Commissioners rescind support for national park around volcano
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:17 AM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleCowlitz County's commissioners Tuesday rescinded their July support of making Mount St. Helens a national park, saying more information is needed before any decision is reached.
The unanimous vote was cheered by the crowd of 50 who gathered at a public hearing on the matter at the Cowlitz County Administration Building in Kelso. Most strongly opposed transferring the 110,000-acre national volcanic monument from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service, saying it would decrease access to the land.
The vote does not mean the commissioners support staying with the Forest Service, just that they need more information before forwarding a final decision to federal lawmakers, said Commissioner George Raiter. Raiter didn't know how long the next decision will take, saying it could be weeks or months and depends if a regional advisory committee mentioned Tuesday night is formed.
Tuesday's crowd mostly favored retaining Forest Service management as long as more federal funding could be directed to the volcano.
"I see restrictions and restrictions and restrictions (with a national park)," said Mike Hayden, a member of an ATV club in Cougar. "We want to see more areas open."
With apologies to his wife, Castle Rock's Brian Mahon said Mount St. Helens was his first love. He can't hike as much as he used to but he still rides mountain bikes in the area. Under a national park, Mahon said that won't be allowed.
"I love this place like it's my own Shangri-La," he said. "The Forest Service can do a good job. Can the Park Service do a better job? I don't see it."
And Dick Ford, director of Weyerhaeuser's Forest Learning Center, said the company opposes the Park Service idea because officials feel it will be the first step in seizing private land around the monument. Ford also said the company worries about air quality standards that usually accompany national parks, saying those restrictions could affect the local mills.
Some national park advocates say air quality standards can be adjusted for individual areas, but Ford remained leery.
"We haven't seen anything in writing guaranteeing anything," he said.
Dan Belding of Silver Lake added that the Forest Service promised access to hunters and outdoor enthusiasts when the monument was created. Switching it to a the more restrictive national park regulations, he said, would be like "a broken treaty."
Some, though, favored the greater prestige and awareness a national park could bring --- not to mention more tourist dollars.
Robert Andrew of Toutle has volunteered at several Mount St. Helens visitor centers and said people are shocked when they learn it isn't already part of the national park system. He said the Forest Service is "a duck out of water," when it comes to managing tourist sites, something the Park Service excels at.
"Tourism is the big issue here and money is a big issue and I think the Park Service could do a better job," he said.
And Charlotte Persons, of the Willapa Hills Audubon Society, said her group might favor a national park solely because it might stop a planned copper mine just outside the monument. Others said new legislation also will prevent the mine even if the monument stays within the Forest Service.
And others questioned why the only choices were the status quo or the Park Service, saying a new model has to be developed with Mount St. Helens' unique needs in mind.
"Let's have a hybrid," suggested Edward Barnes.
The copper mine and plans to extend State Route 504 were mentioned at Tuesday's forum but not discussed. Commissioners said both need to be discussed at their own public forums once the Forest Service/National Park matter is resolved.
An act of Congress is necessary to transfer the monument from the Forest Service to the National Park Service. U.S. Rep Brian Baird and U.S. Senator Patty Murray have remained neutral on the idea. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell has signalled tentative support for the Park Service, though that was after the county commissioners backed the plan in July.
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