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RESOLUTION
#15: NO MORE ROADS AT MOUNT ST. HELENS
|
| Several counties
surrounding the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument have
proposed extending State Route 504 from its current terminus at
Johnston Ridge Observatory across the debris avalanche and pumice plain
between Spirit Lake and the Mount St. Helens crater to connect with
Forest Road 99 at its terminus at Windy Ridge. The primary
purpose of the proposed road is to increase tourism in the rural
communities east of Mount St. Helens. |
| The Washington Department
of Transportation completed a feasibility study earlier this year and
determined that "the project's costs are large relative to its
transportation benefits, and its economic development benefits are
difficult to quantify. |
| The proposed seasonal road
(built to county standards) would, under the most optimistic
assumptions, only produce 45 jobs while costing $1.2 million a year to
maintain. Undeterred, the proponents are now seeking $5 million
in federal transportation funds to proceed with an environmental impact
statement. |
| This proposed extension of
SR 504 would carve a road through the center of a wild landscape that
is still forming itself geologically and biologically -- a landscape
that Congress dedicated to living on its own terms and at its own
pace. it would undercut the largest landslide in recorded history
and cross unstable ground that shifts with rain, snowfall, wind,
seismicity, and the pull of gravity. It would fragment or
obliterate five recreational trails, including a section of the Loowit
Trail -- a remarkable 30-mile loop around the volcano. Change and
renewal without human interference enable the monument to showcase the
natural change of an ecosystem after a cataclysmic geological
event. Over thirty scientists have stated their opposition to
this proposal because of its effects on the long-term scientific
research that is underway here on processes of natural ecological
recovery. In addition, the wild, remote, roadless quality of this
landscape is an intrinsic part of its value. |
| The Federation of Western
Outdoor Clubs joins the "No More Roads at Mount St. Helens Campaign" in
opposing the construction of any new roads in or through the Mount St.
Helens National Volcanic Monument. We believe that such roads are
unnecessary and threaten the purpose of the national monument, which is
to protect the unique geological and biological features and integrity
of natural processes of Mount St. Helens and its surrounding
landscape. We believe that the existing road system provides
ample vehicular access and that there are more cost-effective and less
damaging economic development solutions for the communities around
Mount St. Helens. |
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