***previous*** — ***next***
2011
2011 Crater Lake Superintendent issues an emergency closure of Crater Lake to all SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and any swimming that includes the use of wet suits, masks, fins, towable devices or other than standard swim suits, in order to protect against the introduction of non-native or invasive aquatic species that could seriously alter the lake ecosystem.
Justification: Crater Lake is considered to contain what may be the purest, clearest water found anywhere in the world. In order to best protect this fragile and unique resource, the lake has been closed to the above activities which could introduce non-native or invasive aquatic species that could threaten the integrity of this resource. Non-native or invasive aquatic species have wreaked havoc on other aquatic systems. The lake already contains non-native fish and crayfish introduced during the early years of the park before there was sound science to warn against such actions. Park personnel have worked for decades to overcome the impacts of these early introductions. In order to protect the lake for the wonder and admiration of current and future visitors it is necessary to strictly limit activities such as those above that could threaten its continued purity.
March 7 2011 Jeffrey Dean Fernandes pleads guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact while working as a privately employed security guard at Crater Lake National Park. Fernandes’ guilty plea was entered in the US Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit Court in Portland, Oregon. Fernandes entered a female employee’s room and fondled her while she lay intoxicated on her bed. Fernandes is sentenced to a term of probation because of no previous offences. (from the court record No. 09-30135)
April 28 2011 A snowy year at Crater Lake By LEE JUILLERAT H&N
Snow keeps falling at Crater Lake National Park. Another 9 inches of fresh snow was measured Tuesday morning, upping the season’s total snowfall to 615 inches, well above the 492 inches normally measured on April 26.
If historic trends are repeated, it’s likely even more snow will fall through the month of May. In recent decades, the average snowfall through May is 524 inches, which means another 30-plus inches is easily possible.
Even if no more snow falls, this season’s total is about 200 inches more than was measured in the winter of 2009-10. As of Tuesday morning, the snowpack at park headquarters was 144 inches. Accumulated precipitation for the season is 72.28 inches.
May 2011 From Ranger David Grimes: it was record year for our snowshoe hikes! We broke the 2,000-visitor mark. These numbers don’t include the Classroom at Crater Lake snowshoe activities, which, if counted, would push us toward the 4,000-visitor mark!
Snowshoe walk stats for 2010-2011:
Public walks: 80 walks, 1439 visitors
Special request walks: 34 walks, 654 visitors
Total: 114 walks, 2,093 visitors
Stats from the past 6 years:
FY 2006 – 30 walks/507 visitors
FY 2007 – 50 walks/909 visitors
FY 2008 – 65 walks/1,323 visitors
FY 2009 – 81 walks/1,657 visitors
FY 2010 – 91 walks/1,949 visitors
FY 2011 – 114 walks/2,093 visitors
MAY 31 2011 Snow at Crater Lake hits historic mark
The on-ground snow total at Crater Lake National Park Tuesday morning was 118 inches, the third highest on record since records started being kept in 1931. Snow depth is at 220 percent of average. The average on-ground total for May 31 is 52 inches.
The only years with more snow as of May 31 were 1983, with 123 inches, and 1974, with 133 inches.
So far this season, nearly 670 inches of snow has been measured and more is expected with snowstorms expected to continue.
PS: During the early 1980’s, all lakes east of the Cascade Crest were rising so by 1983, the Lake itself at CRLA was the highest during the last 30 years.
June 24 2011 North entrance into Crater Lake National Park now open
Crater Lake National Park’s west and north entrances are now open to vehicles, though activities are still limited because of up to 10 feet of snow in some areas. Camping will remain sparse, since campgrounds have been cleared of snow but are still surrounded by walls of snow as high as 10 feet.
June 28 2011 MT. Rainer National Park – as a comparason – Since July 1, 2010, a total of 907 inches of snow have fallen at Paradise. The record for the park is 1,122 of snowfall during the 1971- 72 winter season. Cool and wet temperatures have persisted into June, delaying snow melt in the upper elevations and slowing snow removal operations that began in March.
