Your front page story titled “Olympic National Park major polluter” dated April 17th was an interesting read. Reducing the Park’s carbon footprint by introducing hybrid vehicles; replacing fossil-fueled cars and SUVs in the Park’s fleet is a start. I am an avid day hiker and visit the ONP on a regular basis. Although the article emphasizes other alternatives such as recycling, wind powered generators, biodegradable materials, etc. my focus is on public transportation and shuttle systems.
The greatest opportunity to reduce the Park’s visitor footprint is with biodiesel-fueled public transit. A year round shuttle starting at the new transit center in Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge is a priority. Seasonal shuttles up the Elwha, Sol Duc and Hoh Rain Forest would open up suitable transportation for visitors to spend a day or more in these areas without utilizing personal vehicles. This goal is obtained by employing our current Clallam County Transit System (CCTS) with the Park’s shuttles.
My hiking companion Dallas Drew and I recently investigated and have utilized the CCTS for our weekly adventures. Leaving our cars in Sequim we visited places as far away as Ruby Beach and LaPush. We have hiked the West Elwha trail, Baldy Ridge off Lake Sutherland, Storm King Mountain, Barnes Creek, Spruce Railroad trail, Mt. Mueller, Snider Peak, Lyre River, East Beach, Fairholm and the Lake Crescent Lodge area. We explored all of these places using public transportation.
It is not as convenient as driving your own car, but we feel we are minimizing our carbon footprints by leaving our vehicles home. No matter how small, we must do our part. CCTS has done a good job with connection schedules. Waits between transfers are usually 15 minutes or less. The drivers are exceptional courteous and willing to assist. The Forks route has their assigned transit stops, but the drivers are willing to pick or drop one off wherever it is safe to exit the highway. Pete, who drives the Forks route has been exceptionally helpful with schedule advice and pick up points. CCTS has rewarded us with reliable and safe transportation on our weekly sojourns to the West End.
My vision is to see the ONP shuttles in collaboration with the public transit system. This would allow ONP visitors the opportunity to leave their vehicles at public transportation parking lots, regardless of location on the Peninsula. Spend a care free day on Hurricane Ridge, hike or picnic up the Elwha, hike the trails or swim in the pools offered by Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort or enjoy the majestic canopies of the Hoh Rain Forest. Relish the visit knowing you are contributing to your personal carbon footprint reduction.
With planning the ONP can do its part to immensely reduce carbon dioxide emitted into the earth’s atmosphere; public transportation is a key part of any action plan. I am encouraged by superintendent Karen Gustin’s assurance the Park Service is addressing these issues.
On Tuesday March 31, the National Parks Conservation Association hosted a discussion in Port Angeles about Park access. The conversation centered around how to sustainably maintain access to the Park in light of recent storms, and the expectation that flooding will increase with climate change. The NPCA discussion questions are below. If you have an opinion about these issues, contact the NPCA via their website at www.npca.org/northwest/. Or better yet, post your response in our forum by clicking on the interact button to your left.
The Questions for discussion are:
Looking toward the future, what solutions are out there for dealing with changes in weather patterns and its affect on national parks, particularly in terms of access, whether it be roads, trails, or other ways of enjoying our national parks?
How can we sustain the connection between our communities and our national parks?
What are possible solutions to maintaining access that are both sustainable from an ecological and economic standpoint?
What barriers do you see or have you encountered that prevents access and enjoyment of public lands?
Are there instances where access should be denied or is access of paramount importance in management of the public’s land?
When or under what circumstances should roads, buildings and other structures be built, or not?
What other options besides roads and campgrounds could be used to sustain the public’s enjoyment of our public lands, i.e. shuttle busses, light rail, hut systems, etc?
Olympic National Park, due to its alpine, forest, and coastal nature, provides an exceptional opportunity to inspire individuals to change their personal behavior to reduce climate change.Perhaps it has the greatest opportunity in the National Park system, if not the world.This power to leverage the personal behavior choices of hundreds of thousands of people far outweighs any reduction in CO2 output that would be achieved by restricting access.Inspiration is part of the mission of Olympic National Park. With that in mind, the park and our communities need to do everything possible to lead by example.One obvious solution is to sponsor and encourage public transportation throughout the park.Transportation requires a cooperative effort among the Park, cities, counties, and transit authorities. To date, the park has dropped the ball on public transportation.Bus service has been provided in the past to Hurricane Ridge, Log Cabin resort, and Sol Duc, but withered away without support. To maximize the effectiveness of public transportation, the ONP visitor center in Port Angeles should relocate downtown next to the new $15 million International Gateway.The city currently has a lot for sale.Having the visitor center next to the transportation hub would make public transportation the obvious choice for visitors to move around the park.Any other solution would be stop gap at best. A downtown visitor center would increase foot traffic downtown.A downtown visitor center would create a museum node accessible by foot that includes the Marine Sanctuary, the Art Fiero lab, the Art gallery, the Historical Society, underground tours, farmers market, as well as the Chamber visitor center. Bus service to Hurricane Ridge should be reinstated.The existing bus route to Forks could have stops at the Elwha and Sol Duc met by shuttle buses.Upon arrival at the Forks visitor center, a connection could provide access to the Hoh, Kalaloch, Quinault, and eventually Aberdeen.Existing service to Neah Bay and LaPush could be expanded and promoted. For those taking overnight wilderness trips, parking would be more secure than trailheads.Logistics for point to point backcountry trips would no longer need to involve a car shuttle or hitchhiking. Visitors from around the world should be able to experience Olympic without renting a car. With light rail connecting SeaTac to downtown Seattle, it should be possible to arrive in Seattle, catch light rail to the ferry, ride the ferry, then catch a bus straight to downtown Port Angeles.Alternatively, fly in on Kenmore Air. Canadian visitors would also be well served by public transportation. The timing for this idea is NOW.There is a confluence of events that make this concept more important now than ever.Public money for public transportation is available, the Gateway is nearly complete, CO2 levels are rising, downtown Port Angeles needs a spark, and the AIA planning group provided similar insight to making Port Angeles more user friendly.The Olympic Peninsula could be a model of cooperation between the park and gateway communities that provides a concrete example of economically and ecologically sustainable symbiosis. Greg Halberg
The Friends of Olympic National Park support Park and Forest Service efforts to reopen the Dosewallips Road to the eastern Park. This letter appeared in the Peninsula Daily News:
As we bask in summer sunshine, we still remember that sad day last December when Olympic National Park was declared closed to visitors.Every single entrance road into the Park was blocked by flooding, landslides and windfall trees.
Park maintenance crews have done a fantastic job this spring in reopening most entrances.Today, three Park roads remain closed: Staircase, the Quinault Graves Creek Road and the Dosewallips Road.
The Park needs your help.Olympic National Forest has finally released its plan to reopen the Dosewallips Road, closed since 2002.This is the sole road entrance into the east side of the Park for 80 miles, between Staircase and Deer Park.It provides access to Dosewallips Campground, Ranger Station and trailheads.Please express your support for reopening the Dosewallips Road by writing Olympic National Forest, 1835 Black Lake Blvd., SW, Suite A, Olympia WA 98512 or by e-mail to comments-pacificnorthwest-olympic@fs.fed.us
Friends of Olympic National Park promotes preservation of the Park's natural, cultural and recreational resources for the benefit of present and future generations.That is possible only if the Park remainsaccessible.Your support is needed now to get this critical road reopened!