New push for Mount St. Helens National Park

[fireweed]

Down here at the Volcano, we don't get Seattle/Puget Sound news.
 https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/an-area-unlike-any-in-the-world-make-mount-st-helens-a-national-park/

[hunterednate]

Thanks for sharing that. I get why the writer is pushing for that - the visitor centers seem out of date and in disrepair. But I would not be in favor of switching the monument to a National Park unless a generous provision is made to allow hunting to continue. It seems switching to a National Park would shut down all the current general and permit opportunities within the monument.

[buckfvr]

Thanks for sharing that. I get why the writer is pushing for that - the visitor centers seem out of date and in disrepair. But I would not be in favor of switching the monument to a National Park unless a generous provision is made to allow hunting to continue. It seems switching to a National Park would shut down all the current general and permit opportunities within the monument.

An obvious win-win for the non-hunting population.  Two birds with one stone.  To support this is to give up opportunity to hunt.

[GOcougsHunter]

Mt St Helens should not become a park.  The article points out dwindling usage as the rationale for transferring to the NPS.  The major design flaw with the monument is that the North Side is designed as day use only.  It is a long way to drive from the population centers to have to visit only for the day.  Developing camping areas in the Johnston Ridge or Windy Ridge use areas would greatly increase the number of visitors and visibility to the monument.  I have hunted the area extensively and cannot imagine the park system taking over.  The NPS will never allow hunting.  The elk herds (with TAHD prevalent) would become hugely overpopulated and we would experience massive die offs during colder winters.  It would be a cluster....

[ganghis]

I was up there last weekend and ran into a St Helens Institute ranger who was talking about a new expansion/campground - the fact that the FS is signing off on new leases and that new development/revitalization is planned kinda makes that Op-Ed writer sound like they're off in their own make believe world.

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/08/volcano-lodge-mount-st-helens-national-monument/

[pianoman9701]

Thanks for sharing that. I get why the writer is pushing for that - the visitor centers seem out of date and in disrepair. But I would not be in favor of switching the monument to a National Park unless a generous provision is made to allow hunting to continue. It seems switching to a National Park would shut down all the current general and permit opportunities within the monument.

An obvious win-win for the non-hunting population.  Two birds with one stone.  To support this is to give up opportunity to hunt.

They know the herd needs culling up there. They're trying to head it off ahead of time.

[bbarnes]

They tried to make Mount Saint Helens a national Park probably 20 years ago Brian bear do US congressman put a Mount Saint Helens advisory committee together I collected 385,000 signatures myself that said no national park but these are the recreations we do want since then there’s been none of those recreations allowed at the mountain and furthermore the restrictions on the monument of Mount Saint Helens are far stricter than any national parks regulations so if they’re trying to protect an area it’s already protected that’s what people don’t get people need to get one thing all these agencies have been taken over by environmental terrorists in my opinion I don’t care if it’s the DNR the fish and wildlife any of these advisory boards it’s gotten ridiculous that we’ve got a fight so hard to use our public lands since May 18 of 1980 there’s been over 300,000 acres of Mount Saint Helens that has been closed off including Spirit Lake it has been off-limits to all of us that’s 43 years ago administratively closed by a monument manager it’s time that we take our public lands back the problem is all of you on this web Site for the most part will not show up to any of those meetings it takes more than two people to protect our best interest and the interest of our families in later generations keep our public lands public

[Elkaholic daWg]

They tried to make Mount Saint Helens a national Park probably 20 years ago Brian bear do US congressman put a Mount Saint Helens advisory committee together I collected 385,000 signatures myself that said no national park but these are the recreations we do want since then there’s been none of those recreations allowed at the mountain and furthermore the restrictions on the monument of Mount Saint Helens are far stricter than any national parks regulations so if they’re trying to protect an area it’s already protected that’s what people don’t get people need to get one thing all these agencies have been taken over by environmental terrorists in my opinion I don’t care if it’s the DNR the fish and wildlife any of these advisory boards it’s gotten ridiculous that we’ve got a fight so hard to use our public lands since May 18 of 1980 there’s been over 300,000 acres of Mount Saint Helens that has been closed off including Spirit Lake it has been off-limits to all of us that’s 43 years ago administratively closed by a monument manager it’s time that we take our public lands back the problem is all of you on this web Site for the most part will not show up to any of those meetings it takes more than two people to protect our best interest and the interest of our families in later generations keep our public lands public