Summer2011 The opening of the new Plaikni Falls Trail. This easy and accessible two mile, round trip trail, is in the lesser used eastern part of the park just off of the Pinnacles Road. The trail meanders through a level, mixed mesic forest past the sheer cliffs of Anderson Bluffs and ends in a lovely, lush riparian area with a beautiful small waterfall and a profusion of wildflowers (in season, of course. It will be an excellent addition to the other wonderful hikes in the park. Plaikni is the name of one of the Klamath Indian bands that once frequented this portion of the Park.
The Park Service named the falls and trail after the Plaikni Band in recognition of the Klamath Tribes’ cultural affiliation with the park and in honor of the people who traditionally used this area. While members of the band may have traveled this far, according to the Oregon Historical Society, the Plaikni Band of the Klamath Tribe had their villages south of the Sprague River a good distance from Crater Lake.
Sand Creek begins at Anderson Spring just above Anderson Bluffs and bubbles along about a quarter of a mile before cascading over the cliff to create Plaikni Falls. At the base of the falls Sand Creek continues to cascade out of sight as it flows southward through Kerr Valley then westward through The Pinnacles and out of the Park. The area below the falls is rocky, but filled with a wide array of wildflowers including Scarlet Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Lewis Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii), Arrowleaf Groundsef (Senecio triangularis) and many more.
July 9 2011 Mail Tribune reports: Many areas of the park are covered with a blanket 35 inches deep — remnants of a winter that saw 672 inches of snowfall since last October. Last year at this time, the park had less than 2 inches. East Rim Drive from North Junction to Sun Notch and Pinnacles Road are still closed, and most hiking trails are under 1 to 3 feet of snow.
Park officials aren’t sure whether the unusual snowpack is scaring people away, but attendance at Oregon’s only national park is down this year. The park received 62,567 visitors last June, but just 44,118 made the trek last month.
July 11 2011 Helicopter launches Crater Lake construction project
POPULAR TODAY Helicopter flights to move building supplies to the shore of Crater Lake will close the Cleetwood Cove trail, parking area and a section of the road near there, starting today.
A bulkhead is being replaced. The original bulkhead, constructed in the early 1960s, is rusted and worn from years of use and winter storms.
The first phase of the project requires moving all the needed materials to the lakeshore. To ensure public safety, the trail and road and parking near the trail will be closed during helicopter operations. Once the air operation is done, the Cleetwood Trail will open to visitors. Visitors can’t pass through the construction site unattended, but a park ranger will lead them through the construction zone when it is safe — at least 7 times per day. When the contractor is not working at the site, visitors will be able to walk alone on the provided path.
Boat tours are set to begin later this month and continue on a regular schedule throughout construction.
July 11 2011 A 27-year-old man was rescued at Crater Lake National Park after he fell 300 feet into the caldera. The New York resident was visiting the park’s Sinnott Memorial Overlook when he went past a barrier onto a snow bank and slid off.
The incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m., and the operation to retrieve the man took six hours. Dozens of park personnel and other emergency responders conducted a high angle technical rescue, with Mercy Flights of Medford and the Chiloquin/Agency Lake Fire District assisting. The man was transported by helicopter to Rogue Valley Medical Center. He sustained serious injuries.
On Tuesday, park spokeswoman Marsha McCabe said 27-year-old Eric Brimlow of Syracuse, N.Y., was visiting the area with friends Monday morning, when he left the path and stairs leading down to the Sinnott Memorial Overlook.
Witnesses told rangers that Brimlow stepped off the path about halfway down, stepped on a rock wall and leaped across a 5-foot wide chasm where the snow had melted away. When he landed, the man apparently slipped and slid headfirst down the steep snow-covered slope.
As he slid, the snow turned to loose rock, he tumbled and rolled, went over a 50-foot cliff, and was saved from sure death by coming to rest against a tree, about 700 feet above the lake, said Ramsdell.
