The Wild Cascades The Journal of the North Ca s cades Conservation Council Su m m e r /fa l l 2009

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  1 The Conservation Council was THE WILD CASCADES  Summer/Fall 2009 formed in 1957 “To protect and preserve the North Cascades’ scenic, In This Issue scientific, recreational, educational, and wilderness values.” Continuing 3 President’s Report — Marc Bardsley this mission, NCCC keeps government officials, environmental organizations, 4 Whitechuck Update and the general public informed about 5 stehekin Update issues affecting the Greater North NCCC Intervenes in Sultan Hydro Relicensing Cascades Ecosystem. Action is pursued evergreen Mountain through legislative, legal, and public participation channels to protect the 6 Your Chance to Help Recover Wolves in State lands, waters, plants and wildlife. — Jim Davis 8 Feds Review Mountain-dwelling Pika for Threatened-species List Over the past half century the NCCC — Lynda V. Mapes, Times has led or participated in campaigns to create the North Cascades National 9 hiker Helps Turn Dumping Ground into Scenic Gem — Lynda V. Mapes, Seattle Times Park Complex, Glacier Peak Wilder- ness, and other units of the National 10 Good news, and a wonderful day on the Middle Fork Wilderness System from the W.O. — Rick McGuire Douglas Wilderness north to the 12 North Cascades Glacier Climate Project 2009 — Tom Hammond Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the Henry M. 14 Reiter Forest, DNR’s ORV Problems — Karl Forsgaard Jackson Wilderness, the Chelan-Saw- 16 Teanaway Forestlands at Risk tooth Wilderness, the Wild Sky Wil- derness and others. Among its most irate Birdwatcher Premier Showing Nov. 4 dramatic victories has been working 17 harvey Manning statue Dedicated in Issaquah — John Edwards with British Columbia allies to block 18 a Welcome Change for the Nation’s Forests the raising of Ross Dam, which would 19 Forest Service Closes Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road have drowned Big Beaver Valley. NCCC membership application The NCCC is supported by member 20 The Granite Falls Motocross Fiasco — An Update — Bruce Barnbaum dues and private donations. These contributions support the full range of the Council’s activities, including publication of The Wild Cascades. As Cover: Rafting the Middle Fork Snoqualmie beneath Garfield Mountain. a 501(c)(3) organization, all contribu- —p h o t o To m O’Keefe tions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Membership dues for one year are: Living Lightly/ The Wild Cascades Student $10; Individual $30; Family $50; Sustaining $100; Other, $______. Journal of the North Cascades Conservation Council

Editor: Betty Manning North Cascades Editorial Board: John Edwards, Tom Hammond, Conservation Council Carolyn McConnell and Rick McGuire P.O. Box 95980 University Station Printing by EcoGraphics Seattle, WA 98145-2980 The Wild Cascades is published three times a year (Spring, Summer/Fall, Winter). Executive Director, Jim Davis Letters, comments, and articles are invited, subject to editorial review. 1-360-296-5159 The Wild Cascades Editor North Cascades Conservation Council NCCC Website University Station, Seattle, WA 98145-2980 www.northcascades.org

The Wild Cascades is printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.

2  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 NCCC Board president Marc Bardsley b o a r d chairman Founded in 1957 Patrick Goldsworthy SEATTLE, WASHINGTON vice president Charles Ehlert treasurer The President’s Report Summer/Fall 2009 Tom Brucker any of us might think that the idea of wilderness is a pretty secretary straightforward concept — there are places with few motorized Phil Zalesky Mdevices, there is little evidence of other people, and it usually executive d i r e c t o r takes a fair walk to get there. More correctly, this would only be true for Jim Davis so-called “deep wilderness”. Around the periphery, especially close to trailheads, wilderness is quite different and the land has often taken a beating. Despite efforts by government agencies, the result of too many Bruce Barnbaum enthusiastic users has been a hammering of the wilderness edge. A rough definition of “wilderness edge” is sometimes thought of as a day-hike Polly Dyer distance from the end of the road. The level of access, and the demand for more access, can place John Edwards enormous stress on the edges of our wilderness areas. Many folks demand that a road be available to make access to their traditional Dave Fluharty wilderness area be easy or at least as easy as it has been in the past. The Anders Forsgaard North Cascades Conservation Council is sometimes criticized for taking a principled stand on criteria for road projects. We devote a lot of effort Karl Forsgaard to analyzing road construction, decommissioning, maintenance, and re- openings. The point is, roads are a major factor in dictating protection Kevin Geraghty and establishment of new, existing, and de-facto wilderness. As conservationists, we need to multi-task our efforts to preserve wil- Tom Hammond derness. First, we need to continue efforts to convert as much roadless area as possible to protected status or de-facto wilderness. Second, we Betty Manning need to be the champions for using details of the wilderness act to main- tain the land as intended. Third, and no less important, we need to cam- Carolyn McConnell paign vigorously for facilities to encourage day-hiking opportunities that Rick McGuire meet the desires of recreationists who only need short-term experiences. These will be the majority of people and their trips. The new facilities Thom Peters should include more trails to interesting areas with low environmental impact and served by adequate parking and other amenities. Great ex- Mike Town amples of this concept of channeling folks into areas close to urban areas and in less sensitive areas would be the network of trails in the Issaquah Ken Wilcox Alps and around North Bend. This approach needs to be expanded into the Mountain Loop area. The goal should be to protect wilderness and at Laura Zalesky the same time, encourage as many people as possible to enjoy nature and the outdoors. Proposals for more wilderness or road closures must be ac- companied by plans for increasing the number of day-hiking opportuni- ties rather than reducing them.

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  3 Whitechuck Update

The Forest Service to stop rebuilding has released an Envi- the upper five miles ronmental Assess- of road is a welcome ment for rebuilding recognition of the the Whitechuck futility of keeping River road in the a road open in the Darrington Ranger Whitechuck, NCCC District. Readers may wonders why the remember previous Forest service applies articles in TWC de- this reasoning only scribing the effects to those upper five of the major 2003 miles. No substantive washouts, which to- reasons are given as tally erased substan- to why the lower road tial sections of the should be treated road, especially its differently. Perhaps lower reaches. The it is just institutional Whitechuck valley reluctance to give up has been a conser- on a major valley bot- vation priority ever tom road. since the Everett It is time to finish Mountaineers at- what was first attempt- tempted unsuccess- ed in 1927 and time fully to spare the val- Change is the only constant in the Whitechuck valley. to put the Whitechuck ley from the railroad road to bed. In its logging which began across the Suiattle River at its other end. comments on the EA, in its lower reaches in 1927. The road Rebuilding that bridge presents a host of NCCC praised the Forest Service for recog- should not be rebuilt, but instead convert- problems and it is unclear at the moment nizing the futility of rebuilding the upper ed to multiuse non-motorized trail. what will happen there. road but asked why the same reasoning About ten miles of road were rendered did not apply to the lower road. Hopefully The enormous amount of filling inaccessible to vehicles by the washouts. the Forest Service will ask itself the same required to rebuild the lower road as pro- In selecting their preferred alternative, the question before pouring taxpayers’ dollars posed by the Forest Service would damage Forest Service has cut the proverbial baby into what would be an unnecessary, dam- the Whitechuck River and its fisheries, and in half by deciding to rebuild the lower aging and very temporary rebuild of the violate the Aquatic Conservation Strat- five miles of road where the most damage lower Whitechuck road. egy of the Northwest Forest Plan. And if is, and closing the road above the junction rebuilt, the road will fail again, probably with the Rat Trap Pass road. The miles of sooner rather than later. road would be left with “walkable tread,” but not designated as trail. Although the Forest Service proposal Having fully expected the Forest Service to want to rebuild the entire road, the recommendation to not rebuild the upper five miles has come as a mildly pleasant surprise. The EA cites a number of reasons for not rebuilding, reasons which basically boil down to the fact that the unstable geology of the Whitechuck valley means that any road there is a temporary road. However, all the reasons cited for not rebuilding the upper five miles apply just as much or more to the lower five miles, where the greatest damage is. Just what would be gained from rebuild- ing the lower road is unclear. Part of it may be a desire to hold on to the crumbling Rat Trap Pass road, itself damaged in numerous spots, and a desire to keep it as a vehicular route between the Whitechuck Whitechuck River eats road on lower Whitechuck. and Suiattle valleys. Doing so would The Forest Service proposes to fill it back in. —p h o t o s Kevin Ge r agh t y require rebuilding the Boundary Bridge

