Alternative 1 - Mngmnt Plan, Crater Lake NP, 2005

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General Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, Crater Lake National Park, Klamath, Jackson, Douglas Counties, Oregon, 2005

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Alternatives, Including the Preferred Alternative

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ALTERNATIVE 1 – NO ACTION

The no-action alternative represents continuation of the current management direction and approach currently used at the park. This alternative is presented as a way of evaluating the proposed actions of the other three alternatives and is useful in understanding why the National Park Service or the public may believe that future changes are necessary.

Ongoing and planned actions and projects in the park are included under projects that make up the cumulative impact scenario and are not included as part of this alternative. The impacts of these actions are analyzed as part of the cumulative impact analysis.

The existing road access and circulation system within the park would continue Two- way traffic and existing pullouts along Rim Drive that provide scenic lake views would be maintained. Several pullouts that are heavily used would likely continue to have crowding problems during peak times and problems with newer, larger vehicles and RVs. Grayback Road would remain unpaved and open to one- way traffic. During winter, private vehicular access would be maintained from the south and west on OR 62 through park headquarters and up to Rim Village. Winter snowmobile and snowcoach access would continue from the North Entrance along Crater Lake Entrance Road to the rim. Other winter visitor activities in the park, including cross- country skiing and snow play on unplowed roads, would also continue. The Park Service would initiate a data collection and monitoring program to gather information on winter use and resource conditions to ensure long- term protection and sustainable use of park resources.

Existing buildings and facilities in the park would remain. Preservation and maintenance of existing historic structures would continue based on available staff and funding. Some historic structures would be adaptively used for visitor use and administrative functions. The superintendent’s residence, a national historic landmark, would be rehabilitated for use as a science and learning center. Munson Valley would continue to serve as the center of NPS administration, maintenance, and housing. It would also serve as the year- round visitor interpretation and orientation point. There would continue to be inadequate storage and workspace for park collections that meets NPS museum standards. Due to limited staffing, the cataloging backlog would continue to increase.

Existing visitor recreational opportunities and interpretive programs in the park would continue. Rim Village would continue to function as a year- round operation with limited services in the winter. Seasonal interpretive activities would be provided at the rim. Mazama Village would be the primary overnight visitor use area in the summer. Development at Cleetwood would continue to provide access to Crater Lake and the commercial boat tours of the lake.

Cultural resources in the national park would continue to be surveyed, inventoried, and evaluated under National Register of Historic Places criteria of evaluation to determine their eligibility for listing in the national register as NPS staff and funding permitted.

Natural resource management protection, preservation, and restoration activities would also continue as staffing and funding allowed. The following protection measures to protect the lake would also continue:

minimal development would be allowed within the caldera and lake drainage area
operations would be managed to prevent contaminants from draining into the lake
only essential visitor service would be provided at Rim Village
the number and types of boats would be controlled
a single access trail would be provided to the lake

The Crater Lake Long- term Limnological Program would continue to research and monitor Crater Lake as well as determine periodic recommendations for resource preservation. Partnerships with academia and other outside research interests would continue in support of inventorying and monitoring of resources.