So it wasn’t a closed system?
No. The door was always open and we sought out our own expertise and guidance. We always did that. If there was any kind of question, we wanted to seek out experts. We were also encouraged to use the library to back our conclusions with research.
Were there one or several factors that led you to locate in Seattle?
We may have talked about this off the tape. At that particular time the NPS was planning to establish the Pacific Northwest Regional Office (8). John Rutter and others were looking for some staff people from various disciplines. They seemed to need somebody of my general qualifications and I was asked if I was interested.
There are a couple aspects of wilderness planning I am wondering about in reference to Crater Lake. One is the one-eighth mile boundary corridor and the other being a motor nature road that was planned for what is now a trail to Union Peak.
I think I can explain about those. Both preceded the wilderness planning at Crater Lake. The very first wilderness recommendation that went to Congress was for Petrified Forest (11). The second was Craters of the Moon. I think they were about a week apart. In the case of Petrified Forest, the Park Service felt that we needed a zone along the fenced boundary whereby the rangers could operate patrol vehicles—a buffer if you will. This is because people frequently went into the park from adjoining land and removed petrified objects. The law enforcement concern was pretty critical there, so we painted a dark picture to the congressional committee in Washington. Of course, the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club did not like that idea. They wanted wilderness clear up to the boundary. The committee saw a benefit to the Park Service in having this zone that could be used to help protect and manage the wilderness. There you have the idea established, but I don’t know if they still have non-wilderness zones at Petrified Forest now.
At Crater of the Moon I am not sure that the boundaries of it are fenced, but the buffer concept was applied by the Park Service. The wilderness that the Park Service was trying to advance would be an area that is “pure”, and free of man-made intrusions. This would be where a person could expect to realize an experience free from adverse influences. The Park Service thought a one-eight mile management zone could help.