4  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Stehekin Update NCCC Intervenes in Disturbing news has come from the U.S. House of Representatives in the form of Sultan Hydro Relicensing H.R. 2806, a bill introduced by Congress- NCCC, along with sister organizations industrial timberland. The PUD touts the man Doc Hastings (R-4th district) to move Pilchuck Audubon Society and Alpine value of deer forage from these lands, the boundaries of the Stephen Mather Lakes Protection Society, has filed a mo- something of which there is no shortage in Wilderness to allow rebuilding of the up- tion to intervene in the Federal Energy heavily logged eastern Snohomish county. per Stehekin River road. As this issue of Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceed- Other PUD lands are at risk from thin- The Wild Cascades goes to press, Hastings, ings regarding Snohomish PUD’s applica- ning and other “enhancement” logging. who is the ranking minority member on tion for a new license to operate the Jack- The Snohomish PUD can and ought to do the House Energy and Natural Resources son hydroelectric project on the Sultan much better than it has to date. Committee, has managed to get the bill river in eastern Snohomish county. Instead, the PUD is proposing to do through both the relevant subcommittee Previous issues of The Wild Cascades less rather than more mitigation during a and the full committee, and is expected to have covered the problems caused by the second 50-year license period for the proj- try getting it through the full House. PUD’s lack of proper mitigation for this ect. With very deep pockets, and a proven Wild Cascades readers will remember project and the lands flooded by it. The track record of spending whatever it takes that NCCC has lobbied for years to close PUD has acquired some areas of old- on lawyers and consultants in order to back the upper Stehekin road, which has growth forest in the Sultan area, but these avoid spending on mitigation, it will be an washed out innumerable times. The Park are at risk from “snag creation” and other uphill battle to get the PUD to do better. Service has recognized the futility of try- “improvement” measures. Most of the so- By intervening, the groups hope to con- called mitigation lands for the project are ing to keep a road open in the flood prone vince FERC to require more substantive commercial forests managed on 60-year mitigation from the Snohomish utility. upper Stehekin valley, and decided against rotation, indistinguishable from any other spending yet more taxpayer dollars on yet another rebuild of this road. Hast- ings wants Congress to overturn the Park Service’s decision and force the agency to Evergreen Mountain fix the road again. NCCC and several other conservation organizations submitted Stimulus Money Fuels Forest Road Folly testimony against the bill. A small but substantial portion of freshly storm. And now, displaying a willingness The Stehekin road connects to no other printed federal economic stimulus monies to keep repeating the same mistakes that road, and can be accessed only by those have filtered down locally to the Forest would seem astonishing anywhere else, few vehicles which have been expensively Service. Like manna from heaven, these but is all too familiar from the Forest Ser- barged up Lake Chelan. It has now been funds are being used to pay for all kinds vice, it is being rebuilt yet again, thanks to washed out by floods or closed by slides of projects on the national forests, a few stimulus money. It is unclear at this writ- so many times that locals can no longer re- good, some not so good, and some, in ing whether this latest effort is another member how many times it has happened. NCCC’s opinion, very bad. “stormproofing.” Any future repair of the upper road would One of the worst local examples is the Benjamin Franklin (some say Albert be guaranteed to fail again, probably soon- Evergreen Mountain road in the Beckler Einstein), once supposedly said that insan- er rather than later. River watershed of the Skykomish Ranger ity is doing the same thing over and over In the wider world outside Stehekin, District of the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Na- again expecting different results. Looked there are all manner of failing roads and tional Forest. Originally built on the cheap at from a bureaucratic budgetary perspec- in the 1970s to allow logging of marginal tive, perhaps this is an example of that; bridges located in places where people high-elevation timber, the Evergreen but perhaps not. actually live. Something like one quarter Mountain road is a perfect example of a of all bridges in the are now The economist John Maynard Keynes road that never should have been built. beyond their life expectancy. Any tax- once theorized that government spending From the vicinity of Jack Pass it winds up for economic stimulus need not be on any- payer’s dollars spent to allow the handful and across 9 miles of steep, precarious and thing productive, and could even involve of vehicles in the Stehekin valley to travel unstable slopes, climbing to the 4200-foot digging ditches and filling them in again, the upper road again are dollars not spent level, providing access to a short remnant or building the equivalent of pyramids on these real and urgent needs where lives of trail leading to an old lookout atop and then tearing them down. Perhaps the may be at stake. Evergreen Mountain. Evergreen Mountain road has become Hastings’ status as ranking member may So many times has the Evergreen a textbook example of non-productive, explain why his bill has gone as far as it Mountain road washed out that no one make-work public stimulus spending. has. It is alarming to see that a Wilderness can remember how many times it has Guaranteed to soon be destroyed again, it boundary might be so casually changed to happened. Collapses have come routinely will continue to provide opportunities for allow a seldom used “road to nowhere” to after almost every major late fall storm further rebuilding, perhaps indefinitely … be rebuilt. Should it pass the House, action since it was first constructed. Some of the or at least as long as the printing presses will move to the Senate where NCCC and more recent rebuilds have been heralded in the other Washington still produce its allies hope to persuade Washington’s as “stormproofings,” supposedly rendering anything of value. two senators that pouring more money it invulnerable to whatever the elements One can’t help but wonder what kind of into another temporary repair of the up- might throw at it. But they apparently productive investments might have been per Stehekin road is a very bad idea. forgot to tell Mother Nature; each “storm- made instead. proofing” has lasted exactly until the next

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  5 Your chance to Help Recover Wolves in Washington State Jim Davis he Washington Depart- What Does ment of Fish and Wildlife the Science Say? (WDFW) has passed an- T Conservation goals for wolves other milestone in their effort to must be set at sufficient num- develop a Washington Wolf Con- bers of individuals to ensure servation and Management Plan that a permanently viable wolf that will guide wolf recovery in population is reestablished. A Washington State. This past spring viable wolf population must be and summer WDFW circulated a able to survive fluctuations in draft of the plan to wildlife biolo- abundance associated with prey gists and wolf program managers availability, disease, and habitat at the federal, state, tribal, and quality. A viable population must university levels. With comments include sufficient numbers of from more than 40 respondents, individuals to maintain genetic WDFW produced yet another diversity and avoid inbreeding. draft of the plan that will be Long-term survival also depends circulated for public review and

www.all-about-wolves.com on the level of conflict with live- comment this fall. stock producers and hunters. Unfortunately, WDFW did not pay at- fenders of Wildlife and other conservation A wolf population (i.e., meta-popula- tention to multiple comments presenting groups based on inadequate science in the tion) can be comprised of several smaller evidence that the conservation goals in decision-making process. Wolves remain sub-populations in distinct geographic the draft plan are not based on adequate listed under the federal endangered spe- areas that are linked through wolf dis- science. WDFW has retained the biased cies law in Wyoming, western Washington persal and consequent gene flow. Meta- conservation goals from earlier drafts of and western Oregon. populations can occur at the regional, the plan. If the draft plan is adopted by When federal conservation goals are state, or local level. The amount of gene the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commis- achieved and a species is delisted at the flow between populations depends on the sion, wolves will be reclassified from en- federal level, responsibility for recovery extent of barriers to dispersal. dangered to threatened when six breeding and long-term population maintenance is However, the situation is even more pairs are documented across the whole shifted to states that have developed con- complex than this. Wolf dispersal and state; reclassified from threatened to sensi- servation plans approved by USFWS. An connectivity between populations also tive when 12 breeding pairs are document- endangered species may be delisted at the depends on the level of wolf habitat ed; and delisted entirely when 15 breeding federal level, but still retain endangered saturation in a defined geographic area. pairs are documented. After delisting, species protection at the state level. For Wolf behavior studies have shown that wolves in Washington could be designated better or worse, state agencies often follow significant long distance dispersal to other as big game animals and hunted, as we are the science and management prescriptions geographic areas is likely to occur only if now seeing in both Idaho and Montana. developed at the federal level when they the local prey base is fully exploited and/ are developing endangered species conser- Why Is Wolf Conservation or other habitat features become limiting. vation plans at the state level. Planning in Washington an Unfortunately, wolf population biology Unfortunately, endangered species Important Issue? is not a well-developed or exact science, recovery (especially for wolves and other Primary responsibility for the recovery leaving much room for political mischief. predators) is often very controversial. De- of wolves resides at the federal level, with In 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- pending on broader political conditions at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) vice’s assessment of a self-sustaining popu- the time of federal or state recovery plan developing and implementing conserva- lation of wolves in the Northern Rocky development, the plan can be dramati- tion plans. The Northern Rocky Mountain Mountains concluded that “Thirty or more cally biased. This does not bode well for wolf recovery area includes Idaho, Wyo- breeding pairs comprising some 300+ long-term recovery of a species like the ming, Montana, and eastern portions of wolves in a meta-population (a popula- gray wolf. As described below, the USFWS Washington and Oregon. Although wolves tion that exists as partially isolated sets of did not take into account wolf population have been documented in western Wash- subpopulations) with genetic exchange biology in their plan development and de- ington and Oregon, they are not included between subpopulations should have a listing decision on the Idaho and Montana in a defined recovery area. high probability of long-term persistence wolf populations. As a progressive state, because such a population would contain The USFWS has recently ruled that the Washington must rise above political con- enough individuals in successfully repro- Idaho and Montana wolf populations are siderations and develop a wolf conserva- ducing packs distributed over distinct but fully recovered. Wolves in these two states tion plan that that really achieves the letter somewhat connected large areas to be have been delisted and are no longer pro- and spirit of endangered species laws. tected at the federal level. This delisting viable for the long-term. A population at decision is being challenged by the De- Continued on page 7

6  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Washington State Wolves So, What Do We Do Now? Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. Everyone who is concerned about wolf continued from page 6 At present, the number of wolves neces- sary for ensuring the recovery of Washing- recovery in Washington State should speak or above this size would contain at least ton State’s population is almost impos- up during this comment period. Gray 30 successfully reproducing packs and sible to determine. Our best guestimate is wolves need your help NOW! ample individuals to ensure long-term somewhere around 50 breeding pairs, but You can comment to WDFW via postal population viability. In addition, the meta- that is highly uncertain. Washington must mail (600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA population configuration and distribution wait until scientific consensus is achieved 98501-1091) or the WDFW website (http:// throughout secure suitable habitat would at the national level before even consider- wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/ ensure that each core recovery area would ing conservation goals for wolf recovery at index.htm). Even better, you can attend include a recovered population distrib- the state level. one of the public hearings (see below) that uted over a large enough area to provide However, developing consensus guide- WDFW is coordinating around the state. resilience to natural or human-caused lines at the federal level for determining The wolf conservation community in events that may temporarily affect one minimum viable wolf populations is only Washington State has developed com- core recovery area.” the first step. Substantial state-specific ments on the wolf plan that should be This conclusion is not accepted by many information on wolves will be needed to communicated to WDFW. These include wolf biologists. Research has shown that a apply these guidelines effectively. Infor- the following. Please also add your own minimum viable wolf population is much mation is lacking for Washington on wolf personal comments. larger than the 30 breeding pairs already pack sizes and predator-prey relationships. • Support a focused, rigorous, and trans- adopted for the Northern Rocky Mountain Rates of dispersal and estimates of connec- parent scientific review of the conserva- wolf recovery area. It is certainly larger tivity between Washington and adjoining tion goals included in the Wolf Conser- than the “15 breeding pairs” conservation states/provinces are currently unknown. vation and Management Plan. goal being contemplated for Washington This information will be essential to deter- • Reject arbitrary goals (e.g., 15 breeding State. Rules of thumb developed from re- mine whether wolves in Washington are pairs) in favor of scientifically based search studies indicate a genetically effec- part of a sub-population or must survive goals that account for factors such as tive population size of 50 breeding pairs as a stand-alone meta-population. Connec- illegal poaching, genetic isolation, (or about 500 individual wolves) prevents tivity between fragmented wolf habitats disease, and other potential mortality unacceptable inbreeding and short-term within Washington State is even more events. loss of viability. A population size of 500 poorly understood. Only limited informa- • Ensure that delisting is not considered breeding pairs (or about 5,000 individual tion is available for determining wolf car- until genetic diversity, genetic connec- wolves) ensures overall long-term genetic rying capacities in geographic areas of the tivity, and genetically viable population variability. Dr. David Reed at the University state (e.g., North Cascades). goals have been met for at least five of Mississippi has estimated a minimum Additional research is needed to estab- years. viable population for wolves as 6,332 lish scientifically based conservation goals • Implement the moving or translocation individuals. for Washington State wolves. Instead of of wolves to appropriate wilderness Even if one accepts the 30 breeding pair prematurely setting conservation goals habitat within the state. conservation goal for the North Rocky based on misguided federal precedent Mountain wolf population, successful or local political considerations (i.e., the • Emphasize non-lethal techniques for recovery requires continued genetically rancher-dominated stakeholder process management, such as the use of guard effective dispersal among the relatively being used to develop the Washington animals and predator deterrent fencing. isolated wolf populations within the wolf plan), WDFW should work with • Invest in programs that educate Wash- Northern Rocky Mountain states (i.e., research institutions to collect information ington citizens about wolf ecology, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) and across on wolf biology, habitat connectivity, and including the fact that they are native to the border into Canada. Recent studies carrying capacity that is relevant to Wash- our great state and play a beneficial role have shown that such dispersal is difficult ington State wolves. overall in our ecosystem. to achieve until high local wolf popula- Anything less is a travesty. We can do Wolf conservation in Washington State tion levels saturate existing habitats (even better in Washington. higher population levels than currently will not be fully resolved during this one seen in Idaho and at the Yellowstone What Can You Do short comment period. If you would like National Park) and prompt wolves to dis- to Make It Happen? to continue your support for wolf recovery perse over long distances to find adequate in Washington, please send your name and WDFW is conducting a 90-day public re- email address for inclusion in our wildlife prey and new habitat in other areas. Natu- view process starting September 29th that ral connectivity between the Yellowstone action network (jimdavis@northcascades. will allow concerned citizens to comment org). and other wolf populations is not even on the current draft of the Washington expected by biologists. Under the current plan for Northern Rocky Mountain wolves, dispersal will be “facilitated” through cap- WDFW public hearings, all from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. turing and moving wolves. Oct. 20 Clarkston - Walla Walla Community College Lecture Hall (1470 Bridge St.) The bottom line: there is significant Oct. 21 richland - Pacific NW National Laboratory Auditorium (904 Battelle Blvd.) disagreement at the federal level (as well Oct. 22 Yakima - Red Lion Hotel, Yakima Center (607 E. Yakima Ave.) as the state level) on how to apply existing Oct. 26 Colville - N.E. WA Fairgrounds Ag-Trade Center (317 West Astor Ave.) scientific knowledge to wolf conservation. Oct. 27 Spokane - Spokane Valley Center Place (4246 N. Discovery Place) Further, there are major gaps in this scien- Oct. 28 Vancouver - Water Resources Education Center (4600 SE Columbia Way) tific knowledge (especially at the Washing- Oct. 29 aberdeen - Rotary Log Pavilion (E. of Aberdeen at 1401 Sargent Blvd.) ton State level) that must be filled before a Nov. 2 Seattle - REI Seattle Flagship Store (222 Yale Ave. N.) viable state wolf conservation plan can be Nov. 4 Mt. Vernon - Cottontree Inn Convention Center (2300 Market St.) developed in Washington. Nov. 5 Sequim - Guy Cole Convention Center, Carrie Blake Park (212 Blake Ave.) Nov. 9 omak - Okanogan County Fairgrounds Agriplex (Hwy. 97 South) Nov. 10 Wenatchee - Chelan County PUD Auditorium (327 N. Wenatchee Ave.)

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  7 Feds Review Mountain-dwelling Pika for Threatened-species List

