A new Resource Management Plan was approved by Acting Pacific Northwest Regional Director William Briggle on February 28, 1986. The “Natural Resources Management Program” in the plan stated that the park “is primarily a natural resource area, managed in such a manner as to allow natural processes to occur.” Nine objectives of the natural resources program were listed:
1. Identify and protect critical resources within the park with the highest priority being those related to the caldera ecosystem.
2. To allow, to the greatest extent possible, natural processes to occur, e.g. wildlife, vegetation, soils, geology, and fire.
3. To foster a public awareness and appreciation for the park specific resources through interpretation and public contact.
4. To gather as much credible and scientifically valid information on park resources, through internal and external means, and to apply that information to management decisions.
5. To monitor activities adjacent or near to park boundaries and to work. cooperatively with other agencies to minimize impacts on park resources.
6. To minimize visitor use impacts on park resources through public education and restriction of activities with potential of impact to areas of low sensitivity.
7. To minimize the impacts of park administrative activity by restricting those activities to areas of low sensitivity and concentrating development to pre-disturbed areas.
9. To correct and rehabilitate areas of previous use so as to restore them to natural appearance and processes.
In the plan the park’s natural resources were listed in a general priority based on the criteria of resource sensitivity, applicability of federal or state laws, congressional mandates, responsiveness to management programs, and the immediacy of a perceived threat. The priority listing read:
Caldera ecosystem
Rare and endangered species
Air quality
Fire management
Basic resource inventory
Park management and visitor use
Integrated pest management
Livestock trespass
Pumice field management
The “Cultural Resources Management Program” identified four major historical themes for interpretation and site preservation in the park. These were: (1) Northern Plateau Indians; (2) Discovery and Exploration; (3) Conservation Movement to Protect the Lake; and (4) Park Administration. [60]
During the past several years the park has emphasized a new awareness of its cultural resources under the leadership of Superintendent Robert E. Benton. Among his initiatives have been support for nominating the Munson Valley Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places, designating the Superintendent’s Residence as a National Historic Landmark, rehabilitating and preserving the historic fabric of the buildings in Munson Valley, performing research on the park’s history, and curating the park’s extensive museum and archival collections.
As a result of the geothermal exploration program at Crater Lake, vents were discovered on the floor of the lake in 1987. The impact of this discovery will undoubtedly have repercussions on park resource management issues, especially in light of the geothermal features protection section of the Fiscal Year 1987 appropriations bill.
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