Friends of Crater Lake National Park
Newsletter, Vol. 3 No. 1, Spring 1998

President's Report
by Greg Reddell

For this newsletter I have lots of reports and articles from other people, so I do not have to write so much. The Friends of Crater Lake National Park has a lot of projects planned for this summer thanks to the hard work of other Friends, who have gotten things happening. Beverly Paulson organized a regional seminar in February and arranged the room for our April Board Meeting in Roseburg. Bev Hartell has been hard at work getting a Year 2002 Celebration started. An article on the Creation of Crater Lake National Park is found on the Internet at: http://www.nps.gov/crla/steel.htm. I will be looking forward to participating in the celebration. Bev Hartell, Alice Hatch and I have been working on a Memorandum of Understanding which is an agreement that Friends groups of National Parks and the National Park Service will sign. A Memorandum of Understanding will provide a framework when the FCLNP seek grants and donations for Crater Lake National Park projects. Greg Hartell and I will be planning with the Park Service for the Summer Trail Project Weekend to be held July 24-25-26. Judy Buckingham is coordinating with the Cycle Oregon for their cycle around Crater Lake this summer.

I want to thank Steve and Amy Mark for their presentations to the public at a regional seminar arranged by Beverly and Lewis Paulson in Roseburg. I have certainly enjoyed both Steve's presentation on Historical Park Landscapes and Amy's native plant talks and I am sure this audience did too.

I am very proud of the Winter Rim Information Desk that the Friends are volunteering to do. The Winter Rim Information Desk is functioning well. The couple of times I visited Crater Lake this winter I noticed that the Information Desk was a busy place with park visitors asking one of our Friends for information. The Friends appreciate the training and help that Camden Brewster, Interpretive Park Ranger, and other Crater Lake Staff have given.

As you can see, there are a lot of Friends activities. Coming soon, the Friends will be assisting the park with the planting of Collomia Mazama. Contact your nearby FCLNP Board member if you need any more information about projects. Let's look forward to the summer and watch for me at Crater Lake National Park.

Superintendent's Corner
by Albert J. Hendricks

The arrival of summer at Crater Lake is always viewed with great anticipation. Not only is the park more readily accessible, but the opportunity finally arrives to put into place all of the plans which have been developed during the long winter. This summer will not be an exception.

During the summer of 1997, CLNP was designated as one of 100 fee demonstration parks throughout the country. While entrance fees increased, the great majority of the increase remained in the park to fund projects that were designed to protect the park resources and/or enhance the visitor experience. The initial fee demonstration period was set for three years, but may be extended by Congress.

With one year's operation completed, funding is now available to start our highest priority projects. It is likely that you will see some of the benefits of this program during your visits this summer. A critical need which will be addressed as soon as snow conditions permit, is the replacement of the fuel storage and delivery system at Cleetwood. (The old system will soon be unable to meet underground fuel storage standards which will become effective at the end of the year.) The new system will meet all environmental standards. There is no more important task at Crater Lake than the protection of the pristine lake conditions, and this project will go a long way toward answering that protection.

An improvement which you will likely notice as soon as you enter the park is the new entrance signs which will replace the current squared steel structures. The new wood signs on log and stone bases are patterned after ones in use during the first half of the century. They will set an appropriate historic tone at the entrance to the park, which is compatible with our efforts to preserve the historic designed landscape at both Munson Valley and Rim Village.

A third project, just now entering the design stage is the rehabilitation of the Watchman Lookout to its 1930's appearance. Exhibits will be placed in the attached exhibit room for the first time in years. Many Friends have contributed many hours of lookout duty at the Watchman over the years, and know the beauty of the place. The carefully designed lookout will once again enhance the scene, when it is restored. Planning will continue this season and hopefully, work will commence during the 1999 season.

While we hope you notice some positive changes, we are always concerned that a basic reason for your visit, to see and experience the natural wonder of Crater Lake, remains unchanged. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Cycle Oregon To Come Through Park

Cycle Oregon will again come through the park, this time by way of Diamond Lake and the North Entrance on September 16th. Their lunch stop will be at the North Junction Overlook where Friends of CLNP will be providing hospitality -- answering questions, pointing out destinations and mileages on a map, visiting with riders, and helping with anything that needs doing. This is a well-organized event and another group will be doing the lunch, so we will have nothing to do with that preparation or serving. If there are a few people (4-6) who would be interested in providing this service for the Friends, please contact Judy Buckingham. Time frame is probably 9 AM till 1 PM, Sept. 16. Some of the riders get on the road early and their lunch stop is quite early.

Seminar Report
by Jan Wilson board member/Coos Bay

A seminar to interest and inform the public about Crater Lake National Park was held February 26 at the Douglas County Library in Roseburg.

Steve Mark, Park Historian, in a slide presentation "Rim Drive as a Cultural Landscape" showed how the development of Crater Lake National Park landscape related to past landed estates. It was a wonderful, thought provoking treatise and I hope Steve can repeat this informative lecture.

Amy Mark also presented a very interesting program discussing "Research Natural Areas" in the Park. Along with slides pertaining to four specific areas, she highlighted the Collomia Mazama, a rare plant discovered at Crater Lake. Wonderful! Perhaps many of us will be able to help with its restoration project this summer.

Both of these presentations were well received by the 43 people who attended the seminar. During a coffee break, there was time to visit, view the displays and ask questions of both Steve and Amy.

This event was organized through the efforts of Beverly and Lewis Paulson, Jean and Wayne Howe, and with help from Ella Mae Young and Anna Slemmer. I enjoyed the afternoon and feel more of these open public meetings would be of value in fulfilling the mission of our organization.

Planting Collomia Mazama -- This Spring, on a Saturday

With 7 feet of snow still on the ground at Munson Valley, the fine details about the Friends assisting with the restoration of a damaged site on Sphaganum Bog are still being formed. Sphaganum Bog will be a 2+ mile hike from the end of the road located close to the West Boundary of Crater Lake National Park. The trail crew is scheduled to reconn the trail and clear out blowdown before the planting effort. CLNP Resources Staff will transport materials and prepare the spots to plant the Collomia Mazama. More details on nearby campgrounds, maps to the trail, and meeting times and places will have to be sent out later. As you can imagine, with the uncertainties with the timing of spring at Crater Lake, it is not easy to plan real far ahead. Friends who signed up on the Planting volunteer sheet will be sent a mailing or contacted and for other interested friends, contact a local member of the board if you are interested. For now, find your day packs, hiking shoes, and if you are interested in camping, get your camping gear ready!

Trail Project Weekend -- July 24-25-26

This summer's trail project weekend is scheduled for July 24-26. Camp sites will be reserved at Lost Creek Campground in CLNP for July 24 & 25 so that the Friends can select their campsites on Friday. Various skill and endurance level projects have been planned so Friends can select different jobs they will be comfortable with. Saturday's projects could include installation of water bars, trail tread enhancement, trimming brush, and trail inventory. More information will be forthcoming when the Park Service looks at the trails this spring.

Registration includes camping and evening meals Friday and Saturday. You provide your own breakfast and trail lunches. Any Friends who are interested in being camp cooks, please contact us. Contact Greg Hartell or Greg Reddell for more information and to register. We hope to get Amelia Bruno and Steve Robinson again for entertainment around the Saturday evening campfire. Join us for a great weekend!