***previous*** — ***next***

2005

March 24      2005                Park Historian Stephen Mark writes and publishes an exhaustive look at John Merriam’s preservation efforts. John C. Merriam (1869-1945) born in Iowa in 1869, John C. Merriam was a geologist, zoologist, and premier taxonomist who trained under such luminaries as Joseph Le Conte and Karl von Zitell. He achieved scientific prominence at the University of    California at Berkeley, but away from the laboratory, he led expeditions to fossil localities in California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest.

Merriam Cone, located 480 feet beneath the waters of Crater Lake, is named after John C. Merriam.

May 30             2005    Since You Asked   Allow up to 300 years to fill Crater Lake  (MT)

OK, math wizards, if Medford ran out of water from other sources and everyone panicked and went up to Crater Lake to hoard all 4.9 trillion gallons, how many years would it take Mother Nature to fill it back up to its normal level?

— H. S., Medford

No offense, H.S., but we at Since You Asked Central think you have a wee bit too much time on your hands.

You obviously read the SYA in which we concluded after much mathematical hand wringing and tooth-gnashing that there is enough water in the lake to provide the current Medford water demand for some 580 years.

We also cautioned the questioner that there is no way the beautiful blue lake in Oregon’s only national park would ever be drained for human use.

We asked park historian Steve Mark, who is temporarily down at Yosemite National Park, if he could bail us out.

He suggested we check out F. Owen Hoffman’s article in the 1999 volume of Nature Notes on the park Web site.

Sure enough, the retired park naturalist estimated it took about 300 years for the crater to fill to close to its present level, given today’s precipitation pattern. His study mirrored that of one done by other Crater Lake scientists in 1994.

Hoffman also dives into some other aspects of filling the lake that are worth checking out. For further information, dive in at www.nps.gov/crla/notes/vol30c.htm.

March 31           2005    Rim Cafeteria and Store closes in preparation of a massive restoration and teardown. Lodge staff begin move into the Rim Community House. Food to be served from 2 buffet trucks located in the parking lot. Trailers/motor homes/busses/oversized vehicles will be banned from Rim Village. No place to park them. They will be encouraged to continue on around the West Rim.

June 7               2005    Since You Asked Glad that’s cleared up  (MT)

I just read your reference to my 1999 Crater Lake Nature Note on the filling of Crater Lake, in which you quote the time of the lake’s filling to be 300 years. Thank you for mentioning my Nature Note article as a reference source of information on the filling of the lake.

Careful reading of my article would reveal that it probably took much more than 1,000 years to fill the lake. The 300-year estimate is only plausible by assuming present-day precipitation rates and no substantial subsurface seepage until the lake reached its present-day level (an assumption that some have made, but not totally convincing to me).

Once seepage occurs, the rate of filling of Crater Lake slows down considerably, especially during the final 10 percent of reaching the present level. The longer time for filling of Crater Lake includes the fact that the precipitation rate hasn’t always been the same as that of today.

Sincerely,  F. Owen Hoffman, Ph. D.     Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Thanks for clarifying that, Owen. We’re glad you did the math and not us. We’re still recovering from the math a reader asked of us to find out how long it would take Medford to drain the lake for municipal water, an unlikely scenario considering the lake is part of a national park.

Incidentally, we had one reader try to stump us further by asking how long it would take a snowflake that landed on the outer rim of Crater Lake to make it to the ocean. That’s easy! The snowflake would melt LONG before it got close to the ocean, so the answer to that trick question is “never.” We sure dodged a bullet on that one.

June 13                  2005       Crater Lake Makeover – MT – Changes to buildings, roads and parking lots are likely to

Inconvenience park visitors this summer By PARIS ACHEN

Visitors to Crater Lake National Park will encounter a flurry of construction and tangled traffic this summer along Highway 62 and the Mazama and Rim villages.

The changes, the most dramatic the park has undergone during a summer, will relocate parking away from the lake’s rim renovate the visitors services center there, park officials said.

A new restaurant will come to Mazama Village near the south entrance at Highway 62. Meanwhile, renovations will allow the establishment of a science-learning center for educators and researchers at two houses built in the 1930s for the park superintendent and chief naturalist.

A Federal Highway Administration project will also revamp eight miles of Highway 62 inside the park.

At Rim Village, work set to begin this month will move the parking lot overlooking the lake behind the visitor services center. Rim Village is a cluster of rustic structures that sit near the southwest edge of the caldera off Rim Drive.

The site of the old parking lot will be landscaped to restore its natural beauty. Justin said.

Renovations will transform the visitor services center into two separate buildings connected by an underground tunnel. The National Park Service is funding the $8.5 million project.

Before it was closed in April, the center held a gift shop and cafe. When it reopens in spring 2007, one building will offer a gift shop, deli and meeting room. The other structure will eventually be made into a visitor’s center with interpretive information. Funding for that effort is not yet available, Justin said.

Construction continues on a new 10,000-square-foot restaurant and gift shop at Mazama Village. The buffet-style eatery will replace the cafe previously at the Rim Village visitor services center.

The science-learning center near the Steel Information Center at Munson Valley Road will debut in summer 2006.

The $1.7 million project will “foster research in the park and turn it into information to share with the public either through schools or interpretive programs,” said Marsha McCabe, the park’s chief of interpretation.

Money from the park service and a donation from JELD-WEN Holdings Inc. in Klamath Falls are paying for construction.

Hoping to improve safety on the journey to the lake, the federal government has dedicated $3.5 million to replacing pavement this summer on an eight-mile stretch of Highway from the southwest park boundary east to the south entrance near Annie Creek.

The work includes softening some of the road’s hazardous curves and replacing guardrails.

