We are still wrestling with the same thing. Backcountry permits and the use of natural resources are not often based on the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. Perceptions and expectations are really hard to document, especially if you want anything that is defensible in court.
Exactly.
There seemed to be a swift response by the NPS to snowmobiles. Was it because of this baby boomer interest in wilderness?
Yes. Snowmobiling activity skyrocketed around the same time. The outdoor industry pushed it and people responded. We really didn’t have too much of a problem in Rainier because of the terrain and it was somewhat the same thing at Olympic. Yellowstone has a little problem. At Crater Lake, people looked and saw all the snow. I couldn’t help but perceive that the four-wheel drive backcountry vehicle crowd switching to snowmobiles in the winter. I’m also associating the backcountry hiker wilderness user being the cross country skier and snowshoeer. When you analyze those two clienteles, they have a different social and economic background. Here we are as the land management agency encouraging recreationists to see and enjoy our natural wonders, so both groups contend they have a right to do so. The Park Service has long supported the idea or concept of going lightly on the land. We’ve been reluctant to endorse four-wheel drive vehicles, only putting roads in where it is necessary to get from point A to another significant feature or point of interest at point B, while trying to minimize the environmental impact.
As for snowmobiles, I remember the wilderness hearing at Crater Lake where a Friends of the Earth gentleman from Eugene advance the idea that at Crater Lake you could declare the whole park wilderness in winter. He advocated two wilderness, one in summertime and one in winter. In the winter the entire park would be considered wilderness except for Munson Valley and Highway 62. Well, some people laughed at him, but he and others were opposing the snowmobile. The snow mobiles screamed “no, no, no.” They had been going through the East Entrance and the North Entrance, so they wanted access to the rim. We had this built in controversy brewing, so I participated in advising the regional director along with the superintendent at that time. It was a rather strong position to take, limiting access to the North Entrance, but you had the concentration of snowmobiles at Diamond Lake. While I was superintendent at Crater Lake this resurfaced. Again, the snowmobile group came out and argued long and hard. I remember taking a tour with the leaders of the local snowmobilers. Roger Rudolph, the chief ranger, and I participated (20). What’s that highway that goes from Klamath Falls to Medford?