Seattle Times - August 21, 2009 of unconnected habitat flung across nine region,” Millar said. By Lynda V. Mapes, Seattle Times staff of the western United States, including In the advocates’ claim for listing, reporter Washington and Oregon. Andrew Smith of Arizona State University EASY PASS, North Cascades National The pikas’ signature call is a one-note sees a case of going overboard, and ex- Park — Pikas don’t ask much.With brave squeak, blurted out to sound an alert, or tending implications from limited studies. squeaks, belted out from atop their rock defend their territory. Sweet-faced, with In his own work in Bodie, Calif., begun piles, they defend their realm in the talus round ears and egg-shaped, furry bodies, in 1969, Smith said he found pika capable slopes way up here in the mountains, pikas have cute down cold. of adapting to temperature swings by more than a mile in the sky, far from any- Adapting to a warming world could be haying at night, instead of during the day, one, anywhere. a challenge for the pika, however. Erik if it is too warm. He also has found the Yet even in their remote realm, the animals at low elevations, where they were small, furry pika, a close relative of the not documented previously, complicating rabbit, may be affected by humans. the theory that pikas are being chased Some wildlife advocates warn that Could the call of the relentlessly upslope. pikas, with their preference for the cool, pika, that signature “We really think pikas are at risk, and we should learn more about them, and lofty high country, are at risk of extinction sound of the wild throughout the West by the end of the cen- be monitoring them at lower elevations,” tury as the climate warms. They have sued high country, be Smith said. “They should tell us an incred- the feds to determine whether the animal silenced by global ible amount about climate change. But should be listed for protection under the they are not endangered.” Endangered Species Act. warming? The feds Jason Bruggeman of Beartooth Wildlife But others say losses of some local are studying whether Research in Farmington, Minn., is the populations don’t spell extinction risk for pikas should be list- researcher leading the study of pika popu- lations at North Cascades National Park. an animal still abundant in many places. ed as a threatened A decision is due from the U.S. Fish and So far this summer, he’s investigated pika Wildlife Service by February. species. populations in 17 areas and found pika in 14 of them. “They definitely are widely Meanwhile, in a separate effort, sci- distributed,” Bruggeman said. His survey entists are studying pika populations work will continue into September. at North Cascades National Park, in a The population survey is intended to first-ever, one-year pilot study funded by Beever of the U.S. Geological Survey has help the park build an ongoing inventory Seattle City Light, which tracks habitat in found seven of 25 populations of pika of the park’s vital signs, including a review the North Cascades, where it operates hy- reported earlier in the 20th century in the of the status of land birds, subalpine veg- droelectric dams. The study is intended to Great Basin appear to be lost. He thinks etation, mountain lake ecology, amphibian build a baseline of data about where pika climate is the primary driver. populations, and more. are presently found. Shaye Wolf of the Center for Biological Jenkins, the park superintendent, says “Climate change is the biggest issue fac- Diversity, headquartered in San Francisco, pika matter. “They are the icon of the wild ing our national parks,” said Chip Jenkins, which sued to force the feds to consider high country. park superintendent. “Scientists have de- listing, links population losses with cli- termined that our climate is changing, and mate change, and fears more to come. “It’s pretty cool that any kid could come up to the Cascades now and go to Easy it is changing rapidly. What we are doing is “The loss of pika really shows that Pass, or , and they will hear looking for key indicators, key species that climate is impacting wildlife in our own that screech, and see that animal, just as are likely to be the ones that show the first backyard,” Wolf said. “It’s happening right people have for the last 100 years. What response to climate change.” now; it is not a distance problem for our if we lost that? What happens if my kids’ To many scientists, pikas are a perfect grandchildren to worry about.” kids don’t get to hear or see that? We lose study candidate because they are sensi- But other scientists caution that while tive to temperature. They can be killed something important, we lose a symbol of pika are an excellent indicator species the park, of the wild Cascades.” by temperatures higher than 78 degrees to study, localized losses don’t mean the Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or Fahrenheit, and prefer the rugged, rocky animals are doomed. [email protected] habitat found typically, but not exclusively, “It is not a question of them running off at higher elevations. the tops of summits until there is no more http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo- Ochotona princeps spend their sum- space,” said Connie Millar, a senior re- calnews/2009702923_pika21m.html mers gathering and stowing vegetation search scientist for the U.S. Forest Service, in great haypiles in their homes in the based in Albany, Calif. Pika have turned crevices between rocks. There are 36 up in abundance in her own surveys in the recognized American pika subspecies in East Sierra, south of Lake Tahoe. “I don’t , 31 of which live in islands see any evidence of their decline in this

8  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Hiker Helps Turn Dumping Ground into Scenic Gem

Seattle Times - Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 Mark Boyar up on the By Lynda V. Mapes,Seattle Times staff Garfield Ledges above the reporter Middle Fork of the Sno- qualmie River, Wash. For Seattle resident Mark Boyar, —Th o m a s O’Keefe polishing the Middle Fork of the wild ones and turn the Middle the Snoqualmie River to a Fork around,” Boyar said. recreational jewel has been a After two summers spent putting up the Middle Fork bridge over labor of love. the river, “we realized we needed As the river swirls around the rock to take the whole valley back,” he where he is perched, Mark Boyar looks said. “We needed a much-broader effort.” perfectly at home. sure hooligans didn’t steal or burn them. After more than two decades working McGuire fondly remembers the fellowship Working with the Mountains to Sound to polish this recreational jewel, for Boyar through the long, rainy days and nights Greenway, Boyar and others put together the valley along the Middle Fork of the of the stakeout — and the dedication he a management plan for the area, includ- Snoqualmie River has become his second grew to know in Boyar. ing restrooms, a new campground and an improved access road. home, even a member of his family. “He has kept his focus,” McGuire said. “It really is my oldest child,” he said. “Some people start to work in one place, The feds, the state Department of Natural Resources and King County all got Some 22,000 acres of this lowland river then work in another. He has not spread involved, aided by a wide range of players, valley, with the Pratt and the Middle Fork himself too thin or burned out — he has from local timber companies to backcoun- of the Snoqualmie rivers running through, specialized on the Middle Fork. It is in his try horsemen, mountain bikers, whitewa- are proposed for permanent protection DNA. ter rafters, hikers, native-plant aficionados, by Congress. The forest would be added “A lot of people have been involved, even the local rifle club. to the existing Alpine Lakes Wilderness some more than others, but he has been Area, created in 1976, and the two rivers the glue that has kept it all together, the Today the Mid Fork is the land of the would gain protection from dams or other sun around which everyone has revolved.” station wagon, of little kids fishing with their families along the river. development under the Wild and Scenic Boyar, 52, a Stanford grad in political Rivers Act. science and former product manager for It’s a place Boyar enjoys as much as And if there’s any one person who has 24 years with a medical-software company, anyone, with two kids of his own, ages 7 helped get the valley the national attention figures he has probably put 10 to 20 vol- and 12. many believe it deserves, it’s Boyar, the unteer hours a week into the Middle Fork “There aren’t many places where you Man of the Middle Fork. since 1991. can bike with the kids and do day hikes off “I would call him the godfather. He has “It’s a place where I thought I could the side roads,” said Boyar, who is spend- always been the one who has carried the make a difference,” said Boyar, 52. “It was ing his family’s summer vacation doing ball. The Middle Fork never would have small enough I could get to know it and exactly that. He also enjoys bushwhacks gotten to the place where it is without work hard at it. The more I came here, the way off the trails with his buddies, often him,” said Wade Holden of Friends of the more I learned, and after all those years by the light of the moon. Trail, a nonprofit cleanup business based it’s very personal.” He savors the pleasures of knowing one near North Bend. Holden spent years haul- He said his love affair with the Middle place well: learning when the native bleed- ing trash out of the Middle Fork Valley, a Fork developed gradually. He started out ing hearts are in bloom; when the salmon legacy of decades of illegal dumping. hiking in the Olympics and North Cas- berries are fat; where the hummingbirds “It is such a gorgeous area, and it had cades but wanted to try someplace closer are abuzz and the cottonwood buds have been just hammered for so many years; to his home in Seattle, and the Middle just broken, perfuming the air in spring. you wouldn’t believe the knot-headed Fork Valley is only about an hour from “It’s so gentle,” he said of this lowland for- activity that went on up there,” Holden downtown. est. “And so quiet.” said. Dead washing machines riddled with “I heard about this valley,” Boyer said “Every time I turn a corner, I am bullet holes, junked cars, trash by the ton, “It was pretty clear, though, the place stunned all over again; there is nothing illegal shooting, a meth lab — portions of was a bit of a mess. It was a forest valley else like it,” Boyar said on a recent morn- the Mid Fork Valley have seen it all. next to an urban valley, and the wild ones ing as he walked along the Middle Fork. Rick McGuire of the Alpine Lakes Pro- had moved in. Yet it could have been a Wilderness designation, he said, would tection Society, a nonprofit conservation national park if it was anywhere else in the be a capstone for the more than 20 years group, met Boyar in the 1990s when the country.” of effort to protect and preserve this val- two were taking turns with other vol- The first step in the rehab effort in- ley. “It’s stewardship, for the long term,” unteers camping out for about a month volved closing off the stub-end roads to Boyar said. “And it’s recognition, too, of by pieces of a wooden bridge to be built the river to shut down illegal dumping. the national significance of this treasure.” across the Middle Fork. Then came the cleanup of trash, and a me- Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or Before construction got under way, they thodical transformation of the place, acre [email protected]; http://se- had to keep watch on the pieces to make by acre. “The idea was, you would get the attletimes.nwsource.com/html/local- lawful use going, and that would drive out news/2009809936_midfork05m.html