A ranger from the overlook spotted the man against a tree, and Chief Ranger Pete Reinhardt tied off from a tree and rappelled 100 feet down a ravine. Ramsdell joined him and they rigged more ropes to another tree to move down and across the loose rock slope.
Reinhardt found the man unconscious but breathing, pinned against a tree at the base of a five-foot cliff. Reinhardt tied the man in and with ranger Christina Sheppard tried to hoist him to the top of the 5-foot cliff, where the ground was flat. But they needed help.
Biologist Mark Buktenica took over managing the ropes at the midpoint belay. Ramsdell and ranger Paul Schauer rappelled down where they rigged pulleys to a tree 20 feet above the man, and the four rangers pushed and pulled him up.
On flat ground, they bundled the man in the litter. Ramsdell and the rest scrambled back up the wall and Reinhardt went with the litter while others hauled on pulleys for the long climb to the top.
Coming out the way the man went in, the team put extension ladders across the snow chasm and slid the rescue litter to the path.
July 24 2011 The 33-mile Rim Drive around Crater Lake is open for the season. Other facilities and services, such as boat tours and the 13-site Lost Creek campground is also open.
Most trails are still covered with snow and downed trees and branches.
The Park is warning visitors about the changes to the boat tours. This year construction is changing the access to the boat docks. Visitors will have to use steep stairs and use extreme caution.
Construction is also limiting access to the lake for fishing and swimming. The park says there could be delays getting through the construction zones to the shoreline.
August 12 2011 Man who fell down Crater Lake slope seems on the mend
Eric Brimlow was upgraded from critical to serious condition at RVMC
The 27-year-old New York man critically injured in a fall into the Crater Lake caldera in early July has been upgraded from critical to serious condition, a Rogue Valley Medical Center spokesman said.
“Serious condition still means serious, but obviously his condition has improved,” Walker said.
August 4 2011 Betty, Thanks for the update on your dad ((Jim Rouse). I worked for him for the whole time he was at Crater Lake. He was such an encouragement. When VIPs came to the Park he would bring them to my programs. He thought mine were the best – he told me. One time he helped me pick up trash on the Rim. I was between programs and had some time on my hands, so I started picking up trash. Your Dad, in full super uniform, stopped and began to help me.
Another time, as I was walking along the Rim, he stopped. Asked me to get in his car. “I need some advise.” He drove through the parking area, we talked, and he then let me out where we started.
He would invite our kids into his office. He loved to show off his mounted buffalo chip. He was a wonderful boss.
Please send our encouragements from us to him.
Larry Smith – one of the twins.
August 12 2011 JAMES SYLVESTER ROUSE (1928 – 2011)
James Sylvester Rouse, 82 of Mount Vernon died August 12, 2011 in Sedro Woolley.
Mr. Rouse was born in Nelson, Nebraska on November 28, 1928 to Floyd and Willard Fern Rouse.
He served with the United States Army, Constabulary and 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany in 1952 thru 1954. Jim married Geneva J. Goodenberger May 4, 1956 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
He continued his education at Colorado State University graduating in 1957 with a Bachelors degree in Forestry. Jim attended graduate studies at George Washington University.
His thirty-two year career with the National Park Service included assignments in Rocky Mountain National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, Colorado National Monument, Theodore Roosevelt National Monument, Crater Lake National Park and North Cascades National Park. Jim also served as a National Parks Planner in Washington D.C. and Seattle.
Jim had a lifelong love of the outdoors. An avid runner, Jim completed several marathons including marathons around the rim of Crater Lake while serving as Superintendent of Crater Lake National Park. Jim loved all outdoor activities and sports especially the Big Red Nebraska Cornhusker’s. He particularly enjoyed skiing and skating with his daughters and their friends. A forester at heart, Jim’s green thumb was legendary. Landscaping and nurturing his gardens were among his favorite activities.
