers. safety but also incredibly lucky). There total mass balance. Therefore each glacier However, these two glaciers apparently made rapid advances about 5000 BP and it Continued on page 18

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  17 Fifty Years of Research at about getting caught on a mountain trail COLLABORATION just before nightfall and realizing I will South Cascade Glacier never be able to find the way out in the Continued from page 11 Continued from page 17 dark. At the end of that October day in 1960, tions. we faced another dilemma — a 30-foot- The collaboration prototype -- the 1998 wide, turbulent and fast-flowing river, and Quincy Library Group legislation -- illus- only one pair of hip boots. We discussed trates the problem. That group, named the options. I could put them on, cross for the California town library where the river, remove them and throw one it met, came up with a plan for three at a time back to Mark. But the chance national forests in the Sierra affected by of one landing in the stream was too endangered-species listings. The proposal great (a rubber hip-boot does not throw increased logging while protecting pris- like a baseball). We did what was now tine areas. When it landed in Congress, the obvious alternative. Without further California Rep. George Miller insisted on discussion, I removed my hiking boots, adding one provision: All environmental placed them in my pack and put the hip- laws would apply. That meant the Quincy boots back on. Mark slipped on both his Library logging plan had to go through and my backpack, and then hopped onto the same environmental analysis a Forest my back. Grasping the two ice axes, one Service plan would. in each hand, we started crossing the The Quincy Library proposal, held up stream. Without the two extra legs pro- at the time as a model of local, consen- vided by the ice axes it would have been sus-based decision-making, has never impossible because of the swift water and been fully implemented. Why? Primarily slippery, invisible rocks at the bed of the because it didn’t jibe with Endangered stream. Also, without a doubt the extra Species Act guidelines protecting the Cali- 200 pounds provided better traction. fornia spotted owl. In other words, it did Probing snow depths on South Cascade not pass scientific or legal muster. However, half way across I stepped on a Glacier, spring 1962. —Mark Meier large, unusually slippery rock and nearly That environmentalist “stakeholders” signed on to the Quincy Library agree- were many other dangers — helicopter fell. “Slip and you’re fired,” came from above and just behind my head. Fortu- ment in the first place highlights the dan- or small plane accidents, climbing falls, ger of the collaboration fad. After years of nately, I stayed on my feet and we crossed unexpected illnesses, snow avalanches, being tarred as obstructionist ideologues, without mishap. hypothermia, severe storms, many some environmental groups now have potential water hazards — all of which I Despite my initial misgivings about the a seat at the negotiating table -- indeed, and others narrowly escaped experienc- precarious position I felt I was in working are seen as crucial to legitimizing any ing at one time or another (I never have for Mark Meier, I owe him a debt of grati- deal. Enjoying their newfound popular- learned to swim and nearly was swept tude for selecting an inexperienced, not ity, these self-appointed decision-makers over a 300-foot waterfall in Norway when too well-educated farm boy to work with become heavily invested in reaching an attempting to gauge a glacier stream dur- him. Looking back now to 1959 when he accord, regardless of the science, the law ing a storm). There was one close call in interviewed me, I still am puzzled that I or the long-term effect on the land. which a co-worker nearly died from an was hired for this job when there were For decades, environmentalists fought obstructed intestine but was saved by the so many other applicants who were more to get a more level playing field and courage and piloting skill of the late Bob qualified, better educated and had greater establish transparency and accountability Munro, founder of Kenmore Air Harbor. familiarity and experience working in the in public-lands policy; they continue to A dramatic account of this rescue can be mountains. He also had me promoted fight the Bush administration’s relentless found in Success on the Step, The Story of four times during my 20-year career as a efforts to dismantle these policies. How Kenmore Air Harbor, by Marin Faure. glaciologist, which each time renewed my ironic it would be, then, if in their eager- There was a trail we used at first from enthusiasm for glacier work, not to men- ness to embrace the new paradigm, they craft and push through Congress deals the nearest road to the glacier that fol- tion my relief at not being fired. that undercut the very laws that got them lowed Downey Creek for eight miles but to the table in the first place. its total length was 14 miles and required —Wendell Tangborn was born in Sioux City, climbing from the hut to 7000 feet before Iowa in 1927 and grew up on a small farm in descending to the timberline. After a few Northern Minnesota. He was drafted into the —Erica Rosenberg directs the program on army in 1951 and after being discharged in public policy at Arizona State University’s law years, a new route only nine miles long school and served as counsel to the House and following the south fork Cascade 1953 attended the University of Minnesota, receiving a BS in Geological Engineering Resources Committee from 1999-2004. River was opened by Austin Post. There in 1958. After retiring from the US Geologi- were tremendous advantages to this cal Survey in 1979, he formed a consulting trail, besides being shorter. It could be company, HyMet Inc, specializing in forecast- used in stormy weather as the shelter of a ing streamflow in western United States and heavy forest was reached in minutes after developing glacier balance models in Alaska. leaving the hut, and the hike out to the *Additional information can be found road could be done in 5 or 6 hours. The at www.hymet.com or by contacting him at HyMet Inc., 19001 Vashon Hwy. SW, Suite 201, Downey Creek route would take up to 14 Vashon, WA 98070, phone 206-463-1610. hours, which meant we often would not reach the road until after dark. I still have a recurring dream (not quite a nightmare)

