Crater Lake Historic Resource Study

VI. Steps Leading Toward Establishment of Crater Lake National Park (continued)

N. Crater Lake National Park

After the turn of the century, a new generation of conservationists came to power, emerging into a political reality under the guidance of Gifford Pinchot, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Forestry. Pinchot advocated scientific forest management. In advising President Theodore Roosevelt in matters of conservation, Pinchot stressed the "gospel of efficiency," which preached that land and natural resources should be used to serve the needs of machinery, industry, and the production of commercial wealth. The preservation of natural scenery and historic sites for humanitarian values, this new doctrine stated, should remain subordinate to increasing industrial productivity. The persuasiveness to many of this utilitarian theory of conservation lay in its kinship with the pioneer ethic of land use. Advocates of absolute preservation suffered a severe disadvantage in that every major forest preserve prior to 1919 was located in the West, and, until mass production of the automobile in the 1920s, there was little visitation to justify use by the preservationists.

Those challenging the inadequacy of smaller parks did so against growing pressures for the reduction of reserves. To many, scenic preservation was still an extravagance; to establish parks merely as an attempt to preserve what might one day be valuable was seen as a selfish and unproductive indulgence. As a result of this lingering remnant of pioneer thinking, any new parks that might be designated were bound to be limited in extent: "As exemplified by the restriction of Mount Rainier and Crater Lake national parks to their focal wonders, the national park idea at the beginning of the twentieth century was little changed from its original purpose of protecting a unique visual experience." [28]

The prerequisite that national parks should be areas that were worthless economically was mandatory in discussions leading to the protection of Crater Lake. In spite of the fact that utilization of resources was never the major issue here that it would be at other parks, Steel was careful only to publicize the grandeur and monumentalism of this southern Oregon wonder, and not any potential economic values.

Oregon advocates realized that approval of the park by Congress hinged mostly on evidence of its worthlessness for all but the most marginal economic returns. In this vein Thomas H. Tongue of Oregon introduced Crater Lake to the House of Representatives as "a very small affair--only eighteen by twenty-two miles." [29]

Near the center of the proposed park is situated Crater Lake, which is conceded by all who have visited it to be one of the greatest scenic wonders in the United States, if not in the known world. Increasing numbers of scientists visit it from year to year for the purpose of making additional investigations. [30]

The proposed park was "of such a character that it cannot be utilized for agricultural purposes." [31] It was simply "a mountain, a little more than 9,000 feet in altitude, whose summit [has] been destroyed by volcanic action," and was "now occupied by a a gigantic caldron [caldera] nearly 6 miles in diameter and 4,000 feet in depth." In addition, Tongue hastened to assure his colleagues, the boundaries had been designed so as not to include any potentially valuable land. [32] Although large parts of the tract were covered with timber, it was mostly lodgepole pine not suitable for lumber and of little commercial value. [33] Tongue also made it clear that since "there are no settlers within the limits of the proposed park . . its establishment would in no way interfere with any vested or squatters' rights. . ." [34] The object of the bill before Congress was "simply to withdraw this land from public settlement [to protect] its great beauty and great scientific value." [35] In summary:

We are fully satisfied that the land designed to be set aside for the purpose contemplated by this bill is of such a character that it can not be utilized for agricultural purposes, nor with profit for any purpose of trade whatever, but is chiefly valuable for the purpose for which the proposed act seeks to appropriate it. [36]

Few members of the House opposed the preservation of Crater Lake, but they did wish to be certain that the park would protect no more than the wonder itself. John H. Stephens of Texas quizzed Representative Tongue about the potential for mineral deposits within the reserve proper, the bill as introduced prohibiting exploration for minerals. Tongue explained that this restriction was meant only to keep people from entering the reserve "under the name of prospecting" while their actual intent was to destroy the natural conditions of the park and the objects of beauty and interest. The House was skeptical, however, and forced Tongue to amend the bill to allow mining in the preserve. [37] Then the House reconsidered the motion and called for a vote. Thus amended, the Crater Lake Park bill cleared the House, passed the Senate without debate, and was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 22, 1902. Thus, after seventeen years of concerted effort by its admirers, our seventh national park came into existence.

O. Provisions of the Crater Lake Act

The act of 1902 establishing the 249-square-mile park reserved and withdrew the land from settlement, occupancy, or sale "and set apart forever as a public park or pleasure ground for the benefit of the people of the United States, [an area] to be known as Crater Lake National Park." [38] The act provided that, subject to regulation, the park would be open to the location of mining claims and the working of same:

It was not the purpose of this provision to extend the mining laws to the reservation without limitation, but only to authorize the location and working of mining claims thereon . . . in such manner as not to interfere with or prejudicially affect the general purposes for which the reservation was established. [39]

This provision remained in effect for thirteen years, until August 21, 1916, when a congressional act removed the mining claim location provision from the Crater Lake Park Act of 1902. Conservationists had fought mining interests throughout this period and were finally able to convince Congress not only that there were no large-scale mineral deposits within the park boundaries but that mining was incompatible with the primary purposes of a national park.

