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1987
January 17 1987 Seventeen year-old Brian Smith of Jacksonville, Oregon climbs to the top of Union Peak while circumnavigating the mountain on skis. The trip started at 6:50 a.m. and was completed by 2:15 p.m. Brian skied and climbed 18 miles on a clear and cold day. The first recorded solo winter climb of Union Peak by a teenager in seven hours.
January 17 1987 First winter research trip to Wizard Island, via helicopter. Jerry McCrea, Fred Vanhorn, Jim Milestone, Jim Webster and Mark Buktenica.
January 18 1987 Rangers Fred Vanhorn and Jim Webster ski to the top of Wizard Island at midnight. Vanhorn and Webster are part of a five-member winter research team, collecting winter lake samples.
January 21 1987 The new William Steel Information Center and Interpretive offices opens in the remodeled, former Ranger Dorm. The old building had fallen into a state of disrepair prior to its restoration. By 2015 the building began to suffer major water leaks and a general deteriation. An extensive and costly rebuilt is planned for 2020 or 2021 when funds become available.
February 2 1987 Entrance fee into the Park balloons from $2.00 per vehicle to $5.00. The Golden Eagle Passport increases from $10 to $25 a year. Fee increase is limited to one year.
February 4 1987 The NPS Regional office declares that Sleepy Hollow is to be destroyed. No longer suitable for even seasonal housing. Work continues on gutting and rehabilitating the old Headquarters Building.
Spring 1987 The 1950’s A-frame snow tunnel is removed from the front of the Administration building. A new stone snow tunnel is built off on the west side. The 1930’s building had been designed for summer use, so when the Park began winter operations in the 1950’s, a non-conforming permanent a-frame entrance tunnel was built out to the front parking lot.
April 13, 14, 15 1987 Four park employees and two lake researchers helicopter to Wizard Island and spend three days conducting lake research. Jim Milestone, Jerry McCrea, Roger Andrascik, Kent Taylor, Mark Buktenica and Dr. Gary Larson.
April 15 1987 Four Peregrine Falcon eggs are removed from a nest along the east rim and replaced with dummy eggs. Three of the four are viable.
April 20 1987 Sleepy Hollow Cabins, 47, 49, & 54 are torn down and burned. All ten remaining cabins in Sleepy Hollow are burned during the week.
May 10 1987 House Joint Memorial 14, “Be it Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon: We urge the National Park Service to preserve and restore historic Crater Lake Lodge as a national asset to provide lodging at Crater Lake National Park that can be enjoyed by future generations of Americans and increasing numbers of international visitors.”
May 15 1987 The North Entrance Road opens. One of the earliest, if not the earliest in memory.
1986 – 1987 Snowfall: 427 inches, 36 feet.
Summer 1987 The full east Rim Road is opened to two-way traffic for the first time in nearly 20 years by the order of Superintendent Bob Benton. Apparently he just “did it”. No formal process.
June 1987 Park Superintendent Bob Benton announces plans to improve Mazama Campground. The $640,142 project will include construction of roads, plumbing and electrical systems. The Park concessionaire, Canteen Corporation of Oregon will spend about $500,000 for the construction of a new store and lodgings that will replace the old Rim Village cabins that were torn town last year.
June 5 1987 Brian Smith and Steve Brown, both 17, from Jacksonville, Oregon, snorkel for 3.5 hours in and around Cleetwood Cove. The earliest and youngest snorkeling in the Lake.
July 1987 One and a half feet of snow closes the Rim Road along the Watchman.
August 9 1987 The 12th running of the Crater Lake Marathon.
6.7 miles Leonard Hill of Phoenix, OR 33.00
Sandy Rowan of Klamath Falls, OR
39.39 (new record)
13 miles Dan Stearns, 26, of Bend, OR
1:15.08
Connie Reints, 28, of Bend, OR
1:34:36
26 miles Mike Sandlin, 32, of Eugene, OR
Sandra Mike, 38, of Ukiah, CA
3:43:43
August 16 1987 Scientists using a remote video camera to search the bottom of the Lake discover evidence of hydrothermal vents in the southeast quadrant of the lake at a depth of about 1,200 feet. The remotely controlled submersible vehicle had been launched on August 10. The underwater search project is being funded by a NPS grant of $78,000.
September 1987 No precipitation recorded for the month.
October 1987 Newly remodeled and restored Administration Building is completed and occupied by Park staff.
The $875,000 renovation project is part of a $2.5 million multi-phase project to restore the Park’s historic buildings.
The newly renovated “Bunk House/Mess Hall” is occupied by the Ranger and Park Research staff. Renamed the “Canfield Building” after Superintendent Canfield who was superintendent when the building was built in the 1930’s.The name is soon shortened to the “Can”.
November 1987 John Fulton Jr, heavy equipment operator, transfers to Mt. Rainier National Park. This is the first time since 1946 (41 years) a Fulton has not been employed in the Park. John’s father, John Fulton Sr, joined the NPS one year after WWII as a heavy equipment operator.
November 1987 Total precipitation for the month: 0.02 inches.
Season 1987 A mammal study of the Park shows that 37% of all mammal species have disappeared from the Park. Five species disappeared before the area became a National Park and five species have disappeared since 1902. “Because of the Park’s postage stamp size, only the area around the old mountain has been preserved. There are no protected low-level wintering grounds. The Park is a forest island. A year-round park doesn’t mean people year-round, but rather animals year-round.
Season 1987 Visitation: 492,581 (Online says: 460,550)
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