A patient and fairminded man, Jim will be dearly missed.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Geneva Rouse of Mount Vernon; Barbara Barnard and husband Dale; Betty Buholts and husband Randy; grandchildren Angela, Trenton and Troy Barnard; sister Mary Ellen Kincannon (Gene); brother Richard Rouse (Sheri), sister-in-law, Carole Rouse; and a host of family, dear friends and very special caregivers.
I think that Dr. Owen Hoffman said it best for all your dad’s friends in and out of the park service:
I only met Jim once in person. That was in 1981, when he and Mark
Forbes, along with James Larson, set up a special meeting in
Corvallis, OR to discuss future research needs for Crater Lake.
Jim was the park’s superintendent at the time. He was proud to have skied cross-country around the rim of the great caldera and to have run and completed the Crater Lake Marathon. That meeting became the basis for a three-decade long, lake research and monitoring program.
As the result of this listserv, I have had numerous opportunities to
correspond with Jim Rouse since 2005. I found him to be fully engaged on today’s park issues. He was especially concerned about any proposed activities that would further impact the wilderness setting of Crater Lake.
Jim was a strong advocate for official wilderness status for the
park’s backcountry and the inner caldera. Like many of us, he agreed
that the aesthetics of the inner caldera would be enhanced
substantially without the presence of summer boat tours. He attempted to make the operation of commercial boat tours an issue within the pending Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal during his tenure as Crater Lake’s superintendent, but he was unable to find the support he needed from local and regional environmental groups.
Having conducted the interpretive boat tours myself, and having spent many hours on the lake’s surface as a lake researcher, I feel that the significance of the inner caldera can be adequately interpreted from numerous locations on the caldera rim, and that the inner caldera should best be managed as a most sacred place.
Thank you Owen, for your beautiful words In Memory of Jim Rouse, one of Crater Lake’s most passionate wilderness advocates and one truly concerned about both visitors and staff.
Perhaps my favorite memory of Jim was how caring he was toward people especially the couple forgotten by the boat crew who ended up spending a cool night on Wizard island by their campfire: wow, what a grand opportunity most would have loved, but Jim cooled their tempers by inviting them to a Lodge breakfast.
…And more added thoughts from Hank Tanski:
Again, thanks for telling me about Jim. He really was one really, really wonderful person. I loved him to the hilt and even went jogging with him from time to time. A real gentleman of the highest rank. God bless him.
August 14 2011 13-mile win is par for course CRLA Rim Run Successes
Zack Varty’s victory in the 13-mile run at the Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon almost could be called par for the course.
The 23-year-old from Elk River, Minn., had just completed an eight- month assignment helping build the newest Bandon Dunes Golf Course, and spent his last day in Oregon running at Crater Lake.
“I just thought I’d do the last race,” Varty said after he finished in one hour, 25 minutes, 31 seconds.
© 2011 Herald and News. All rights reserved.
6.7-mile race swept by high school trio
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK – Repeat winners are rare at the Crater Lake Rim Runs and Marathon. Even more rare is a 1-2 performance from a year ago. That changed Saturday when Mazama’s (high school KF) Paul Adams won the 6.7-mile run,
and was followed across the finish …
August 19 2011 Crater Lake National Park opens its new 2-mile Plaikni Falls Trail
It’s the park’s first trail that leads to a waterfall
A visit to Oregon’s only national park doesn’t have to be limited to gazing in wonder at the nation’s deepest lake.
The Plaikni Falls Trail, the newest in the Crater Lake National Park trail system, is a two-mile round trip hike leading to a 20-foot water fall southeast of the lake.
The falls are on Sand Creek at the base of Anderson Bluffs.”We have a lot of trails in the park but this one has become extremely popular,” McCabe said.
August 20 2011 A “Supergraphic” has been emblazoned on 1,800 U-Haul moving vans to remind people of the beauty of Crater Lake and the science being conducted by the Deep Rover submersible.
U-Haul officials have tagged 1,800 of their new moving vans with a graphic of Nuytco’s Deep Rover submersible used to study the depths of Crater Lake during the summers of 1988 – 89.
