DISADVANTAGES:
SAFETY – The proposed route goes directly under Dutton Cliff which supports several avalanche paths. Slides from these paths occasionally cross the roadway beneath Dutton Cliff, which is the proposed route. The use of snowmobiles in avalanche prone areas is known to trigger avalanches with resulting injuries or fatalities. There is no bypass available to snowmobiles. Response time for park staff to an emergency in this area would be very slow due to the distance and the potential avalanche hazards between the area and the park headquarters.
AESTHETIC – Numerous cross-country skiers ski around Crater Lake each year. Cross-country skiing is the only opportunity for nonmotorized visitors to enjoy Crater Lake in a wilderness type setting since motorized vehicles are permitted to travel all the way around the rim during the summer months, and there are no trails around the lake which are not immediately adjacent to Rim Drive. Currently visitor skiiing around the lake must contend with the noise and intrusion of snowmobiles only at North Junction. Adding the Pinnacles Road as a snowmobile route would add a second intrusion and would mean that skiers would have to share the same route for a minimum of .5 mile if using the recommended bypass which avoids the worst hazards of Dutton Cliffs-‘ If theskiers use the Grayback Motor Nature Trail Ski Route, then there will be a distance of 3.5 miles when both types of users will be in conflict. This is a serious intrusion on the backcountry users attempt to obtain a backcountry experience. The additional human contacts, noise, and snowmobile tracks, will all degrade the wilderness experience the cross-country skier has traveled so far to gain.
ENVIRONMENTAL – The Kerr Notch area is frequented by hunting peregrine falcons that nest within the caldera. Arriving in the park in the early spring, the falcons hunt Kerr Valley as well as use it as a travel route to feeding grounds in the Klamath Forest Wildlife Refuge. The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) is a federally listed endangered species and subject to active management and protection. There is concern that snowmobile use in the Kerr notch may disturb the sensitive peregrine falcons in their primary hunting area.
CONFLICTS WITH EXISTING POLICIES:
The General Management Plan calls for snowmobile use to be limited to the existing route.
The Natural Resource Management Plan (1981) calls for active protection for the peregrine falcon.
Following each public review of the snowmobile issue, the public reaction has favored retention of the present regulation. The NPS has used this as justification for retention of the present regulation. Any proposal to increase snowmobile use beyond that established by regulation would require extensive public involvement from all interested parties.
The Backcountry Management Plan (1984) for Crater Lake National Park calls for maximizing the backcountry user’s opportunity to enjoy the prime resource of the park, Crater Lake, and to provide a quality wilderness experience for visitors. The proposed snowmobile route will definitely degrade the wilderness experience of cross-country skiers skiing around the lake.
COSTS TO GOVERNMENT:
Additional costs will be incurred due to the need to patrol the route. It has been suggested that local clubs would provide personnel to patrol and insure rules are obeyed. Since this would be primarily a law enforcement patrol, it is not appropriate to allow volunteers to perform this function. Costs were estimated at $22,000 during the winter use study. Personnel ceilings and limitations would not allow expansion of seasonal work force to cover this additional load.
CONCLUSION:
Based upon the .facts and concerns about safety, the wilderness experience of backcountry users, costs to the government, potential impacts to the endangered peregrine falcon, and the demonstrated public opposition to increased snowmobile access to Crater Lake, it is determined that there will be no change to existing regulations and therefore, the Pinnacles road will not be opened to snowmobiles.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
WINTER RECREATION, SNOWMOBILING AND ITS EFFECTS: A RESEARCH REVIEW, Crater Lake National Park, Downing, Starkey, Thompson, 1975, L3427 1976
SUMMARY OF PREFERENCES RELATIVE TO SNOWMOBILE ALTERNATIVES INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE FORMS: Table 1, L3427 1981
NEWS RELEASE, CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, UNDATED TITLED “NO CHANGES IN CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK WINTER OPERATIONS”, L3427 1981
MEMO TO REGIONAL DIRECTOR, “SNOWMOBILES (Meeting with Don Stonehill and Tom Horn)”
CRATER LAKE WINTER USE STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE, L3427 1980
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