18  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Ski Area Mania Trashes Backcountry Mark Lawler Sierra Club Cascade Chapter

rash of ski area expansions is afflict- tion groups to have any development in Sec- Each ski area is trying to distinguish itself ing the public lands of the Wash- tion 16 first approved by a scientific panel, from the others to attract a larger fraction A ington Cascades. At Stevens Pass, and to its credit the ski area is also propos- of the static user base. To pay for these vast Snoqualmie Pass, Crystal Mountain, and ing to donate several hundred acres of land improvements, the areas will post large White Pass, the private companies that run to the national forest. increases in lift fees — which will end up the ski areas are pushing through huge ex- Recently the final big Cascades ski area depressing overall skier numbers. pansions of their operations. They want to expansion, for Stevens Pass, has been un- The Forest Service makes the final deci- run new ski lifts into wild roadless basins, veiled. The ski company there is not content sions on all these ski area changes. For clearcut new ski runs (often in old growth with its existing permit area but wants to White Pass and Crystal Mountain, the Forest forest), cut down more forest for parking add three new areas to its permit opera- Service was all too eager to grant most of areas, build restaurants and lodges, and tions, all of which are currently roadless what the ski companies wanted, believing expand road access and utilities. All of this and have never been developed, such as the the expansions essential to the survival and is proposed on public lands managed by the wild and scenic Grace Lakes Basin. Remain- prosperity of those ski areas. What the For- Forest Service. ing shreds of natural old forest within the est Service has never done, despite decades Fortunately the down-home ski areas at existing developed area would be largely of prodding, is take a broad view of all the Mount Baker and Mission Ridge haven’t destroyed. Supposedly to reduce environ- ski areas across the Cascades and look at been interested in expanding much, prefer- mental impacts, the ski company proposes what skiers and snowboarders really need, ring a few modest improvements to keep that some of the new ski runs would be instead of just accepting what the ski compa- their ticket prices accessible. But the Forest thinned — euphemistically called “glading.” nies serve up. If parking lots are overcrowd- Service has been eager to accommodate the However, a closer look reveals that these ed, could ski areas provide more buses to other ski areas’ proposals. In the case of would still be clearcut strips one or two bring people up from the metropolitan White Pass, the agency approved virtually hundred feet wide, and the forest beyond areas instead of clearcutting forests for new the entire package proposed by the ski com- would be thinned to 30 to 60 percent of lots? If the base of an area is too congested, pany, even though much of the expansion the original density of trees. This “glading” why not explore better, faster lift systems would develop an inventoried roadless area would nearly completely fragment the re- to keep skiers circulating so that new runs next to the Goat Rocks Wilderness. This is a maining old forest, making it useless for the don’t have to be carved out of virgin forest? clear violation of the Roadless Area Con- sensitive wildlife species that depend upon The Forest Service is in a position to force servation Rule put into place by President large blocks of intact forest canopy. Stevens the ski companies to minimize their impacts Clinton in 2001, and the expansion violates Pass would start to become the same type and to leave critical wildlife habitat, roadless federal law in many other ways. Conserva- of ecologically fragmented zone, blocking areas, and old-growth forests alone. Yet in tion groups have had to sue the Forest Ser- wildlife migration, that has become such a the case of White Pass and Crystal, each ski vice and the ski company to halt this illegal catastrophe at Snoqualmie Pass. And to top area got its way for the most part, which will expansion. it off, the company also wants to make the cost skiers more dollars at the same time At Crystal Mountain ski area, the For- area into a mountain bike destination, run- that the public loses more irreplaceable forest Service gave the okay to extensive new ning lifts for a couple months in summer. est resources. In total, these huge ski area clearcut ski runs, lifts, avalanche control The area would be crisscrossed with super- expansions will not bring in significantly facilities, and other ski area accoutrements steep, wide trails gouged into the mountain- more skiers — rather, they will just reshuffle into undeveloped, nearly wild basins — all side forests for daredevils willing to bomb skiers from one ski area to another. The the way up to the boundary of Mount downhill at reckless speeds. biggest loser will be our wild public lands Rainier National Park. Fortunately the Why this rush to create bigger, ever-more- and forests, and the wildlife and fish that Forest Service did exclude development clearcut ski areas in Washington? Visitation depend on them. from Bullion Basin, a scenic roadless area to Washington ski areas has been flat for The last and largest expansion proposal popular with backcountry skiers, snowsho- over two decades, with ups and downs that is at Stevens Pass, and the environmental ers, and hikers. reflect varying snow conditions rather than study process begins this year. You can At Snoqualmie Pass, chopped up by de- ski facilities. None of these areas is suitable contact the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National cades of development, a multi-lane inter- for drawing skiers from outside Washington. Forest recreation staff (see http://www.fs.fed. state highway, and square-mile clearcuts on So a fixed number of ski areas is chasing a us/r6/mbs) to get on the mailing list to com- private land, ski area managers want several fixed number of skiers each year. Until these ment on this proposal when it comes out. new lifts and new groomed runs serviced recent expansion plans, the ski compa- by those lifts. Fortunately a lot of these are nies typically made simple and moderate in already impacted areas and don’t pose a changes: they would rebuild lodges, install great change to wildlife habitat. However, larger-capacity lifts on the old alignments, the most controversial proposal is in Sec- improve grooming, expand night skiing, tion 16 near Summit East (the old Hyak ski and build “terrain parks” for snowboarders. area), the last large block of intact old forest What each of the four “big” areas now wants that still serves as a quality wildlife migra- is much more land for developed skiing tion corridor across the highway. The ski and more opportunities to develop upscale company has struck a deal with conserva- facilities such as mid-mountain restaurants.

The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  19 developers and allowed San Juan County to Benella Caminiti ban the use of jet skis to protect marine life, 1922-2007 Osborn said. Longtime environmental activist . . . . She won multiple awards for her dies at 85 activism, including a special honor in 1991 Lisa Stiffler, from the Department of Ecology for her In Seattle Post-Intelligencer work protecting shoreline resources. In If not for Benella Caminiti, Woodland 2006, she turned over to the UW libraries Park Zoo might have sprawled east of 11 boxes of letters, articles and paperwork Aurora Avenue, gobbling up acres of park representing her work on innumerable Memoriam that’s free for all to enjoy. There might be a public land issues. cabaret installed near the shores of Green s s s Lake. A Venice-themed development might have destroyed the ecologically rich mud- *Harvey Manning, late NCCC board mem- flats of Padilla Bay near Anacortes. ber, and Benella Caminiti worked together on the Public Trust Doctrine for many She knew land use laws front-to-back years. Harvey wrote the following in The but wasn’t a lawyer. She was published Wild Cascades (February, 1993, page 8): more than 150 times in local newspapers, (Excerpted from “Who Owns the Earth? but wasn’t a journalist. Caminiti was just a — The Public Trust Doctrine”) woman with a “strong sense of justice,” said her son, John. “It was a sense of fairness “You’ve probably never heard of the PTD. Few citizens have — except that she always had, that public property those whose ox it’s threatening to gore. shouldn’t be disregarded and taken advan- Government agencies that knew of it tage of.” are too spooked to mention it out loud. Since the early 1970s, Caminiti fought de- However, in 1987 the Washington State velopers, city and state officials, boaters and Supreme Court, in deciding two cases shoreline owners to preserve free access to based on the PTD, affirmed that the a wide range of natural spaces. She testified PTD has been, is, and will be the law of at public hearings, wrote letters and essays Washington. In one of these, Caminiti v. to newspapers and filed lawsuits to make Boyle, the court declared the state could her case. never abdicate its authority over lands covered by waters and that these must “She was unafraid to stand up and seek be used in accordance with the PTD what she thought was right,” said Rachael even where there is a so-called “private Osborn, executive director for the Spokane- ownership.” based Center for Environmental Law & “. . . To understand why, look up “The Policy. “And she would just not let go. I just Public Trust Doctrine and Coastal Zone watched her and learned that you have to Management in Washington State”, by put yourself out there and be persistent.” Professor Ralph Johnson (et. al.,) of Caminiti, who had recently moved from the UW School of Law, published as her long-time home in Queen Anne to her an article in the July, 1992 issue of the son’s Lake Stevens home, died in her sleep Washington Law Review. early Sunday, November 25, 2007. She was “The PTD has only just begun to be 85. implemented in Washington. So far the Caminiti was the founder of the Seattle application has been almost entirely to tidewater, with Benella Caminiti and her Shorelines Coalition, chairwoman of the Seattle Shoreline Coalition the pioneers. Washington Environmental Council’s Coast and Shorelines Committee and most “What has that to do with the North Cascades? recently a board member for the Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CELP). “As the law of this state (and due to its quasi-constitutional character, beyond Her greatest disappointment was a case compromising by the timorous legisla- she lost in 1987 against Commissioner of tive and executive branches) the PTD Public Lands Brian Boyle. She was fight- has clear application to lakeshores (Lake ing a law that allowed residential property Chelan) and riverbanks (Stehekin River). owners to have docks on public tidelands But it also enters into, for example, the without paying anything to the state. use of patented mining claims which are “The day I lost that case was the worst “private property” under terms of the day of my life,” Caminiti told the Queen Mining Law but under the PTD, which Anne News in 2004. “Five of the nine has overriding quasi-constitutional authority, are not fully private. Those Washington State Supreme Court justices ancient forests rooted in “patented” who ruled on the case owned beachfront cliffs cannot be logged without radi- property.” cally affecting the ecosystem, including