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  9 Good News, and a Wonderful Day on the Middle Fork

ood news has come to the Middle real estate,” and conservationists have spot along the river bars opposite from Fork Snoqualmie valley in the long sought to add it to the Alpine Lakes the Pratt valley. This spur road, along Gform of legislation, introduced in Wilderness. with all others in the Middle Fork valley, both houses of Congress by Senator Patty But the good news on the Middle Fork was closed off by the Forest Service and Murray and Eighth District Republican isn’t limited to federal lands. Much of Washington State Department of Natural Congressman Dave Reichert, to add the the lower valley downstream from just Resources after intense public pressure. low-elevation Pratt River valley and nearby below the Pratt is state land managed Once rutted, muddy and garbage strewn, areas to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. by the Washington State Department of several years without vehicles have trans- Although the effort would, if success- Natural Resources. Having just completed formed it into a pleasant walk. A two- or ful, add only 22,000 acres to the current the transfer of almost all its lands on the three-minute stroll through alder and cot- 383,000 acres of the Alpine Lakes Wilder- northwest side of the Middle Fork into the tonwood brings one out on to the expan- ness, the old real estate adage of “location, NRCA (Natural Resource Con- sive bars along the Middle Fork. Places like location, location” very much applies here. servation Area,) the DNR is now moving to this that once saw drunken shooting par- Low-elevation lands are free for transfer most of the lands on the southeast ties on a regular basis are now attractive much of the year, support more species side of the Middle Fork into a new Middle walk-in destinations. This particular river and are more biologically pro- bar once boasted an impromptu chop ductive than higher elevations. shop operated by Russian car thieves. It’s precisely because they are With Russian Butte looming above, so valuable as timberland that one wonders if they knew its name, they were excluded from most and if so, whether they appreciated existing protected areas, includ- the irony. We’ll never know. But we do ing the Alpine Lakes Wilder- know beyond any doubt that closing ness. Indeed, the Alpine Lakes spur roads like the one we walked Wilderness has sometimes been down that day and cutting off vehicu- referred to as a “starfish,” or “oc- lar access to places like the Pratt bar topus,” with protection extend- has done more than anything else to ing out along high ridges and transform the once lawless Middle the intervening valleys excluded. Fork valley. The Pratt valley is perhaps the Once out on the river bar, it was prime example of this. time for us to wade the Middle Fork, Most of the lands in the Mur- not a difficult proposition from mid- ray/Reichert bills are below 3000 summer until the autumn rains come. feet, with some of the acreage in Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Dave Reichert But even at low water it’s still a river the lower Pratt valley and nearby announce introduction of legislation to enlarge the Alpine where it pays to seek out the broad- areas in the Middle Fork valley Lakes Wilderness and designesate the Middle Fork Sno- est sections, and even there it can reaching down to less than 900 qualmie as a Wild aand Scenic River, Ap[ril 2008. be deeper than it looks. Few people —p h o t o To m O’Keefe feet in elevation. The centerpiece make the effort, and almost all of is of course the Pratt River valley. those are interested in fishing more Partially RR logged in the 1930s, the Pratt than hiking, making the far side of the has extensive mature, naturally regener- Fork Snoqualmie NRCA. If successful, this Middle Fork delightfully deserted. Even ated second-growth forest, well on its way will, combined with wilderness for the though it is not far from the road across to becoming old growth. It also has plenty Pratt, establish a large area of protected the river, it feels as though you wouldn’t of true old-growth forest, and a high con- lowlands and cap twenty years of conser- see another person from one year to the centration of wildlife in its lower reaches vation work in the Middle Fork valley. next. during winter and spring months. Parts The lower Pratt valley and the DNR Across the Middle Fork a short walk of the lower valley are so heavily browsed lands along the Middle Fork downstream down the river bar brought us to the by elk that the forests are open and brush from the Pratt are nothing short of marvel- much smaller Pratt. Crossing it, we both free, reminiscent of what one sees in west- ous. Averaging 800 or so feet in eleva- commented on how the Pratt smelled side Olympic rainforest valleys. tion, they are about as close to primeval noticeably different from the Middle Fork. Essentially all of the valleys which have lowlands as anything that can be found Just how different it would be difficult to so far been preserved in the Cascades are near Seattle, or anywhere in the Cascades explain, but perhaps fish have the special- either far back into the snowy, mountain- for that matter. Recently longtime Middle ized vocabulary to describe such things. It ous interior of the range, or narrow and Fork advocate Mark Boyar and I spent a seemed surprising that we should notice canyon-like, or both. The Pratt is neither. It day checking out part of this wild stretch such subtleties so soon after getting out of is a big, broad valley, and its location at the of nearby country. a car. very western edge of the Cascades gives it We began by walking down what was South of the Pratt, we climbed a low a true lowland climate. It really is “prime once a side road from the Middle Fork bank and entered a forest of tall ever- road leading to a former drive-in party greens covering its extensive delta. The

10  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 back toward where we started. We skirted yet another large area of what looked to be very impressive floodplain forest Backwater slough in growing between the river and the Middle the Middle Fork Sno- Fork road, saving the exploration of it for qualmie valley. another day. As we walked up river bars —p h o t o back toward the Pratt, Mark noticed some old worn-down pilings barely project- Kevin Ge r agh t y ing above the riverbed. Then we spotted two other clusters. So here it was, the site of the RR trestle that led to the Pratt. Lucky for us that in less than eighty years almost all of the logging evidence has been erased, and something approaching cathedral forest has been able to regroup even in the once heavily logged areas. barely discernable route of the logging of them. The Middle Fork is the only place The changes, mostly positive, we have railroad, which once accessed the Pratt, of its kind now left anywhere near Seattle. seen over several decades in the Middle Fork gave us something to ponder as we was the only sign of humankind. When It felt like we could continue wandering returned to the car. this area was logged during the Depres- for miles through these lovely forests, but sion years only the very best trees were eventually the lowering sun prompted us It’s not an overstatement to say that the valuable enough to justify the labor of cut- to wade back across the river and head combination of wilderness for the na- ting and hauling them out. Only Douglas tional forest lands in and near the Pratt, fir and the occasional cedar were seen as and NRCA for the state lands downstream worth the effort. Hemlock, spruce, maple along the Middle Fork and many old cedars were left uncut. The will, if successful, result today is a splendid old forest that protect a stretch of wild goes on for miles. While not technically lowlands unrivalled in “old growth,” it is certainly impressive. the Cascades. As DNR’s The high level of elk browsing keeps it Doug McClelland has relatively open, a joy to wander through. put it: “many years We moved down-valley, and spores from ago, Harvey Manning countless sword ferns covered us in red- thought up the idea of dish brown powder as we walked beneath ‘Wilderness on the Met- the spreading, moss-covered limbs of huge ro’ for Tiger Mountain. bigleaf maples. Tiger today is a wonder- A number of old river channels and ful recreational forest, beaver-dammed wetlands added to the va- but it ain’t wilderness. riety. A nest of noisy ospreys topped a tall But on the Middle Fork spruce along one old slough. Everywhere we’ll have the real deal, there was wildlife sign. Some floodplain the real Wilderness on areas with big old cottonwoods had been the Metro.” Let’s hope it fertilized with two or three inches of silt turns out that way. during the last flood. Areas of clay soils —Rick McGuire showed evidence of recent movement, top- pling trees and opening up the canopy to allow growth of forage plants. There were also areas where soil movement down gullies left fresh deposits colonized by grasses and forbs, providing yet more food for wildlife. It was good to see occasional hazelnut, crabapple and bitter cherry trees, lowland species not found in the mountains. The far, trailless side of the Middle Fork is remarkable for being that rarest of places, a truly wild lowland. There will always be plenty of wild mountains, but there are very few places like this reach of the Middle Fork. Other places in eastern King and Snohomish counties rivaled it Looking up Middle Fork Snoqualmie valley from lower Quartz Mountain, until relatively recent times, but “second Garfield Mountain on left. wave” logging has now swept through all —p h o t o Kevin Ge r agh t y

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  11 North Cascades Glacier Climate Project 2009 Tom Hammond