Other provisions stated that the secretary of the interior was to protect timber from "wanton depredation" and that there were to be no settlements permitted or lumbering, "Provided, That said reservation shall be open, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, to all scientists, excursionists, and pleasure seekers. . . ." [40]

A few weeks after the park was established, Congress appropriated $2,000 for park protection. Not surprisingly, no funds were budgeted for development or maintenance purposes. The War Department was given jurisdiction over the area. In parks placed under military control, superintendents were often political appointees. A lack of private income and of political connections combined to deny Steel the honor of being Crater Lake National Park's first superintendent. William F. Arant of Klamath Falls served from 1902 to 1913, and then Steel, dubbed the "Father of Crater Lake," filled the position until resigning in 1917 to accept the post of U.S. Commissioner of the National Park Service, in which office he died in 1934. [41]

P. William Steel and the Preservation of Crater Lake

Without a doubt, William Gladstone Steel played the most prominent role in the establishment of Crater Lake National Park. It is to his credit that Steel was farsighted enough to realize that such an action must be accomplished quickly. An interesting aspect of Will Steel's conservationist philosophy, however, was that he was not determined to maintain the primitiveness of wilderness areas, but instead felt that national parks such as Crater Lake should be developed as quickly as possible by the federal government in order to attract a multitude of visitors and keep them happily occupied. To this end he campaigned early for a road system in the park and for the establishment of tourist accommodations and recreational opportunities. Steel's indifference to the absolute preservation of natural scenery is evident in his account of his first visit to Crater Lake. After eating their lunch in the crater of Wizard Island, Steel and his party

could not resist the temptation to roll a few large boulders down to the lake before taking our departure. Such sport became very exciting, indeed, as we watched them bounding from rock to rock, increasing in speed and violence, until like a tornado, they swept through the branches of trees a hundred feet high, hurling them to the ground, and dashed on to the quiet waters, beneath which they plunged never more to rise. [42]

Illustration 7. Steel party on rim of Crater Lake, 1903.

In August 1903 Will Steel guided a number of distinguished people to view Crater Lake. Members of the party included Senator John Mitchell, Senator Charles Fulton and family, Governor George E. Chamberlain, and Joaquin Miller, who by then was acclaimed by many as the foremost poet of the Far West. He was on assignment on this trip, having been commissioned by the editors of Sunset Magazine to report on the lake's beauty and encourage people to visit it, via the Southern Pacific Railroad. Fred Kiser, a well-known Portland photographer, went along to record the trip on film.

The party set off from Medford amid much publicity and rousing good wishes, heading in wagons over Dead Indian Road to the Fort Klamath Indian Agency. The company of twenty-seven people arrived at Crater Lake and camped on the rim. Nearby was a party of about thirty people guided by Captain O.C. Applegate. A leading feature of the trip was a climb of Mount Scott. A sixteen-foot boat was launched into the waters of the lake by means of skids and guy ropes. A most enjoyable time was had by all on this extremely comfortable outing enriched by appetizing menus and entertaining campfire talks.

The above photo taken on the rim of Crater Lake shows, L to R, Phil Metscham, Dr. Edgar P. Hill, Sen. Charles W. Fulton, Joaquin Miller, Will G. Steel. During this trip Miller wrote "Sea of Silence." Courtesy Oregon Historical Society.

Steel apparently did not have a strong committment to the protection of wildlife around Crater Lake. He once remarked that

to those who enjoy the noble sport of hunting, the vicinity of Crater Lake is especially attractive. Great numbers of deer, elk, bear, panther and mountain sheep roam through the timber in fancied security, inviting the keen eye and steady nerve of the sportsman. [43]

Illustration 8. Launching Start, Steel excursion of 1903. Courtesy Oregon Historical Society.

In 1915, while serving as superintendent of the park, Steel recommended that a tunnel be constructed through the rim immediately above the level of the lake "in order that visitors to Crater Lake Park may have ready access to the lake itself, and not be compelled to make the hazardous trip down the steep trail that leads from the lodge to the shore below." [44] His suggestion was supported by ex-Secretary of State William J. Bryan, who visited the lake in July of that year and stated that "Mr. Steel has plans for a tunnel, as the precipitous sides, the heavy snowfall and the character of the rock make an elevator a difficult and unsafe problem [italics added]." [45]

Further details of this plan are even more startling, as unveiled seventeen years later:

Commence construction [of a new road] at the low point immediately west of Garfield Peak, thence inside the rim to the base of Kerr Notch, at the water's edge, four miles distant, instead of 13 as at present, on a four per cent maximum grade instead of ten. Then bore a tunnel on approximately five per cent grade, to the rim road, about half a mile distant, using all debris to fill in shallow water for turning places, parking and boat houses. With such a road in operation, instead of one, percent of visitors going to the water there will be 100 per cent.