ilcox But the ruling set an important precedent streams and fisheries, thereby infringing

W regarding the Public Trust Doctrine* and on right of the public. . . .” en

K state control over of tidelands. That precedent later helped save Padilla Bay from 20  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Squak Mountain in the Issaquah Alps. He MARION HESSEY William K. Longwell spent countless afternoons on the mountain after teaching a full day, and many William K. Longwell, noted hiker, trail Early member and activist in the North summer days. Often his students assisted builder, author, and local historian died on Cascades Conservation Council, Marion him. He hauled large loads of wood to con- November 28, 2007 at Hessey left her beloved Cascades on Octo- struct bridges on the trail and created a sig- the age of 71. Born in ber 11, 2007 – at the age of 91. She was nev- nage system for the trail, routing the signs Rock Island, Illinois er far from her beloved wilderness, though, by hand in his garage. The entire effort was on April 3, 1936, Mr. the Hessey home nestles in the surrounding voluntary, including significant lobbying ef- Longwell is survived pine forest not far from Naches. forts to acquire the rights to build the trail by his wife of 47 Much of the early on-the-ground knowl- from the Weyerhaeuser Company, and later years Mimi Longwell, edge and information about the wild coun- with the state to assure its status as a major his daughter Ann on try of the North Cascades was shared by s regional recreational area.

