[Bruce]

Wilder 05

Wilder Shelter 05

[captain jack]

[RodF]

Dungeness/Gray Wolf and Quilcene Shelters photos by Don Abbott Deer Park Shelters #1 and #2 and Ranger Station, 2006

Three Forks Shelter, 1994

Falls Shelter (upper Gray Wolf), 1990 and 2000

Lower Cameron Shelter, 1990

Gold Creek (lower Dungeness) Shelter, 1996

Camp Handy, 2006

Boulder Shelter, 1986

Silver Creek Shelter, 1994 and 1996

Ten Mile Shelter (Big Quilcene), 2008

Tunnel Creek Shelter, 2007

[RodF]

An album of all 90 of Don Abbott's Olympic shelter and related photos is available here, and includes an interactive Google Map of their locations.

[Bruce]

Happy Hollow

[Bruce]

HH 05

H Hollow 05

Happy Hollow 05

[Bruce]

Waterhole 05

Waterhole Cabin 05

Waterhole

[Bruce]

Castle 00

Castle 94

[Bruce]

Toleak 97

Scotts Creek 97

[Bruce]

at Hayes 06

Hayes Shed 05

[Bruce]

Pelton Creek 00

Pelton 00

[Bruce]

Tunnel Creek 91

Sink Lake ONF 90

[goats gone wild]

Nice additions to the portfolio, Bruce.

[RodF]

Many of us have expressed concern over the future of Olympic trail shelters, in light of Judge Burroughs' decision in the case Olympic Park Associates v Mainella. OPA newsletters magnified our concern by making overly broad claims about the implications of this decision. Olympic National Park has now issued its Final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. Excerpts from this place this decision in perspective. "Historic shelters would be stabilized and preserved, and visitors would have increased opportunities to see and understand the historic shelter system in the park. This could adversely affect those visitors who wish to experience a pristine wilderness with no evidence of human use." - ONP GMP/EIS, Preferred Alternative, Chapter 4, page 428 (The Park has already acted on this by hiring a full-time backcountry carpenter, the very energetic and experienced Don Houck, who has already accomplished a great deal in his first several months.) "Maintenance of historic resources is not precluded by Olympic Park Associates v Mainella. The lesson of Olympic Park Associates v. Mainella is that cultural resource management activities must be informed by the status of the land as wilderness. This does not mean a historic feature must be allowed to decay. It does mean that cultural resources inside Olympic National Park wilderness will be managed using methods that are consistent with the preservation of wilderness character and values." - ONP GMP/EIS, Chapter 6, page 97 "Existing shelters are considered 'historic' because they have been evaluated using the National Register of Historic Places 'Criteria for Evaluation' (36 CFR 60.4) and meet this criteria. Twenty-two shelters are included on the List of Classified Structures and are either listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places." - ibid., page 99 Here is the List of Classified Structures. Our state Historic Preservation Officer provides this helpful explanation: "We are aware there is concern and confusion as to the relationship of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966... There is nothing in this Act that allows Wilderness Areas to take precedence over the preservation of historic properties. Certainly this is evident in Section 4(3) which states: 'The designation of any area of any park, monument, or other unit of the national park system as a wilderness area pursuant to this Act shall in no manner lower the standards evolved for the use and preservation of such park, monument or other unit of the national park system...' "The Wilderness Act itself includes a partial exception for units of the National Park System, 16 U.S.C. 1133(a)(3), under which laws pertaining to historic preservation, including the NHPA, continue to apply in Wilderness Areas so long as they are administered to preserve the area's wilderness character... "Your draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement is thoroughly cognizant of the tension between historic and archaeological preservation laws and Wilderness Act and, in our view, addresses that tension in a way that complies with the Wilderness Act while providing important protection for cultural and archaeological resources in the Park." - Allyson Brooks, Ph.D., State Historic Preservation Officer, Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. For those interested in the preservation of historic shelters, here is the full text of her comments.

Source: Olympic National Park, Final GMP/EIS, Volume 2, Comment Letters, page 165; at page 36 of this link

[Bruce]

Pelton Creek 00