The team: This season, it started to rain. Thun- the team was a family affair, der echoed far and near, with Director Mauri Pelto and then nearer. The sky (Nichols College, Mass.), darkened and the show his son Ben (Alfred Univer- began! Lightning flashed sity, N.Y.), daughter Jill (high with greater frequency — school), and hired field it was all cloud-to-cloud, assistant Shannon Skinner with the cloud bases (Evergreen College, Wash.). about 2,000 feet above the peaks. Lightning stayed Columbia Glacier: up in the clouds, turning July 27-July 30. the towering clouds in It started off nice enough, to huge flickering lamps. with a new sign denot- Lightning would arc out ing entrance into Wild Sky from the base of a cloud Wilderness, but that’s where and race across the sky to the nice ended, at least for meet another bolt — then this day. Record heat induced these two bolts would turn a slow pace and a desire to in to four, or six more, and rest/hydrate. But as soon as branch across the cloud we stopped, we were covered bottoms, chasing each in black flies. Blanca Lake: It is very unusual to see reflections in this huge lake, other around the sky. as it is rarely wind-free. From left to right, you see We arrived at Blanca Lake Now for the science — to discover it had no ice or (two big towers), Wilmans Peak(s), the Columbia Glacier below that’s why we do this, after snow at all — remember that Monte Cristo Pass, , and (three towers all: last year, Blanca Lake was on right). — p h o t o To m Ha m m o n d The Columbia Glacier virtually frozen over. has a mass-balance of mi- We would spend the next was chilly. Melt waters on the glacier nus .6 meters. Even with a three days living on the glacier and by the were remarkable. By afternoon each day huge winter snowpack (1.5+ meters at Big lake, surrounded by glory of the North we were there, super-glacial trickles had Four picnic area all winter), and a healthy Cascades. turned in to full-blown creeks, carving avalanche cycle, the Columbia will lose This past winter, it was a great year and cutting the glacier with runnels more nearly two feet of ice! This provides a key for snow at all elevations, but especially than a meter deep! Small streams are com- lesson in glacier science: summer melting at low elevations. It was also a great year mon on the Columbia, but these were fast is a more critical component to mass bal- for big avalanches, and this was evident rushing torrents. The main outlet stream ance than a good winter. throughout our visit to Columbia. Indeed, of the glacier steps out of the upper cirque I missed the Mount Baker and Shuksan the avalanche cycle provided some amaz- of high peaks in a series of spectacular Glaciers (July 31-August 6). ing snowcave formation, as well as a nice cascades — North Cascades one might Easton Glacier has a mass-balance of covering of snow on the terminus of the say — roaring with an intensity that shakes minus .9 meters. the air and quickens the pulse as the water Columbia. The new lakes are there, but The northern sector of the North Cas- races to Blanca Lake. they were easily walked due to snow. That cades had about 75 percent of the historic said, the avalanche could not hide With the heat, there came convection mean snowfall, so starting with a deficit, the obvious — the Columbia is disappear- in the atmosphere, and despite forecasts and then throwing in a hot, dry summer ing, and this year would see significant that indicated a diminishing threat of means big losses for the usually snowy negative mass-balance. thunderstorms on Tuesday, we watched a Baker area. massive cell about 15 miles south of us. It The reason for the negative mass-bal- Sholes Glacier has a mass-balance of made for a great light show after dark, but ance is that we’ve had the driest May- minus 1.75 meters. August on record. Record heat didn’t help didn’t come close enough to threaten us. Mauri reports that the entire glacier things... Wednesday was a different story. A tower- was exposed blue ice — hardly any snow Cities throughout the ing cumulonimbus cloud erupted from behind Monte Cristo Peak, and another covered the Sholes. The team counted region set record official temps, not for the 119 mountain goats in three main groups day, but in history — since records have shot up closely west of us from behind the south ridge of Columbia Peak. They around the Sholes, their favorite sum- been kept (1891) with Seattle at 103°F and mertime location. This is by far the largest Arlington at 107°F. went from puffy little clouds at 4:30 p.m. to rumbling, thunderstorms by 5:30. We numbers in the past decade or more. On a While the heat was scorching the low- quickly moved off the terminus of the very disturbing note, the team witnessed lands, we were throwing on jackets at mid- glacier to the relative safety of camp just as glacier, as the breeze coming down-glacier Continued on page 13

12  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Glacier Climate Project, continued from page 12 multiple incursions of aircraft (two fixed is melting at the top as fast or faster than made it to the Lynch Glacier. The clouds wing, one helicopter) into wilderness, at the bottom, mainly because avalanche streaming to the crest from the wet west apparently to count the goats. The aircraft snows scrub off snow at the top, and col- side engulfed us, limiting visibility and pic- caused great distress to the herds of goats, lect at the bottom. tures. Drat. Still, data gathering continued, causing them to scattered. The Daniels Glacier and Lynch Glacier and we descended to the terminus for a bit Rainbow Glacier has a mass-balance of are done as a combination, and are much of lunch. During lunch, we were fortunate minus 1.15 meters. larger — displaying some “big mountain” enough to have the clouds lift just enough Lower Curtis Glacier has a mass-balance features such as bergschrunds and deep, to see around us, and gaze at amazing of minus 1.23 meters. wide crevasses. I should note that the Dan- Pea Soup Lake. The Lynch Glacier ends well short of the lake. In the mid 1970s, These are huge losses, and from what is iels and Lynch make for one of longest, the glacier covered this .5 square km lake, historically the snowiest place in the state. hardest days of the entire field season. We worked for 10½ hours on Sunday — the and as recently as the mid 1980s, Mauri August 7 Daniels is very steep, up to 37 degrees, walked across the lake on glacier ice, then hopping to ice chunks and snow. After Big Four and the Lynch is reached by crossing the Daniels. To reach the Daniels requires a lunch, we ascended the Lynch Glacier in While not a full-blown glacier, the long traverse around the northeast arm of its entirety, taking precise snow-depth/ avalanche fan/snow caves at Big Four offer Mount Daniel — a very unpleasant combi- mass-balance measurements, ending up at a nice insight in to avalanche cycles, and nation of steep gullies, loose unstable rock the summit ‘scrund. Simply spectacular. low-elevation accumulation. No mass-bal- and gravel, and snowfields. We spent just a few minutes at the summit ance data, but I will return in October to before descending the Daniels Glacier, find out how much snow has melted off. The Daniels Glacier marks the head- waters of the Cle Elum River, literally enjoying some great boot skiing/glissad- August 8-10 the source of summer water for farms, ing, and taking the final measurements communities, animals and folks. The right and data gathering of the 2009 season. Mount Daniel (Ice Worm, Daniels, Lynch All three glaciers on Mount Daniel show glaciers) side of the glacier also marks the divide — just over the craggy ridge cradling the minus .5 to minus 1.25 meters range for The Mount Daniel area had about 100 west side of the glacier is the Lynch Gla- mass-balance. percent of “normal” historic snowfall, so cier, which marks the headwaters of the Thus completes the 26th field season we hoped this might translate in to better Skykomish River. Many more farms and for the North Cascades Glacier Climate numbers than those on the northern sec- communities and animals depend on the Project. tor. Lynch, the second largest glacier (behind Please see the official website at: The Ice Worm (aka Hyas Creek) Glacier the Columbia) feeding the Skykomish http://www.nichols.edu/departments/Gla- is pretty much gone — the new lakes at system. cier/ the terminus were covered with snow, After an exciting ascent of the Daniels but the entire upper glacier is snow-free (complete with crossing very threaten- blue ice that featured many small run- ing avalanche debris fields/boulders), we ning streams. As Mauri notes, this glacier

Pea Soup Lake sits below the Lynch Glacier. Prior to the mid-1970s when the glacier covered the lake, it was a true “pass lake”, with waters flowing both east to the Cle Elum River, and west to the Skykomish River. — p h o t o To m Ha m m o n d

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  13 Reiter Forest: DNR’s ORV Problems

August 27, 2009 RE: DNR Reiter Forest Dear Commissioner Goldmark, Thanks to you and your staff for tak- ing the time to tour DNR’s Reiter Forest with us on Friday, August 21, to view the resource damage caused by off-road ve- hicles (ORVs). We appreciate that you have been working hard on many challenging matters since you became commissioner earlier this year. At the boundary of the recently closed area east of Deer Creek, we observed evidence of recent entry into the closed area. At our hike’s turnaround point, we were about a hundred yards shy of an “oxbow” further up the user-created 4x4 “tube buggy” route that we were fol- lowing. Attached is a photo I shot at the “oxbow” in February, and there are many other photos like it. They illustrate several points, including Mike Town’s descrip- tion of that 4x4 route and its tree damage as relatively new (as shown by the color of the bare wood of tree trunks where the bark has been stripped off by passing 4x4s). In response to Mike’s comment, DNR’s David Way disagreed and said this user-created 4x4 route was older and had even been “inventoried” in the past (i.e., inventoried by DNR staff), which raises ad- ditional questions about DNR’s awareness of such damage and “management” of it. Those who advocate for continued ORV use of this area have been in denial about the magnitude of the damage. Until recently, DNR public communica- tions about Reiter conspicuously failed to acknowledge the damage. Even this month, DNR local staff initially refused our requests to include Deer Creek on your tour. During the tour, one of the ORV reps told the group that a damaged tree trunk had been “nicked” by a 4x4. On the contrary, the 4x4 routes created by “tube buggies” in Reiter Forest commonly have many trees on which several square feet of bark have been stripped off of the lower trunk of each tree by the tires and chassis of “tube buggies” squeezing between the trees. Hundreds of trees, possibly thou- sands, have been killed by “tube buggies” at Reiter. This is no way for a state agency to grow trees on public trust lands. During our tour, the ORV reps at- Reiter user-created 4x4 route. —Karl Fo r s g a a r d p h o t o tempted to attribute the ORV-caused damage to the lack of management and/ or enforcement, erroneously implying