The objection made to this road is that it will mar the landscape. Well, to whom does the landscape belong? [46]

Steel's philosophy was a curious combination of attitudes. Although he felt the lake should be protected from private greed and exploitation, he felt that it was permissible for it to undergo government development because at least that way all the people could share in the profit and enjoyment. His aim seemed to be less in insuring that the area was impacted as little as possible than in guaranteeing that it would be "improved" along lines he personally approved of for the good of the people and the financial betterment of the state of Oregon. Even his well-publicized venture of introducing rainbow trout into the lake in 1888 was done primarily to enhance the spot's attraction for fishermen. As a member of the Crater Lake National Park staff once concluded,

Preservation to Steel and his generation meant keeping the land out of the hands of private developers, while at the same time encouraging development of hotels and roads under the direction and financial leadership of the Government. [47]

It is interesting to note in retrospect that so completely did Steel convince people in the 1880s and early 1900s of the inherent dramatic beauty of Crater Lake and the importance of preserving it for future generations that most of them opposed his later more ecologically devastating plans for the lake because of their fear of irreparable damage to the environment.

Illustration 9. Excursion at Crater Lake, 1905. Courtesy Oregon Historical Society.

Q. Park Boundaries

In 1914 the northward extension of Crater Lake National Park to include Diamond Lake, a popular fishing resort twenty miles away in the Umpqua National Forest, and Mount Thielsen, was proposed by the park superintendent. Legislation to this effect was first introduced on April 6, 1918, by Senator Charles McNary of Oregon as Senate Bill 4283, 65th Congress. The primary purpose of the proposal was the transfer of a tract of more than 92,000 acres to the National Park Service for inclusion within Crater Lake National Park. Future plans for the additional land would include its development as an important fishing resort, expansion of camping facilities, and other recreational features to be added later.

The feeling of the director of the National Park Service was that,

like the proposed extension of the Yellowstone National Park, the addition of the Diamond Lake region to Crater Lake would give to the national park system something that was intended by nature always to be the property of the Nation and to be developed as a recreational area for all the people. [48]

The bill passed the Senate on April 5, 1920, and was referred to the House. At that point, Secretary Edwin T. Meredith of the Agriculture Department sent a letter to Chairman Nicholas Sinnott of the House Committee on Public Lands opposing the measure based on certain projected economic uses of the region that he felt overshadowed its scenic and recreational values. These economic plans included grazing, possible use of the lake as a storage reservoir, and some limited commercial lumbering. The secretary felt strongly that

this lake is no different whatever from many other lakes within the National Forests. It has no particular scenic value, nor is it an unusual lake in any respect as is the Crater Lake. It is not especially valuable for scenic attraction, nor is it such a natural phenomena. . . .

It was Meredith's opinion that the recreational possibilities of the area "can just as efficiently and more economically be handled under National Forest management. . . ." [49]

The appearance of this official opposition and objections by sportsmen on the local level effectively killed the proposal by ensuring its disapproval by the House. Diamond Lake, which had been stocked with rainbow trout by the state of Oregon, ultimately became one of the greatest fishing spots in the region, harboring on its shores the largest rainbow trout egg-taking station on the continent, producing over seventeen million trout eggs annually. [50]

Although the question of Diamond Lake's future was kept alive and was the subject of many discussions for several more years, it was finally announced in 1926 that

the president['s] co-ordination committee, considering the inclusion of Diamond lake in Crater National Park, decided against the inclusion by a unanimous vote. . . . In a brief speech . . Congressman H.W. Temple of Pennsylvania, chairman, stated that the committee was still considering the alteration of the boundaries of Crater National park but that recommendation designating new areas to be taken in would not include Diamond lake. [51]

The park boundaries as established in 1902 have remained essentially the same except for a short southward extension of 2-1/2 miles along the approach road added in 1926 to preserve in its virgin state a narrow strip of ponderosa pines.

On December 19, 1980, Congress approved the addition of 23,000 acres to Crater Lake National Park. This land was transferred to the park by the U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to preserve it as part of the American wilderness system.

Illustration 10. "Map Showing the Proposed Enlargement of the Crater Lake National Park." From Report of the Director of the National Park Service, 1918.