July 27                   2005     At about 9:30 p.m. Ranger Mike Cook stopped his Mazama Campground Campfire Program in the Mazama Amphitheater to call Dispatch and report a civil disturbance in D  Loop. At about 10:30 Ranger Pete Reinhardt calls in to Dispatch to report, “a major trauma” and that he needed EMS and an ambulance. “All NPS personal are OK.”  The displaced campers from D Loop were kept in the amphitheater until about 2:00 in the                                        morning before being allowed back to their campsites.

July 27               2005   On the night of July 27, 2005 Ranger Pieter Sween and his partner, Ranger Peter Reinhardt responded to a report of a woman being assaulted at Mazama Campground in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.  Upon arrival, the 6 foot, 200-pound male suspect immediately threatened to kill the rangers and then vanished into the darkness. He reappeared moments later with a 26 inch long weighted club and advanced on the officers, threatening them as he came. In a rapidly evolving situation, both rangers quickly took up defensive positions and repeatedly ordered the suspect to drop the weapon. From cover, Sween’s partner deployed pepper spray without effect. With the war club held high over his head in a two-handed striking position, the suspect then charged directly at Ranger Sween.  At six feet away, Ranger Sween fired two rounds hitting the suspect in center of mass and killing him.

From time on-scene to the radio call requesting medical help was one minute and 52 seconds. In a dark campground crowded with family groups, both rangers acted tactically and decisively to contain and control a terrifying situation to the public. Their actions saved lives that night. The Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police is proud and honored to present National Park Ranger Pieter Sween its Valor Award in recognition of his heroic actions at Crater Lake National Park.

We all know how quickly things can go bad and how little time we have to react decisively. One moment you’re talking to a family about the best fishing spots, seconds later you’re facing an armed suspect in the darkness. The ability to successfully make that instantaneous transition, contain and control the danger, and go home at the end of your shift represents the best of our tradition of protection and service. Tonight we honor National Park Ranger Pieter Sween for exemplifying that formidable ability.

July 27             2005      Crater Lake National Park (OR)

Follow-up on 2005 Ranger-Involved Shooting

On July 27, 2005, two Crater Lake rangers responded to a domestic disturbance in Mazama Campground. During the incident, one of the rangers shot and killed the man involved in the disturbance as he charged them while brandishing a deadly weapon and threatening to kill them. The investigations into this shooting, and the board of review that was convened afterward, found that the involved rangers were acting within the scope of their duties and in full compliance with National Park Service policies.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon concluded that it was a justifiable and necessary use of deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm. At the time of the shooting, based on the interests and needs of the involved rangers, and in consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and deputy solicitor, the park chose not to release their names to the public.

With the passage of two years, and in consultation with the involved rangers, comes the realization that sharing information about shooting incidents with the law enforcement community can be an important step toward providing healing and closure.  The sharing of this information, including the names of involved rangers, can also help prevent an officer from carrying the burden of a line of duty shooting alone in his or her private life. The rangers involved were seasonal ranger Pieter Sween, who was the ranger directly involved in the shooting, and supervisory ranger Peter Reinhardt, who as Sween’s partner provided backup and assistance during the incident. In recognition of their actions during the shooting, Sween and Reinhardt have been presented with exemplary act awards. Fourteen other Crater Lake employees were presented with unit citation awards for their actions in responding to and managing the incident. Rangers Sween and Reinhardt acted quickly, decisively, and appropriately to prevent death or serious injury during a rapidly evolving situation. They demonstrated superb courage, judgment and tactics in successfully resolving a violent and dynamic situation without injury to innocent persons. It’s hoped that this incident serves as a reminder of the importance of appropriate training and tactics, and that the lessons learned can help the safety of other officers. [Submitted by Dave Brennan, Chief Ranger]

Ronn Merl Ward, 38, of Sunnyvale, California, shot dead in Mazama Campground, had been previously arrested a year earlier for pulling a knife on security guards at a shopping mall after stealing a pack of breath mints.

 Before being shot in the campground Ronn Ward asked the responding rangers if “they wanted to die?”

September 19        2005    Carbon monoxide suspected in couple’s deaths at Crater Lake   The Associated Press A married couple camping at Crater Lake National Park was found dead in their tent this weekend, and carbon monoxide poisoning is the suspected cause, the authorities said.

The bodies of Tory Christensen, 27, and Aleathia Christensen, 25, of The Dalles, were found by a Mazama Campground employee Saturday afternoon, said Dave Brennan, chief ranger at the park.

A cause of death has not been determined, but the couple’s tent was tightly closed and a propane camping lantern had been burning inside, Brennan said.

There were no signs of violence, and the ranger said it did not appear that the couple committed suicide. Brennan said the couple had likely been dead for a couple of days. Autopsies are to be performed this week and the investigation remains active.

“It’s tragic,” Brennan said. “You’re not supposed to die when you are out recreating and vacationing.”

Brennan said he was told that Aleathia Christensen worked as a nurse in The Dalles and Tory Christensen was a construction worker.

December  28, 29, 30, 31 2005 to

January 1            2006   Governor Ted Kulongaski becomes marooned at Crater Lake during a massive and unexpected snowstorm. The governor and his family including his two married children, wanting to get way from the pressures of his office, was invited to “hide away” for several days in one of Crater Lake guest houses. They had planned to spend a couple of days, but the adventure stretched to 5 days. His staff was getting worried and wanted to send in a          helicopter to evacuate him, but they were told by Park staff that helicopters do not fly well in blizzards.

Fiscal Year          2005   $4,214,000

Visitation                      496,840 visitors  (Online says: 447,240)

***previous*** — ***next***

***menu***