14  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Commissioner Goldmark (center) talk- ing with ORVers from Oregon at Reiter. —Karl Fo r s g a a r d p h o t o

that such damage would not occur if DNR The environmental community is upset could raise the funds to offset the timber had a greater presence on the ground for that during the Reiter SEPA advisory com- value lost to the trust, either from private management and enforcement. We agree mittee process there was only minimal donations (using the Loomis Forest cam- that a greater degree of management and discussion of the resource damage done by paign model) or legislative action. Some of enforcement is needed at Reiter, but it does the motorized community, and that over this money could even be used to acquire not follow that serious negative impacts will the last 5 years DNR staff did not write any the private land that creates the bottleneck cease if the same types and amount of mo- enforcement tickets for environmental dam- at Reiter – thus potentially adding to the torized use continues. Although increased age caused at Reiter by motorized users. motorized and/or mountain bike acreage at DNR presence can reduce the frequency of The environmental community has made Reiter. It is possible that the motorized and some violations (such as trespass into closed a great effort to follow the Reiter SEPA advi- non-motorized communities could even areas), no amount of “management” is going sory committee process, without publishing work together to achieve this land transfer, to keep trees from being killed when “tube our concerns to the media. We have gath- since both sides would achieve some benefit buggies” keep trying to squeeze between ered support from most of the public lands to their members. It could even be a model trees to go cross-country through a fir-hem- community for the idea of some continua- for solving other use conflict issues in the lock forest. tion of motorized use at Reiter, if a reason- state, and should achieve some bipartisan There are some types of use that should able management plan can be achieved. support. We hope that DNR is willing to not be allowed on public lands. If there is We have also continually tried to work with conduct a feasibility study for protecting user demand for such extreme “use,” let the the motorized community to devise a joint Wild Wallace, and not enter this area with private sector address it on private lands, strategy to raise money to address environ- potential timber sales until this idea is fully as they do with recreational bulldozing (an mental restoration. Our outreach has been investigated. actual “sport”) and other “extreme” sports. constantly ignored throughout the Reiter We look forward to working with you and The public trust rights of all citizens are process. your staff to prepare a reasonable manage- violated when a small minority is allowed Protecting the Wild Wallace area in Reiter ment plan for the Reiter Forest. On behalf to abuse and irreparably damage public Forest could solve some of these problems. of the state’s non-motorized majority of resources, especially when there is no re- The Wild Wallace area lies between May outdoor recreationists and conservation- deeming social value being served. What we Creek and the Wallace River, and it con- ists, thanks again for your attention to these observed at Reiter was rampant vandalism. nects Wallace Falls State Park to the Wild matters. The management plan for Reiter needs to Sky Wilderness. Protecting this area would include a detailed enforcement plan to en- preserve significant riparian areas and —Karl Forsgaard sure that the ORV-caused damage will stop, wildlife corridors – it has high conservation as well as a plan for repair and restoration value, worthy of NRCA status. We believe of damaged areas. If certain types of ORV protecting this area as an NRCA or as an ad- use (such as “tube buggies”) are temporarily dition to Wallace Falls State Park could ad- banned for a probationary period, we sug- dress some of the concerns of the environ- gest it be long enough (perhaps five years) mental community if a different section of for the success or failure of restoration Reiter were to be designated as an ORV area efforts to be determined before the most (as is currently proposed). Furthermore, we damaging uses are allowed back in, if at all. believe that the environmental community

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  15 Teanaway Forestlands at Risk

In addition, there are many economic and conducting this new process for the Tean- In August, Kittitas County launched a practical constraints on development of away. Because the county is understaffed, it planning process for 55,000 acres of pri- this land, such as the limited water supply, hired a consulting land-use planner to run vately owned forestlands of the Teanaway limited public facilities and services, limited the process (at AFLC expense). River valley. Under the Growth Manage- access, and oversupply of vacant housing in ment Act (GMA), Kittitas County’s Comp The county’s process timeline includes the surrounding area. Plan has designated this area as forestland several rounds of public meetings and of long-term significance. The principal These private forestlands are south of hearings for the DEIS, EIS, Comp Plan owner seeks to change that designation, so the national forest, familiar to those who amendments and development regula- that the land could be converted to uses have driven up the North, Middle or West tions, expected to go through the end of other than forestry. Forks of the Teanaway. At 55,000 acres, this 2010. Public comment can be submitted to area is many times larger than any prior the county through its website, which has Conservation organizations are opposing forestland de-designation proposals under several pages devoted to this Upper Tean- the proposed de-designation, because the the GMA, anywhere in the state. American away Subarea Plan process at: http://www. area can continue to be managed for com- Forest Land Company (formerly known as co.kittitas.wa.us/cds/teanaway.asp mercial forestry, and conversion to other U.S. Timberlands) owns 46,000 of the acres, uses would adversely affect the environ- and AFLC is paying the county’s costs of ment including fish and wildlife habitat.

The Irate Birdwatcher (Harvey Manning) walks the mountains once again in the film by Robert and Kathy Chrestensen. The Irate Birdwatcher Premiere showing by 7 p.m., November 4 Mountaineers Building 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle The Irate Birdwatcher, whom long-time readers of The Wild Cascades will recognize as the nom-de-plume of Harvey Manning, wrote much about his love for the Cascades. From his first hike to Marmot Pass as a thirteen-year-old, through his years as a climber and hiker, his writings evoke his deep affinity for wilderness — the hills, larches, bears, meadows, flying spiders, beaches, even rain (“rain is only water and skin is waterproof”), and he delights us. His contempt for rampant development added a more trenchant and often witty, note to his vivid prose. The film is a beautiful testament to the man and his lifework. It reveals his great wit and charm, his thoughts and experiences over the years, his deep love for the wild and, his hopes and dreams for the future. Plus there’s a bit of him on his usual soapbox. It’s quintessential Harvey.

The Irate Birdwatcher will soon be available; for more information check: http://www.crestpictures.com/irate_birdwatcher/ Watch the film’s 3-minute trailer at: http://www.crestpictures.com/

16  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Harvey Manning Statue Dedication

n a sunny Sunday afternoon the Mountains to Sound Greenway. Cascades a much better place than he in Issaquah on September 20, Harvey was also the first editor of found them.” Ofriends, family, and admirers Mountaineering, The Freedom of the The unveiling of the statue brought to gathered on SE Bush Street for the Hills, and founder of the light not only the bronze Harvey, glint- unveiling of a statue to a major figure Trails Club. He is now honored (in a ing in the sun, but also a nested teddy in Northwest conservation — Harvey way he almost certainly would not have bear, Harvey’s own walking stick, hat Manning. Life-size bronze of a larger- approved) with a bronze by sculptor and an old boot of his, now serving as than-life man, Harvey sits on a set of er- Sara Johani, for which NCCC was a ma- a plant pot. Seated in pride of place in ratic boulders that were moved from his jor contributor. the front row of spectators was Harvey’s home, looking up to the Issaquah Alps Steve Williams, Issaquah Trails Club wife, our editor, Betty Manning, to with the suggestion of a satisfied smile president, acting as master of ceremo- whom we owe particular gratitude, for on his rugged face. nies introduced speakers, including she is said to be the only person who Faithful to its model, the bronze Har- Ava Frisinger, mayor of Issaquah; Ken could decode Harvey’s handwriting. vey wears well-worn boots, baggy pants Konigsmark, IATC vice-president; A reception that followed the dedica- and has in hand his ever-present spiral- Penelope Manning; Doug McClelland tion fittingly celebrated the 30th birth- bound notebook, subtly inscribed with from DNR; sculptor Sara Johani; David day of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. part of one of his visionary aphorisms, Kappler, Issaquah city councilor; Allan As I was leaving the statue for home, “When the world seems to be shrink- F. Osberg, friend; and Doug Simpson, a group of people out for a Sunday walk ing, make it larger by going slower. Sit sculpture committee chair, all of whom asked me who it was. I briefly described and it becomes infinite”. spoke to Harvey’s achievements, and his legacy, pointed to the forested sky- The man who, as his daughter to his personality. Penelope Manning line and left them standing in awe. Penelope mentioned, is synonymous quoted Rick McGuire to the effect that —John Edwards with the creation of the North Cascades “Harvey could be abrasive and wasn’t National Park, the Alpine Lakes Wilder- politically correct in any way, but in a ness, the Washington State Wilderness time of when everything is made for a b o v e : NCCC Board Chairman Patrick Act of 1984, the Issaquah Alps, Cougar the media and shaped by focus groups, Goldsworthy stands beside his friend Mountain Regional Wildland Park and Harvey said what he believed and didn’t and compatriot. worry about his image. He left the —p h o t o by Jo h n Ed w a r d s

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  17 A Welcome Change for the Nation’s Forests