an Lockwood and her

Marion and husband, Chuck, with the then H husband Robert; his Together with Harvey Manning, Bill was newly founded North Cascades Conserva- daughter Gretchen a founding member of the Issaquah Alps arry tion Council back in the late 1950s. The L Longwell and her Trails Club. As the Trail Maintenance Crew Hesseys knew the area intimately. husband David Worth; his grandchildren Chief, he continued to lead efforts to main- Marion and Chuck were also first-rate Robert William Lockwood and Elizabeth tain the Issaquah Alps Trails system, as well movie makers. The Hessey movie films of Gabrielle Lockwood; his sisters Ardythe as many high mountain trails. He recorded their winter cross-country ski jaunts and Longwell and Tanya Salvino; his brother detailed logs of trail work, as well as notes camps, as well as warmer weather hikes and Paul Longwell; and his dear friends Debbie of plants and birds he observed. He was a mountain climbing, were shown publicly and Greg Anschell, Ken Hopping and Karen self-taught botanist and ornithologist. He many times. They introduced many, many Tom. additionally volunteered his services with uninitiated people to the unparalleled natu- the Forest Service and the Department of Mr. Longwell was a true Renaissance ral values of the North Cascades. Due to the Natural Resources. man, having far-reaching interests, hobbies Marion and Chuck team, more and more and avocations. After finishing his Bachelor As a result on his work on Tiger Moun- people came together — to preserve the of Arts in History at Western Washington tain, Bill wrote and published Guide to wilderness mountains, unlogged primeval University, and continuing his studies at Trails of Tiger Mountain, donating all pro- forests, both alpine and lower elevation, the University of Washington, he taught ceeds to the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. The and wild flower meadows. Many of these English and History for 30 years, first at book has undergone multiple editions, and people became friends, members, and sup- McKnight Middle School and then at Hazen is the resource for local hiking enthusiasts. porters of the North Cascades Conservation High School in Renton, Washington. He had In addition, he wrote regular articles for Council — thanks to Marion and Chuck a profound influence on many students, several publications, greatly assisted by his Hessey. often taking them hiking and trail building, wife Mimi. Bill also led numerous hikes and Marion hiked all over the Cascades – with and introducing them to Native American naturalist walks (accompanied by his wife Chuck. Marion kept on hiking after he culture, botany, ornithology and literature. Mimi), for the Issaquah Alps Trails Club, the passed on. Both Hesseys were active mem- He served as the official scorer and statisti- Seattle Mountaineers, and the Snoqualmie bers of the Cascadians, an east of the Cas- cian for the WIAA State High School Basket- Valley Trail Club. cades hiking and conservation group; they ball Tournament for 25 years and was the In spite of his continuous dedication to were also members of The Mountaineers. editor for many years of the official-printed the Issaquah Alps, his true love was the I especially recall a meeting in the Hes- program. He followed sports voraciously high mountains. In a book he wrote for his sey’s home when Dave Brower, of the Sierra throughout his life, and kept detailed re- daughters, Past Ford and Bridge and Town: Club, brought the first cut of a film of the cords of individual players and teams. On Foot Near 1-90 and in Washington North Cascades country for them (and a few Throughout the span of his adult life, Bill State, he said, others) to review. That first cut (admittedly logged over 50,000 miles hiking through- not completed) focused mostly on high Each spring I follow the melting out Washington, Oregon, and California. snows up favorite trails, constantly alpine areas of rock and ice, but virtually no He kept meticulous records, accounting for forests. It was there at the Hessey’s when it checking the warming process. It’s every mile. Having a photographic memory, the part of the year I long for, espe- was made sure that the overall ecological he could recall every place he had ever uniqueness of the North Cascades forests cially after the long winter. . . I try to hiked, and every person he had ever met on hike in the high mountains at least received as much emphasis as the upper the trail, and continually served as a source mountain slopes. 50 times a year. It’s the high moun- of information for many people. He took tains I prize. So much more could be said about Mar- long backpacks with his daughters on parts ion Hessey’s dedication and contributions of the Pacific Crest Trail, the Washington His entire hiking career could perhaps to preserving North Cascades wildernesses beaches, and the Chelan Crest Trail. One of best be summarized in a quote that he — especially in the now protected (and his last backpacks was with his grandson, loved from Rudyard Kipling’s poem The parts yet to be protected) North Cascades. Robert William, age 8, to Shi Shi Beach. Explorer: Marion Hessey is now in her beloved wilder- Bill Longwell took his title of “Chief “Something hidden. Go and Find it. ness, with her ashes in the wilds surround- Ranger,” given to him by Harvey Manning, Go and look behind the Ranges — ing the Stehekin valley. seriously. Starting in the mid-1970s, he sur- Something lost behind the Ranges. — Polly Dyer veyed, laid out, and led the effort to build Lost and waiting for you. Go!” the 16-mile Tiger Mountain Trail system, as well as numerous other trails including Bill Longwell was a Presence in our Alps. We do miss him. The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  21 Public Land Losses Are Serious George Early

