In his annual report for fiscal year 1963 Superintendent Yeager observed that “construction projects underway at the close of the 1963 fiscal year were greater than for any previous year.” The projects included reconstruction of 10.5 miles of the south entrance road and construction of three duplex residences (6 living units), a shop and equipment storage building, and a community school building. the structures were occupied during the winter of 1963-64, Interpretive roadside markers were constructed and installed. These included 26 interpretive markers at 18 locations, 21 being routed plastic signs on stone bases and 3 being routed wooden signs. Some 20 smaller signs denoting elevations and other items of interest were also completed. Fifty-four camp sites were added to Mazama Campground and a trail to the new amphitheater was completed. A 100-automobile parking area was laid out at the head of Cleetwood Cove Trail. [58]
In October 1965 the National Park Service contracted to have a new sewer system installed in the park. The new system was to replace a septic tank system which had a drain field in the east canyon of the park. The new sewer system was placed underground across the water catchment basin which fed Munson Springs, the source for the Crater Lake water system. Three manholes were placed in the system with what were later reported to be “insecure manhole covers.” The location of this system would later be blamed for the water contamination crisis that closed the park for three weeks during the summer of 1975. [59]
With the completion of two more housing units in the Munson Valley area the Mission 66 program at Crater Lake was completed during the summer of 1966. As a result of the program, park buildings, utility systems, interpretive activities, and recreational opportunities had been improved to National Park Service standards. Moreover, the program’s accomplishments enabled the park to centralize its year-round administrative and maintenance activities at Munson Valley, all such functions having been transferred to the park in September 1964. [60]
During the remainder of the 1960s and the early 1970s construction and development programs continued at Crater Lake, although at a considerably reduced level from the Mission 66 years. In 1967, for instance, three picnic areas were constructed at lower elevations in the park, permitting early use by visitors before snow was gone from the regular campgrounds. [61] Park construction projects during the early and mid-1970s included extension of the Watchman Overlook and Sleepy Hollow sewer systems, erection of a new concessioner’ s employee dormitory, improvements to the Annie Spring water and sewer systems, reconstruction of the west entrance road, and expansion of the Rim Village utility lines. [62] Following closure of the park in 1975 because of the water contamination crisis, plans were made to construct a new permanent park water system utilizing water from Annie Spring, an uncontaminated water source. The new water system, which cost some $600,000, was placed into service during the fall of 1975. [63]
During the late 1960s an extensive major parkwide planning effort was initiated at Crater Lake–a process that would take a decade to complete. The planning effort was spearheaded by a master planning team selected in 1967 from the National Park Service’s Western Service Center in San Francisco. By the early 1970s the planning effort, which had gone through several draft stages, was taken over by a general management planning team from the Denver Service Center. [64] As a result of the lengthy planning endeavor Pacific Northwest Regional Office Director Russell E. Dickenson finally approved a general management plan for the park in December 1977.
The general management plan contained an extensive series of proposals for development of park facilities and enhancement of visitor experiences in the park. According to the plan, existing use patterns would remain essentially unchanged. Improved information, orientation, and interpretation facilities would allow for better utilization of the visitors’ time. Lodging facilities would be decreased, while camping sites would be increased. Obsolete visitor and management facilities would be removed or replaced. Intrusion of vehicle traffic on the viewing experience at Rim Village would be reduced substantially. The Rim Village area would be restored to a more natural, pedestrian-oriented environment. Accordingly six objectives were established to govern future park development. These were to:
