The National Park Service (NPS) is considering a plan to reroute a trail and relocate as well as build additional campsites in the Stephen Mather Wilderness within North Cascades National Park in Washington. We need you to urge the NPS to adopt wilderness-compatible alternatives for these proposed projects. Public comments on Backcountry Camp Modifications in North Cascades National Park Environmental Assessment are due March 8, so please speak up today! The Stephen Mather Wilderness is a rugged area of more than 638,000 acres. It is contiguous with a number of other Wildernesses in the North Cascades ecosystem and provides important wildlife habitat for many native species, such as wolverine, cougar, lynx, black bear, and those less common there such as grizzly bears and wolves. In the northern end of North Cascades NP, within the Wilderness, the NPS is proposing to reroute 2,400 feet of the Brush Creek Trail and relocate the Graybeal Hiker and Stock Camps, following a fire. The agency doesn’t know yet where it will relocate the camps to, but the NPS is proposing to use helicopters, chainsaws, and other motorized equipment, all of which are antithetical to Wilderness and banned by the Wilderness Act (except in rare instances where such use is essential to wilderness protection or search and rescue operations, neither of which applies here). Helicopters harass wildlife and destroy the experience for wilderness visitors. The NPS should instead utilize primitive tools and skills to accomplish any work that needs to be done. The NPS is also proposing to construct additional campsites in the southern end of North Cascades NP, at Six Mile Camp and Bridge Creek Camp, in response to increased recreational demand mainly from thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). One campsite would be in the Stephen Mather Wilderness and the other would be on the boundary of the Wilderness. The NPS is proposing to use helicopters, chainsaws, and other motorized equipment for this part of the project, too. The NPS is offering no alternatives for these projects other than a “No action” alternative. We need you to encourage the NPS to go back to the drawing board and analyze wilderness-compatible solutions that would protect the area’s wild character. Such an analysis would first consider whether trail rerouting and campsite relocation and construction is truly necessary. If the NPS decides to complete these projects, any work in the Stephen Mather Wilderness must be carried out using primitive skills and tools only, not helicopters, chainsaws, or other motorized equipment. The NPS must also address the issue of what is appropriate recreational use in the Stephen Mather Wilderness. That includes implementing a better system for managing PCT thru-hiker use and coordinating with the Forest Service to ensure that the permit system is being properly administered. Please urge the NPS to complete a thorough Environmental Impact Statement that includes a wilderness-compatible alternative. All trail and campsite work needs to be completed without degrading the Wilderness. Submit comments by March 8: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=125982 |