“We are pleased that U-Haul chose to celebrate ‘deepwater discoveries’ at Crater Lake as part of their SuperGraphic Series,” said Crater Lake Superintendent Craig Ackerman. “Scientific research expands our understanding of Crater Lake and is a critical part of protecting and preserving its pristine waters for future generations.”
The graphic was unveiled last Saturday at Crater Lake as part of U-Haul’s “Venture Across America” Campaign.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Crater Lake National Park and Nuytco Research Ltd. to honor the extraordinary Crater Lake and recognize the research Nuytco’s Deep Rover submersible conducted in its depths,” said Kyle Marvin, president of U-Haul Company of Southern Oregon. “Now, people all over North America will have the privilege of seeing one of the world’s most unique, pristine landscapes, and have the opportunity to learn more about discoveries below the surface, in the dark depths of Crater Lake, that quite possibly could alter our understanding of life here and elsewhere in our universe.”
Nuytco Research Ltd. is a world leader in the development and operation of undersea technology. Nuytco as over thirty years experience working around the world. Nuytco designs, builds, and operates atmospheric diving suits, submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, as well as specialty equipment for commercial diving
August 2011 Crater Lake swimmers The nine people who swam from Wizard Island to Cleetwood Cove include: Ethan Nelson, 40; Pat Mason, 42; Robin Clevenger, 45; Dave McAllister, 46; Andy Lewis, 47; Mitch Hanan, 52; Dan Mayhew, 54; Dan Ambrose, 55; and Alan Henning, 57. All except Clevenger, who lives in Cottage Grove, are from Eugene. All are members of the Eugene-based swimming group, Aquaducks Masters.
There is no current policy prohibiting individual visitors from making long distance swims in Crater Lake and no regulations prohibiting such swims, according the Craig Ackerman, Crater Lake National Park’s superintendent. If such swims are deemed organized events, he said groups would be required to apply for special use permits.
The most memorable Crater Lake swim happened Aug. 4, 1929, when Mrs. Lee Fourrier swam across the length of the lake. According to a newspaper report in The Oregonian, she began that afternoon from a cove near The Wineglass at the north end of the lake. Fourrier was briefly accompanied by Ace Williams, a Klamath Falls auto dealer, who, according to the story, “soon succumbed to the icy waters” and boarded a boat that also carried her trainer.“Despite the numbness caused by the long time spent in the chill waters, the intrepid woman never faltered from start to finish and maintained a stroke of 26 to the minute until she reached the opposite bank” at the former lake trail, then located underneath the Crater Lake Lodge. She covered the estimated 6-1/2 miles in four hours, 18 minutes and 43 seconds. In an era before wetsuits, she was heavily greased. Fourrier was anexperienced distance swimmer, holding the world’s outdoor record for outdoor swimming of 43 hours and the world’s endurance record of 57 hours. Stories of various Crater Lake swims are featured in “Swimming in Crater Lake,” in the 2001 Shaw Historical Journal, “The Mountain With a Hole On Top: Reflections on Crater Lake,” available from the Shaw Historical Library at www.library.oit.edu.shaw <http://www.library.oit.edu.shaw> / <http://www.library.oit.edu.shaw/> .
By LEE JUILLERAT H&N Regional Editor
CRATER LAKE — It was the swim of a lifetime.
Nine members of the Aquaduck Masters, a Eugene swimming club, completed their swim of a lifetime Saturday, Aug. 20, when they swam from Wizard Island to Cleetwood Cove.
“It was unbelievable,” Mitch Hanan, 52, said of the swim, which including breaks along the shoreline took about 4-1/2 hours. “It’s one of those things you share with your grandchildren.”
“You can just see forever,” Robin Clevenger, 45, the group’s co-coach said of swimming across the United States deepest, clearest lake. “The lights rays go down and down. We just kept looking at each other and hooting and hollering.”
“What made this such an experience was the pristine nature of Crater Lake and the awe-inspiring blueness,” echoed Andy Lewis, 47. “When you’re in the middle of the lake and you look around you appreciate that nature is so powerful in so many different ways.”
