Earlier on January 18, 1886, Senator Dolph introduced a bill (S. 1111) providing for establishment of a park or reserve that would include both Crater Lake and Diamond Lake. The bill would “set apart from the public domain in the State of Oregon, as a public park for the benefit of the people of the United States, townships twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, and thirty-one, in ranges five and six, east of the Willamette meridian . . . within the limits of which is Crater Lake. . . .”
The bill further provided that the land was to be
reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart forever as a public park or pleasure ground and forest reserve for the benefit of the people of the United States.
The park or reserve would be under the custody of the Secretary of the Interior whose duty it would be
to cause adequate measures to be taken for the protection of the timber from the depredation, the punishment of trespassers, the removal of unlawful occupants and intruders, and the prevention and extinguishment of forest fires.
It would be unlawful for anyone to establish settlements or residence in the reserve or to engage in mining, lumbering, or other private enterprise. Violation of the provisions of the act would be punishable by a fine of $1,000, imprisonment of not more than one year, and liability for all damages arising from any destruction of timber or other property. Anyone participating in cutting or removing timber from the reserve would be required to “pay a fine of triple the value of the logs or timber at the place of delivery thereof, and shall be imprisoned not exceeding twelve months.” The President would be empowered to employ the military to execute the provisions of the bill. [6]
A similar bill (H.R. 5075) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Hermann on February 1, 1886. This bill contained language similar to that of S. 1111, but expressly stated that the public park or reserve was designed “for the protection and preservation of the game, fish, timber, natural wonders, and curiosities therein, and the said reserve to be known as the Crater Lake National Park.”
The house bill also stated that the
reservation shall be open to all excursionists, pleasure-seekers, restaurant or hotel keepers for accommodation of visitors and those making scientific researches, who shall be privileged to fish in all lakes and streams of water, and to use the necessary timber for camping purposes on said grounds. . . . [7]
Both bills were assigned to the committees on public lands of their respective houses and quickly encountered considerable opposition because of strong lobbying efforts by private speculators and lumber, sheep, and ranching interests. Other forces that worked against passage of the bills included the prevailing belief in Congress that Oregon should protect its own lakes without federal help and questions as to whether there were significant funds to provide proper police protection for such a park.