On August 15 2009, in Seattle, US Agri- In his Seattle speech Vilsack emphasised management through thinning to decrease culture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the role of forests in protecting clean water fire risk. Vigilance is in order to make sure that the Forest Service would not appeal a resources, sheltering wildlife and in helping that thinning does not become a euphe- June 29 court ruling that struck down the to mitigate the effects of climate change mism for harvest, although Vilsack refers to Bush administration’s 2008 forest planning through carbon fixation. The new vision in- rehabilitation through the removal of small rule. Further, the Forest Service will seek cludes decommissioning unnecessary roads trees and underbrush that serve as fuel for to lift a Wyoming Federal court injunction and rehabilitating wetlands and streams. In wildfires. Again, the promotion of research that has blocked a 2001 rule that halted Vilsack’s words “Restoration means manag- projects to generate biofuels from forest road construction and other development ing forest lands first and foremost to protect biomass is fraught with potential abuse. on about 58 million acres of ntional For- our water resources while making our for- These caveats notwithstanding, Vilsack’s est. The Obama administration has thus ests more resilient to climate change. decisive stand on the striking down of Presi- joined environmental organizations in de- The concept of “restoration” does raise dent Bush’s 2008 forest planning rule is to fending the Roadless Rule established at the an element of concern. It is seen by Norm be applauded. close of the Clinton administration. Dicks, for example, as implying better —John Edwards

Think of books when shopping for the holidays To order, check out our website, northcascades.org

Wilderness Alps: 100 Hikes in the North Conservation and Cascades National Conflict in Park Region Washington’s North by Ha rv e y Ma nni ng Cascades 3rd edition, Mountaineers Books, Seattle, Washington, by Ha rv e y Ma nni ng 2000. a nd NCCC $12.00 for members; $15 non- Published by Northwest Wild members, includes sales tax and Books 2007 ISBN-13: 978-0- shipping. 9793333-0-9 $24.95 cover price. Special price to members: $20.00 incl. Washington sales tax. 480 pages, with maps, historic photos, and beautiful color images by Pat O’Hara, Dave Schiefelbein, Tom Hammond and others.

Early praise for the book: to o r d e r : “ . . . a splendidly partisan account of citizens’ fight for wilder- Wilderness Alps: Conservation and Conflict in Washington’s ness in the North Cascades.” North Cascades —Estella Leopold $24.95 (including sst); members $20.00 (including sst); mail- ing $3.95. “This book has so much: the characters, from the First Ones of long ago to the military explorers, the miners and railroad 100 Hikes in the North Cascades National Park Region people, the loggers and grazers, the fools and charlatans, the Members: $12; non-members $15, including sst and mailing. promoters and speculators, the dam builders and ubiquitous Chambers of Commerce, the politicians — all swaggering and NCCC, Post Office Box 95980, University Station, Seattle, WA posturing across the stage, sometimes with such forceful schemes 98145-2980 that one wonders how there is still, now, so much left.” —Brock Evans

18  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009 Forest Service Join the NORTH CASCADES Closes Middle CONSERVATION COUNCIL

Fork Snoqualmie • Help us keep the North Cascades wild and wondrous for generations to come. Road • Be part of a vibrant grassroots network of advocates for protection of the unique lands, waters, plants, wildlife, and wilderness of the North Cascades. Road repair and bridge construction • The North Cascades Conservation Council depends on your support. Member benefits On September 8, 2009 the Middle Fork • The Wild Cascades — Premier journal of the North Cascades, featuring people, places, Snoqualmie Road was closed at the forest and politics — lively and unafraid to challenge the status quo. 3 issues per year. boundary gate approximately mile post • E-mail Action Alerts on timely issues affecting the national park, national forests, wilder- 8.0. The bridge and road repairs should be ness and other wildlands in the North Cascades region. completed by early December. • 20% Discount on Wilderness Alps, a North Cascades history by Harvey Manning and “This is for everyone’s safety,” said Jim NCCC. Franzel, Snoqualmie District Ranger. “We don’t want people trying to dodge heavy equipment while contractors are repairing the road.” People who violate the closure The North Cascades Conservation Council can subject to a ticket and fined, Franzel depends on your support! said. The road is closed to all motorized and non-motorized access to the Middle Be part of a vibrant grassroots network of advocates for protection of the unique lands, Fork campground, Arch Bridge and all waters, plants, wildlife, and wilderness of the North Cascades. roads up the valley to the Dingford Creek Membership Application / Renewal / Gift / Donation Form gate including road access to Goldmeyer

Hotsprings, Dutch Miller Gap, and Taylor n a m e______address______River Trail, he said. em a il______cit y/s tat e /zip______. . . . “We are hoping to have the bridge and road repairs completed by early De- If you love our great North Cascades wilderness as much as we do, support the NCCC with a generous IRS tax-deductible contribution in the amount of: cember,” Franzel said. $10 Living Lightly/student $30 $50 $100 $250 $500 $1000 The Middle Fork Road suffered exten- Other______I’d like to volunteer. Contact me. sive flood damage and washed out the Tay- Please send me occasional action alerts by email lor River Bridge during the winter storms of 2008-09. “Numerous road sections, Donations are welcome for our work Direct my donation to these NCCC Programs stream crossings, bridges and culverts will (suggested amounts) Wilderness and Park Expansion be repaired,” said $250 Wildlife Conservation $500 Forest and Watershed Protection The bridge replacement and road repair $1,000 Blanchard Mountain Preservation is part of the Federal Highways Emer- $2,000 Non-Motorized Recreation gency Flood Relief program. Funding for Other:______Stehekin Valley Protection the road repair comes from the Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Gift Membership to: Gift Membership from: Federal Highway Administration under gif t n a m e______your n a m e______the Emergency Relief to Federally Owned address______message______Roads Program. cit y______Unfortunately, the upper road above s tat e______zip______Taylor River also received damage during the previous winter storms. These sites are Membership includes subscription to NCCC’s Send check or money order and this form to: excellent journal, The Wild Cascades. scheduled for repairs next year. For more Laura Zalesky, Membership Chair information about roads and trail closures, NCCC is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible. 2433 Del Campo Drive go to alerts and conditions on http://www. Everett, WA 98208 fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/.

www.northcascades.org The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009  19 The Granite Falls Motocross Fiasco — An Update

The motocross track project — Five to place “during daylight hours only”. The from MXGP. The deadline MXGP faces for seven motocross and ATV racing tracks problem is that the other stated hours start a satisfactory submission of information on 75 acres of currently forested land four in the morning, and also last until 10 p.m. about the project remains next July. miles east of Granite Falls adjacent to the Even the longest day of the year turns to- Beyond noise issues, it is obvious that Mountain Loop Highway — continues tally dark by 10 p.m., so one wonders what 75 acres of trees help curb global warm- to amaze those of us from the Mountain the MXGP is thinking when it consistently ing; 75 acres of motocross racetracks with Loop Conservancy (MLC) who are leading claims that closing at 10 p.m. is within vehicles spewing out carbon emissions the fight against this unwanted intrusion. daylight hours. exacerbate the problem. Trees purify clean Just when we thought the battle was In the meantime, the MLC has retained water while motorized vehicles pollute wa- over, the principal proponent of the proj- the services of the premier nationally ter. (The project sits atop a county-mapped ect (Gary Strode, heading a group known recognized noise consultants, HMMH of “critical aquifer recharge area.”) Trees as the MXGP) unexpectedly submitted Massachusetts, to critique a noise report scrub the air; motorized vehicles pollute it. new papers from several consultants just submitted by ENVIRON, the noise analyst Forests and quiet recreation are in keeping prior to the July, 2009 submission dead- retained by the MXGP. The analysis by with the nature of the area, as well as its line. MXGP has also retained the highest HMMH shows deficiencies in ENVIRON’s history; motocross tracks and commercial priced law firm in the state, Perkins Coie, analysis on virtually all fronts, clearly recreation are antithetical to both. for its legal advice, indicating that MXGP indicating that the project would exceed The challenge for the MLC in fighting is well funded. The latest MXGP project county standards for noise during operat- this awful project is lack of funding. We submissions to Snohomish County were ing hours in the daytime, and perhaps can use all the help we can get to pay for not considered adequate for evaluation of even at night (an analysis that was avoided legal and professional/technical expenses. significance and their deadline has been entirely by ENVIRON) due to campers This project, if permitted, would have a extended to July 2010. partying, playing loud music, and work- materially adverse affect on the future Even a cursory reading of the newly ing on their racing vehicles. All in all, the of the Mountain Loop highway east of submitted papers reveals obvious contra- HMMH report shoots huge holes into the Granite Falls, a designated national scenic dictions and shortfalls carried over from ENVIRON noise report. byway and the gateway to an area used by previously submitted material. Among the The HMMH analysis, we believe, will tens of thousands of quiet recreationists more notable flaws is the continued claim force the county and the county Hearing for decades. that hours of operation would be from 10 Examiner to think twice about this proj- Please send your tax deductible con- p.m. until 10 p.m. (Actually, we can live ect. It’s possible that such county consid- tribution to MLC, P.O.Box 1097, Granite with that!) That, together with other stated eration will occur as early as October, but Falls, WA 98252. The MLC is a 501(c)3 hours of operation that come a bit closer perhaps later. But the county may once organization. to making sense, are then undermined by again request more explicit information a statement that operations would take — Bruce Barnbaum

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

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

20  The Wild Cascades • Summer/Fall 2009