Planning and training for the adventure, which they estimate involved nearly six miles of swimming, began last year but kicked into high gear this spring. Along with 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 miles pool swims along with interval and stroke training, most participated in open water swims.
“People who have an interest in doing it had better have a plan,” said Lewis, of swimming the lake, noting the challenges include unusually cold temperatures — the lake surface temperature was 61 degrees — and a lack of support boats.
Although Crater Lake National Park managers discourage distance swimming in the lake, there are no actual prohibitions.
The trip was nearly complicated because only five team members were able to buy advance tickets for the morning tour boat that dropped them off at Wizard Island. All nine eventually bought tickets following some last-minute bargaining. At the island, they changed into wet suits and packed dry bags used to carry energy drinks and two-way radio used to make periodic contact with a non-swimming team member stationed along Rim Drive. Those reports were forwarded to park rangers, who monitored the swimmers.
Preplanning, Hanan and Lewis agree, was essential. After leaving Wizard Island, the group stopped in the lake midway to Llao Rock and then made four rest and refueling stops along the lake shore en route to Cleetwood Cove. After each stop, two slower swimmers left first, followed about five minutes later by four faster swimmers and, five minutes after that, the three strongest swimmers.
As word of the swim spread, people in passing tour boats shouted encouragement and took photos.
As they neared Cleetwood Cove, where the only trail from Rim Drive reaches the lake, the team celebrated with family and friends and lake visitors who waited to cheer the group’s success.
“I have climbed almost every cascade peak, run numerous marathons and triathlons, backcountry skied, hiked and camped all over Oregon, yet swimming Crater Lake is the most marvelous adventure I’ve ever experienced,” said Dave McAllister, 46. “It was “orgasmic.’ ”
“People were hooting and hollering. We weren’t expecting that,” Clevenger said. “In a way you kind of didn’t want it to end.”
“They were yelling and screaming, ‘Here come those crazy swimmers,’ ” Hanan said of the finish, quickly adding. “That wasn’t why we did it. It was for the experience — an experience of a lifetime.” lee@heraldandnews.com
August 28 2011 Crews rebuild bulkhead at Cleetwood Cove LEE JUILLERAT
Construction of a bulkhead at Cleetwood Cove, the only place where people can visit Crater Lake at lake level, has caused only minimal delays.
The former bulkhead was removed and is being replaced with a new, more secure retaining wall. Superintendent Craig Ackerman said the former 50-year-old bulkhead was rusted, worn and not regarded as reliable to hold the boat docks in place. The new bulkhead is expected to provide safe mooring for tour and park research boats.
Earlier this summer, helicopters delivered heavy equipment and materials to the Cleetwood Cove shore. Contractor for the project is Eric Ammon Inc., of Anderson, Calif.
Here’s the break down of the Cleetwood project.
Title I scope verification, scoping trip, finish pre-design report with
life cycle costs added. $12680. (Feb thru June, 2009).
Title II Design, sub-surface dive investigation of foundations, NEPA
compliance, wetland analysis, OR DSL and Army Corp permit application,
Construction Document development, park reviews. $103,570 (Sept 2009 thru June 2010).
Title III Construction management, project inspection, temporary
office/phone/satellite, temporary lodging, submittal and shop drawing review, OR DSL and Army Corp permit monitoring. $82,997
Construction Contract Award: $1,278,788 modifications +$27,280 = total $1,306,068
Total cost $1,481,483
September 2 2011 A chance reunion at Crater Lake
A chance reunion at Crater Lake By LEE JUILLERAT CRATER LAKE – Tom McDonough always introduces himself while giving interpretative programs at.
Over the years, many visitors named McDonough have asked him if they were related. So when a person listening to his program wondered aloud if they were related, Tom McDonough initially shrugged it off. But when the questionernamed Tom McDonough’s mother, father and other relatives, an Impromptu meeting was held after the program.
After 50 years, Tom McDonough and his cousin Ed, a retired San Francisco policeman, were reunited.