  So true. Those of us in the area need to be there whenever possible for these meetings and comments (ALL of us for online). I have found that the motorized recreation access folks do  a much better job of reacting to these type of threats. Thank you bbarnes  for your efforts

[fireweed]

A little bit of inside information/rumor
The USFS is in the process of rolling back the "restricted area" that bbarnes talked about, Its currently 30,000 acres, (not 300,000 acres--unless you count the Weyerhaeuser St Helens tree farm too.) From what I heard, only the Spirit Lake basin will have the "stay on the trail or be fined" administrative restrictions.  These were improper to start with and went far beyond the Monument's own plan.  If they actually do this then you could hike from the Spirit Lk Hwy across the valley to Castle Lake.  The Mount St Helens Institute, a non-profit, needs to raise $30 million for their revamping of Coldwater Visitor Center to remodel it and add lodging and a campground.  We shall see.

[85yota]

Absolutely terrible idea..
 What was the reasing behind the spirit lake the other area closures in the first place?

[CastleRocker]

If I recall correctly; Reagan signed it into  Volcanic Natl. Monument status for 20 years.  This was for science and research on how the flora and fawna would recover after being absolutely devastated.  There was a sunset clause, and we were going to be able to use our land for recreation again in 2002.  However, Clinton made it a permanent National Monument a few years before the sunset clause took effect.  I went to the meetings and it was all for nothing.  Still ticks me off.

[bigtex]

If I recall correctly; Reagan signed it into  Volcanic Natl. Monument status for 20 years.  This was for science and research on how the flora and fawna would recover after being absolutely devastated.  There was a sunset clause, and we were going to be able to use our land for recreation again in 2002.  However, Clinton made it a permanent National Monument a few years before the sunset clause took effect.  I went to the meetings and it was all for nothing.  Still ticks me off.

Completely false. There was no sunset provision on the monument itself, and Clinton wasn't involved. There is not, nor has there ever been a National Monument in the US with a sunset provision. The only thing close to what your saying is the scientific advisory board which was created and had a sunset provision of 10 years. Congress passed the law establishing the monument in 1982 and Reagan signed it into law. In fact here's the bill: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/97/hr6530/text

[bigtex]

When the idea of National Parks were first thought of over 100 years ago it was to protect "special places," now what you're seeing is places that are already protected (such as National Monuments) simply being "upgraded" to National Park status to bring in more tourism. You're seeing Chamber of Commerce type groups petitioning their local Congress person/Senator to change their local National Monument/Historical Park/Lake Shore into a National Park for no other reason other than saying it's a "National Park." Quite simply having that "National Park" name brings in a lot more people than that "National Monument" name.

Personally, I don't see it happening. If the land was transferred to the National Park Service and became a National Park hunting could still be allowed if the park was a "National Park & Preserve." Basically that would mean no hunting in the National Park portion, but allowed in the Preserve part. This type of management is becoming more common with areas that were formerly open to hunting but then transferred to the NPS.

[fireweed]

The real danger in MSH becoming a National Park is if the USFS basically throws up their hands and says "we don't want it anymore because it is too expensive".  I think that is a real possibility.  Vast areas of the Monument are ignored now, which is ok with me and other locals, but might not sit long-term with people who like the idea of more tourism and facilities. 

[Spuddieselwwu]

The real danger in MSH becoming a National Park is if the USFS basically throws up their hands and says "we don't want it anymore because it is too expensive".  I think that is a real possibility.  Vast areas of the Monument are ignored now, which is ok with me and other locals, but might not sit long-term with people who like the idea of more tourism and facilities.

As a local, I agree 100%.  The real travesty here is how long it's going to take for Drew's to reopen.