A new trend in auction sales of public Our “public land base” is our public land Another was persuading local officials lands is creating serious losses in the public acreage multiplied by its value per acre. into supporting the bill by directing massive land base. During the last eight years dis- Lands close to urban centers may be worth proceeds from the sale to local “do good” turbing changes have quietly been made to $30,000 per acre while land in the boonies projects such as trail development and pub- the management of our public lands. may only be worth a $100 per acre. Even lic works. This in effect fools the public. During this period, some 300,000 acres trying to put a dollar value on public lands The issue in these auction sales is not the of our precious public lands have been is misleading because there is only so much sale itself but rather the failure to use all turned over to private control through land which is a limited resource. Losing any the proceeds from the sale for public land land auctions. Once privatized, the public amount of land from the public land base replacement. Land sales should continue as of course, no longer has access to this lost is bad no matter what its price per acre may a good management tool in addition to land land base. be. exchanges but only if all the proceeds are Much of this land loss was close to large The public does not have a clue about used for total replacement of the land sold urban centers where such land is extremely what is going on because the media has not and privatized. valuable. The result of privatizing was an given serious consideration to these land Most of the public lands involved so far astronomical loss of our public land value auctions. in these auction sales have been Bureau of when calculated in dollars. If such land auc- Environmental organizations as well as Land Management lands. BLM lands have tions are allowed to continue they will be smaller local groups should have stopped always been the darling of special inter- catastrophic to our public lands base. this fiasco from the start, but instead some ests like mining and ranching. BLM lands of them have become part of the problem by constitute the largest segment of the public supporting these bills. domain in the eleven western states and are There is always a need to privatize some in fact 25 percent of the total land area of public lands for legitimate management the West. However, up until 1998, special purposes. However, there is even a greater interests could only obtain subsidized uses Blanchard Mountain need to transfer some private lands back such as grazing permits, timber cuts, min- into the public domain. There are two situ- ing operations and oil and gas leases, etc. Lawsuit ations where private lands need to become For the most part they did not impact the part of the public domain: public land base (acreage and value) which You could call it Washington’s last great the land auction sales have been doing since 1) environmentally sensitive lands, and, coastal forest — the largest surviving block of 1998. maturing forest left along the entire mainland 2) private in-holdings within large exist- All federal public lands are vulnerable shore of Washington’s inland sea. Imagine ing blocks of public land. and, unfortunately, a target for this auc- this place in fifty years: thousands of acres Private land can become public domain: tion sale approach. Various schemes have of lowland old-growth forest immediately through land exchange, and through pur- already been proposed for almost every adjacent to the marine coast — Issaquah Alps chase from willing private sellers. national forest in the country. By-the-Sea. Prior to 1998, the most common way, by Some may think that the destruction Where else in the greater Puget Sound re- far, to privatize public lands was through of our public land base is only a political gion is such a dream possible? Nowhere, to be exchange. If you wanted to privatize a piece maneuver by one political party or the exact. This truly is a now-or-never proposition. of public land that federal management other. Not true. It is very bipartisan with We can shrug and let it go, add it to the forgot- was willing to release, you had to find and senators and congressmen of both parties ten column along with the millions of acres purchase a piece of private land which jumping on the band wagon of auction sales of Washington coastal forest that have been needed to go back into the public domain with special gimmicks to please their con- paved over and urbanized in the last 150 years. and complete the exchange. In this way, our stituents. None seem concerned about the Or we can demand that it be saved. public land base was automatically protect- destruction of our public land base. ed in both value and in acreage. There was The DNR’s logging plan for Blanchard T.H. Watkins and Charles Watson, Jr. no loss of public land value. This exchange Mountain has been vigorously opposed by in their famous book, The Lands No One procedure continues to be used extensively. the Chuckanut Conservancy, North Cas- Knows, state that the “public lands” are the However exchanges in recent years have cades Conservation Council, North Cascades glue that holds the West together. Our pub- tended to be smaller. Audubon Society, Sierra Club’s Mount Baker lic lands are in fact the historic legacy that Group, Bellingham Mountaineers, Coast Over the years there have been legislative make the West so special. attempts to sell off large parcels of public Watch Society and others. Yet the DNR has The diminution of our public lands land. These attempts were never very suc- ignored them all, confident of their ability to through these auction sales when the pro- cessful because when it became obvious bamboozle the public with happy talk, as they ceeds are not used to completely replace the what was happening, there was public re- work up their timber sales and plans for miles public land sold, results in the destruction sistance. However, in 1998 a new legislative of new roads. of the West itself. The North Cascades Conservation Council approach was found for auctioning public land for which there was little opposition. The public would care if they really knew and Chuckanut Conservancy filed suit in Sep- Two major tactics not previously used what was going on. After all, it is their land tember to stop the DNR from implementing its made these land sales successful. One was that is being lost. This foolishness can be plans for Blanchard Mountain. Hearings are persuading environmentalists to support stopped with one piece of legislation: A bill scheduled in Seattle in April. Please visit www. the sale by throwing in some wilderness that mandates that all proceeds from any chuckanutconservancy.org to learn more or to and park designations as part of the bill. In future sale go 100 percent for land replace- contribute to the cause. many instances these new wilderness and ment. park designations are on already existing — en ilcox K W public lands. 22  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008 Our Public Lands Auctioning Off Nevada