September 8 2011 Five new fires are ignited in the Park. These are in addition to the 3 the Park has been managing. The plan is to suppress 4 of the new starts and manage one more.
The two largest fires are now 150 acres and 50 acres. They are growing slowly since fuels are still only moderately dry. Effects are what the park would like to see. The weather has beenn hot, dry and unstable in the Pacific Northwest.
September 20 2011 The 30-mile drive around Crater Lake could get a major facelift to shore up rock walls, lay new asphalt and make traveling safer for visitors. The project would rehabilitate all 29.4 miles of East and West Rim drives as well as adjacent spur roads and parking areas. Numeous cracks and ruts are appearing and shoulders are sluffing away. Renovations would include constructing new retaining walls, resurfacing paved areas and reinforcing fill slopes. The Park is concerned with rockfall from adjacent slopes, specifically the sites on the East and West Rim drives, Munson ValleyRoad, Cloudcap Drive and the Pinnacles Road.
September 30 2011 Eric Brimlow heads home after 300-foot slide into the Crater Lake caldera in July
A 27-year-old man who fell into the Crater Lake caldera in July has headed home to New York after weeks of medical care at Rogue Valley Medical Center.
Eric Brimlow of Syracuse, N.Y., will continue his recovery with outpatient therapy in his home state, his family and doctors said in a statement released by the hospital Thursday.
Brimlow hopped from a rock wall barrier onto the snow-covered rim while walking with friends on the morning of July 11. He slipped and slid head-first roughly 300 feet into the caldera.
After a six-hour rescue by 49 park employees, including technical climbers, paramedics sent Brimlow by helicopter to RVMC, where doctors listed him in critical condition.
After several weeks in intensive care, Brimlow’s condition improved dramatically and was upgraded to serious on Aug. 4, enabling him to move to a regular hospital room. On Aug. 11, doctors changed his status to fair condition and transferred him to the inpatient rehabilitation center.
Summer 2011 Stone mason, Shay Wright, recently from Canyon Lands NP, builds 25 feet of stonewall at the Phantom Ship Overlook. The new stonewall replaces a 2×4 and rope barrier. Shay used stone boulders that he retrieved from road cuts around the Rim. Shay single handedly wheeled the stone and concrete mix from the parking lot up to the overlook. Each stone was then hand carved before being placed in the wall.
Summer 2011 Bear survey concludes that there are 27 black bear living in the Park. The survey was done by collecting hair from “rubbing” stations and then by comparing DNA. 10 bear were also collared with radio tracking devices. Using satellite GPS the survey team will be able to track the bears’ movements in and out of the Park. After two years the collars will automatically open and drop off. If the radio signal is still strong enough the tracking team will be able to locate the dropped collar. The cost of each collar is $2,000. The total two-year program is costing $150,000.
September2011 Larry, My friend Yvonne forwarded your observations about foxes at Crater Lake to me. I found your observations very interesting, especially about the porcupine quills. If you have any more details about the red foxes turning gray I would be really interested. The general consensus is that mountain red fox populations typically have a lot of silver/black/cross color phase individuals in the population, but if your sources had more than speculation that would be worth noting! I was already familiar with the excerpts from your history and in fact included the observation about the visitors being sickened by the fox eating ground squirrels when I presented a “casual conversation” on the foxes to park staff this summer – including the source of course! I have really enjoyed reading your history about the park. I have to confess that as a wild life biologist history has never been one of my strongest interests. However, working at the park the last two seasons there have been numerous things that have only made sense by learning more about the park’s history. (October 2012)
I thought I would share what I have learned about the foxes in the park. In September of 2011 one of the remote cameras we were operating recorded a red fox, in fact a red colored red fox. Given the elevation it seemed likely that it could be one of the subspecies of mountain red foxes, all of which are thought to be declining. This summer the wildlife crew wasn’t able to undertake any new projects during the transition of hiring a new terrestrial ecologist. However I was able to get permission from the park to use the cameras as an independent researcher in my off time. I placed cameras in 42 locations based on historical sightings and used a fox specific scent lure. Foxes visited 7 of the cameras in 4 areas around the rim; and one actually rubbed in the lure, leaving behind a bit of fur. That fur is currently being analyzed for genetics. We already know that the Sierra Nevada subspecies has historically been in the park – a fox hit by a car in 1939 and sent to the museum at UC Berkley has already been tested. Escapees or releases from fox farms are the only real reason that foxes in the park now would be different. Several researchers suggest that there seems to be a barrier – possibly behavioral or physiological – that is isolating the mountain red foxes. Historically mountain red fox populations have had a much higher incidence of the silver or black and cross color phases than lowland foxes that are almost always red. On the other hand, in the account of his 1897 expedition Merriam reported an observation of a red fox near Fort Klamath, which certainly would be low enough to allow for a mixing with farm foxes. We won’t really know for sure which foxes are in the park now without the genetic analysis.
