Expansion of North Cascades National Park

Best way to Protect Puget sound is to protect headwaters..... mmmh... major problem is sewage , industrial waste and pesticides from farming.

Don't you love that one....

Edit: you overlooked urban runoff.

I've been reading it more. It's a very well done site.... they have t-shirts and even Republicans supporting them( never did trust those Republicans)
It's obviously a website tailored to get an emotional response and who does want wind farms along the cascade crest or the area despoiled... not me!
As with much of this stuff, it contains so much hyperbole.... general fear mongering.. and a lack of nuance that's its like the conservationist's equivalent of some paranoid Glen Beck rant.

I dare say there are areas within the Pasayten and around Ross lake that seem they should be part of the park.. makes sense... however there are areas.. like around the Scenic Highway corridor that have had and does have a wider envelope of recreational use such as heli-skiing, snowmobile riding/skiing and mountain biking that wouldn't  be allowed if it became a national park.
But some conseravationists( not all) are such devotees to the their cause that like the NRA will never give an inch or allow a nuanced discussion even if common sense stands in the way. Some would like to lock it all up and throw away the key.
I hope their "ground truthing" is not biased but I'd fear for the worst based upon this website.

I find it somewhat ironic that the most used areas in the whole North Cascades area at this time of the year, namely the SR20 corridor around Early winters, Liberty Bell and Rainy pass ( which as you know is teeming with people right now at the weekends) is also outside the Park. Obviously that has to do with ease of access. Now ease of access has always been a big issue with the Park Service. Their record up to now has been to allow access roads to deteriorate ( think West Side road, Cascade River Road, Olympic Park roads) and then provide one paved access point where the tourists can gape and visit the "Visitor Center".


I think their statement about providing short, paved interpretive paths to get visitors out of their cars very telling.

I was wondering if Lowell would chime in with this thoughts . As a prominent member of the Mountaineers and a person very familiar with this particular area I'd like to know what his thoughts are specifically regarding the Highway 20 Scenic corridor and the area around Liberty Bell and Rainy pass.

Do you agree with changing this particular area and it then having the effect of stopping heli-skiing in this particular area.?
I'm talking about this specific area and not the general park expansion advocacy.

I remember your recent FOAC trip there and the marvelous pictures so I think it's a fair question if you'd  pony up for an answer.

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=15719.0

I was wondering if Lowell would chime in with this thoughts . As a prominent member of the Mountaineers and a person very familiar with this particular area I'd like to know what his thoughts are specifically regarding the Highway 20 Scenic corridor and the area around Liberty Bell and Rainy pass.

Do you agree with changing this particular area and it then having the effect of stopping heli-skiing in this particular area.?
I'm talking about this specific area and not the general park expansion advocacy.

I remember your recent FOAC trip there and the marvelous pictures so I think it's a fair question if you'd  pony up for an answer.

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=15719.0

I'm a member of the North Cascades Conservation Council (N3C), which is the group spearheading the American Alps Legacy Project. I haven't been following this project closely but I certainly am interested in it and will follow it as it develops.

It's worth noting that the N3C, which was the key group responsible for the initial North Cascades National Park campaign, is now a 501(c)(3) organization. So they can no longer lobby for legislation like they did in the 1960s to get the park established. They can only "advocate," which I believe means doing studies and education. So, when study turns to action, it's going to be interesting to see how the action is carried forward.

I personally don't have a problem with the way the highway corridor is currently managed. I think a certain amount of heli skiing is okay and a certain amount of snowmobile access is okay, and I haven't gotten the impression that things have gotten out of hand up there. I've talked to people, however, who feel that the trends are not good, and that things may be headed toward an undesirable situation. I haven't seen the projections, so I can't really comment on this.

So my basic feeling is that if everything stayed like it is today, I'd be fine with that. But if I were convinced that we're heading for a bad future, I might support changing the management balance. My mind remains open on these questions and I'm not actively involved in the study process for this project.

Thanks for the response.
You said you've talked to people who think the trend it bad.
Care to expand upon what they think the bad trend is?

You said you've talked to people who think the trend it bad.
Care to expand upon what they think the bad trend is?

I don't know enough to comment at this point.