Plan maps Ross Lake future

The National Park Service has completed a general management plan for Ross Lake National Recreation Area, choosing an alternative that will enhance visitor opportunities along the North Cascades Highway.

The plan calls for area managers to make “better use of facilities along that corridor while ensuring the long-term stewardship of natural resources, cultural resources, and wilderness.”

The recreation area is part of the North Cascades National Park Complex, along the park itself and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

The Ross Lake recreation area was made a unit of the National Park System on Oct. 2, 1968. It now protects 118,000 acres along the Upper Skagit River and the North Cascades Highway through the North Cascades. It includes three hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs: Gorge, Diablo and Ross Lake.

The plan is the culmination of five years of planning and work, said North Cascades National Park Complex Superintendent Chip Jenkins.

“Over the course of developing this plan, we received close to 2,000 comments. Thanks to this involvement, I believe we have a plan that speaks to the needs of the park and the public,” Jenkins said.

The plan sets a vision and management strategy for the Ross Lake area for the next 15-20 years.

“We have many goals set for us in the coming years; goals that have come from the public’s active involvement in this planning process and goals that we cannot meet without their ongoing help and support,” Jenkins said.

Approval of the plan does not guarantee funding and staff needed to implement the plan, Jenkins said. Instead, it creates a vision of the future that will guide future management of the recreation area.

The chosen alternative was one of four considered by the Park Service. They varied by theme or overarching concept, resource management decisions, desired future conditions and the application of management zones, according to a park news release.

In addition to enhancing the visitor experience along the highway corridor, the chosen alternative would focus management of wilderness and back-country areas on ecosystem preservation and compatible recreational activities.

Recreation in the wilderness and backcountry areas, including Ross Lake, would focus on providing visitors with opportunities for solitude and connections with the natural world, the plan states. Self-propelled and nonmechanized recreation would be encouraged throughout the recreation area. Regulations for motorized water recreation would work to maintain the ambient character and experience on the lakes and the Skagit River, while promoting cleaner motor technologies.

Main points of Ross Lake GENERAL MANAGEMENT plan

GENERAL

The name: Change the name of Ross Lake National Recreation Area to North Cascades National Recreation Area in order to respond to widespread public requests to connect to North Cascades National Park and its greater ecosystem through the recreation area. This action would require congressional action. Existing uses, such as hydropower generation, hunting and hiking with dogs on trails would continue.

Wild and scenic rivers: Recommend wild and scenic river designation of Goodell Creek, Newhalem Creek and the Skagit River from the Gorge Powerhouse in Newhalem to the western boundary of the recreation area, a total of 33 river miles.

BACKCOUNTRY

Wilderness: Convert 3,559 acres of Thunder Creek Potential Wilderness Area to designated wilderness, implementing the authority granted to the Secretary of Interior by Congress in the Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988.

Trails: Improve existing trails and construct new day hiking and accessible trails primarily along the highway corridor.

Wilderness Information Center: Continue upgrades to the Marblemount facility to improve visitor services and operational efficiencies.

Backcountry permit system: Develop an advanced trip-planning option for the backcountry permit system.

Grizzly bear management: Retain grizzly bear habitat in large, contiguous, isolated blocks, and assess any new development to ensure high-quality grizzly bear habitat would not be compromised. Maintain a minimum core area greater than or equal to 70 percent within each bear management unit.

ON THE LAKE

Boating: To maintain and improve the current visitor experience, visitor safety, soundscapes and water quality, the National Park Service would require the exclusive use of four-stroke engines, direct-injection two-stroke engines or equivalent technology for all boats in the recreation area by 2015.

Ross Lake Resort: Permit Ross Lake Resort to run two water taxis on Ross Lake, and allow the Resort to expand by 10 percent.

FRONTCOUNTRY

North Cascades Visitor Center: Update the exhibits, multimedia programs and activities at the North Cascades Visitor Center.

Campgrounds: Consider new camping facilities at the Newhalem Creek Campground and at Upper and Lower Goodell group sites.

Thornton Lakes Road: In order to comply with the current wilderness boundary, close the upper one-mile segment of the Thornton Lakes Road, convert old road to a new trail and improve the trailhead with parking. Maintain and upgrade the trail to Thornton Lakes.

Ross Dam Trailhead: Enlarge the footprint of the parking lot to accommodate a turn lane, pull-through spaces for six oversized vehicles, and capacity for 40 passenger vehicles.

North Cascades Highway: Recommend nomination and designation of the North Cascades Highway as a National Scenic Byway. To learn more

You can review the complete document, learn about the proposed actions for Ross Lake NRA and submit comments by visiting the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website:

parkplanning.nps.gov/RossLakeNRA.

Paper and CD-ROM versions of the plan can be requested by emailing Elizabeth_Boerke@nps.gov or calling 360-854-7328.