I have been considering trying to continue research on the foxes through the winter. Winter is the most successful time for surveying because food is scarce, the breeding season makes them more interested in scent lures, and tracks are easier to find when the snow is right. Of course the snow also presents some significant obstacles for research too. Whether it’s this winter or next summer I’m hopeful that the park will collect additional genetic samples to learn more about the current population.
Thanks again for the information on the foxes. And I sure hope you keep adding to your history, it’s fantastic that it isn’t all being lost.
Best wishes, Maria Immel
P.S. Do you remember the Trulove family at Crater Lake? While searching for any sightings of foxes at Crater Lake I came across a post by Rex Trulove. His father worked in the park, I think during the same time you were there? His family raised and released Fredie, a fox pup that was rescued from a snowplow.
October 2011 Construction crews work on repairing the 2nd floor window dormers for the Steel Center. For the past several years the dormers have been leaking snow water down into the visitor center and dripping on the merchandise.
In November the crew moved inside to install steel beams on the ceiling of the 1st floor. They are also installing vertical steel posts to support these beams. The “temporary” repairs are costing $500,000. “Permanent” repairs will cost another $2 million, and probably won’t happen anytime soon. The snow regularly builds up from the ground over the roof of the historic stone and timber building, and over the years that weight has taken its toll.
FALL 2011 While OR-7 is the first wolf confirmed to have crossed the Cascades into Western Oregon since 1946, biologists say it is unknown whether others have stealthily done so before him, Dennehy says.
Wandering wolf OR-7 has meandered back into Jackson County, and his history-making travels from northeast Oregon have gone viral.
December 9 2011 Thursday marked one month since the 2-year-old male wearing a satellite-tracking collar moved into the wilds along the Cascade crest near the Jackson and Klamath county line between Crater Lake National Park and Mount McLoughlin. Agency biologists have used those waypoints to map the wolf’s more than 300-mile journey from the Imnaha Mountains east of Enterprise to Jackson County.
December 31 2011 Park Volunteer Larry Smith completes 50 years of being associated with Crater Lake National Park. He started with the Park in 1961 and worked 23 summers, 21 as a park ranger, and occasionally during the winters. The past two decades have been spent as a Park Volunteer.
December 31 2011 The year closes with the Park receiving only 30% of average snowfall, and 60% of average precipitation to date, and with only 21 inches of snow on the ground. Preceding three days dropped 4 inches of rain. The lack of snow is reminiscent of December 31, 1976 when ranger Bruce Wadlington and his family drove completely around Crater Lake because of the lack of snow. Also on this date 25 years ago, Ranger Larry Smith painted the front door of the Rim Visitor Center while dry grass poked up alongside the stone building. The average depth of snow on the ground for December 31 is usually about 70 inches
Season 2011 Visitors to Crater Lake National Park contributed $34.6 million to nearby communities, said Jeff Olson, National Park Service spokesman, and 549 area jobs were supported.
Season 2011 Park budget: $5,410,000
Season 2011 Visitation: 423,551
***previous*** — ***next***
***menu***