New York Times editorial, federal lands should be tapped like some The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, December 9, 2007 desert A.T.M., forcing taxpayers in the 49 a Democrat who just happens to be from As cornucopias go, it is hard to top other states to subsidize the booming re- Nevada, is a big supporter of the pro- what has been happening in Nevada. gional growth around Las Vegas. A report gram. Other Congressional delegations, Local governments have been cashing in in The Times last week by Jesse McKinley who know a good thing when they see on the sale of federal lands to spare their and Griffin Palmer analyzed nearly $3 it, are intent on getting similar programs taxpayers the tab for a raft of amenities billion in land sales that have occurred for their own states. Cooler heads should that include parks and shooting ranges. since Nevada’s Congressional delegation take a close look at whether the law is That’s right: the federal government has steered the law to passage in 1998. One of becoming more about boondoggles than auctioned off thousands of acres in the the main rationales for the program was about conservation. Nevadans have every last decade under an unusual law that to acquire and protect environmentally right to have boccie and tennis courts. channels most of the proceeds into an ac- sensitive tracts of land in private hands, But it is not clear why the federal govern- count set aside for projects in Nevada. but only 15 cents of every dollar has gone ment should sell off chunks of the nation toward such projects. to pay for them. It is federal spending that comes ear- marked for environmental projects. But For Nevada, the program is win-win- much of the money has paid for a wide win. Local governments get cash to array of urban and suburban projects: a spend. Developers gain access at public county shooting park, picnic grounds, auctions to acreage long considered subsidies for schoolbooks and teachers’ off limits. Residents get new amenities salaries, expenses that local governments without footing the bill. The big losers are elsewhere pay for with local taxes or taxpayers everywhere else, few of whom bond issues. The obvious question is why even know about this one-state bonanza.

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The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008  23 Harvey Manning Statue

NCCC Board of Directors has authorized a contribution to Issaquah Alps Trails Club to commemorate Harvey Manning’s inspiration and dedication to the protection of the Cascades and for developing lowland hiking routes close to people. The life-size bronze statue of Harvey sitting in a patch of lupines seems to me to resemble the great photo that graced the front cover of The Wild Cascades not long ago. The statue will be in a downtown Issaquah park with Harvey looking up at the surrounding foothills. The board’s decision came after a spirited discussion of a many-fac- eted and much-missed colleague and friend. Some of us remembered Harvey always saying, “Don’t name anything after me when I’m gone.” Or, “Remember, I already have a Park in Canada named after me.” But those wishes lost out on a technicality. Harvey never said he didn’t want a statue to be cast of him. He probably never even considered the possibility. Knowing that Betty and his family approved of the statue project, NCCC was eager to join in. Many of us will venture off I-90 to see the phenomenon of Harvey sitting still for once and we can express our admiring thoughts. I expect that even Harvey would be willing to en- dure the pose if one bypasser (I use that word because I know Harvey wouldn’t) asking “Who was this guy and what did he do?” understands Harvey’s contributions and goes on to further the work. — David Fluharty

The Wild Cascades Non-Profit Organization Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council U.S. POSTAGE Post Office Box 95980 University Station PAID SEATTLE, WA Seattle, Washington 98145-2980 PERMIT No. 8602 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

24  The Wild Cascades • Winter 2007-2008