Alpine Lakes Wilderness

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Alpine Lakes Wilderness

IUCN Category Ib - Wilderness Area

The Cascade Mountains in the wilderness area

The Cascade Mountains in the wilderness area

location Chelan County / King County / Kittitas County , Washington , USA
surface 1676.05 km²
WDPA ID 365217
Geographical location 47 ° 34 '  N , 121 ° 11'  W Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '56 "  N , 121 ° 10' 42"  W
Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Washington)
Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Setup date 1976
administration US Forest Service

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large wilderness area that covers the central part of the Cascade Area in Washington State . The wilderness area is part of the Wenatchee National Forest and the Snoqualmie National Forest and is bordered by Interstate 90 and the Snoqualmie Pass in the south and US Highway 2 and Stevens Pass in the north. The Alpine Lakes are the largest wilderness area near the population centers on Puget Sound . The closest city is North Bend, WA . The area has been around 1676 km² since the expansion in 2014.

history

The wilderness area was originally designated as the Alpine Lakes Limited Area in 1946 , but that designation did not protect against the exploitation of the resources; it was controlled exclusively by the United States Forest Service . The region and the adjacent areas had been used intensively for mining , forestry and fur fishing, which led to road development, clear-cutting and ecological deterioration. Efforts to protect the lower-lying forests of the Alpine Lakes began in the 1950s by the North Cascades Conservation Council, founded in 1957 . In October 1968 the Alpine Lakes Protection Society was founded. However, there were plans by the Snoqualmie National Forest to expand timber sales and build a road from the Miller River Valley to Lake Dorothy and then across the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River to the town of North Bend . This triggered a grassroots movement that should deprive the Forest Service of sole decision-making power. In addition, there was a lot of criticism from conservationists that recreational use should not be limited to the higher areas, as advocated by the forest administration, in order to enable timber to be sold in the lower areas. A powerful and fundamental change to the Wilderness Act by Wayne Aspinall , a Colorado congressman, gave Congress, not federal agencies, the authority to debate, vote, and make proposals on wilderness designation.

Mount Stuart , with 2870 m the highest point in the wilderness area

After exhausting debates, public meetings and even a demand for a veto by the Forest Service, President Ford signed the Alpine Lakes Area Management Act on the afternoon of July 12, 1976 , saying “anywhere so beautiful should be preserved” (something like: “something so Beauty should be preserved ”). Following this designation, four properties were added to the National Register of Historic Places : the historic district at Stevens Pass , the Salmon La Sac Sanctuary , the Blewett Arrastra and the small town of Liberty .

Expansion

On December 12, 2014, Congress passed a law to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness by 8,900 hectares (22,000 ac) in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Valley, and gave some sections of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie and the Pratt River National Wild and Scenic River protection status . The legislation was part of a package of 100 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. President Obama signed the bill on December 19, 2014, marking the first major designation of wilderness areas in Washington State since the Wild Sky Wilderness was protected in 2008.

On August 8, 2007, Rep. Dave Reichert of Washington's 8th Congressional District, King County official Ron Sims, and others announced a proposal to extend the Alpine Lakes Wilderness by including the Pratt River Valley to the west of the area near the city of North Bend to expand 8900 hectares (22,000 ac) and give the Pratt River National Wild and Scenic River status. Reichert said, “When I was the (King County) Sheriff, this was an area where stolen cars and meth labs existed; it was a garbage dump. Now we've cleaned it up, and it's a beautiful and pristine area. "(For example," When I was a sheriff (in King County), this was an area with stolen cars and meth labs; it was a swamp from garbage. We have now cleaned it up and it became a beautiful and pristine area. ”) The law was not put to a vote during the 110th Congress period.

On March 26, 2009, Reichert and Senator Patty Murray (also from Washington) announced their intention to reintroduce the 2007 bill and transfer Wild and Scenic River status to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River . The US House of Representatives voted for the law on March 18, 2010. Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell (also from Washington) introduced the bill to the Senate, but Republicans blocked the move in late 2010 at the end of the 111th Congress period. The draft was re-introduced in February 2011.

geology

Purple Lake on Rampart Ridge with Hibox Mountain (1,996 m) in the background

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness offers one of the most rugged topographies in the Cascade Mountains, with rugged peaks and ridges, deep glacial trough valleys and granite walls , speckled with over 700 mountain lakes. Geological events in prehistoric times created the diverse topography and the drastic height differences in the Cascade Mountains, which led to great climatic differences. This in turn resulted in a diversity of vegetation that defines the ecoregions of the area. The height differences range from 300 m in the lowlands to 2870 m on Mount Stuart .

The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years to the late Eocene . With the North American Plate still pushing over the Pacific Plate , volcanic activity continues. As a result, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere , called terrans , formed the North Cascades about 50 million years ago.

During the Pleistocene , beginning about 2 million years ago, the landscape was repeatedly scraped off with increasing and decreasing glaciation; Remnants of rock remained. The last glacial retreat began in the Alpine Lakes about 14,000 years ago and crossed today's US-Canadian border about 10,000 years ago. The U-shaped cross-section of the river valleys is the result of these glacial processes. Orogeny and faults in combination with glaciation were the dominant processes that created the high peaks and deep valleys in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.

The most common rock types in the area are plutonites , which are highly fragmented granites here; this affects most of the areas around the Foss Lakes and the Enchantment Lakes . The other major rock types are sedimentary , metamorphic , ultramafitite, and extrusive rocks , including basalt , andesite, and rhyolite . The metamorphic rocks are primarily to be found in the northern part, the volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the southern part. The Wenatchee Mountains are mainly made up of peridotite .

ecology

Mountain hemlock in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

The US Environmental Protection Agency assigns the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to the ecoregion of the northern Cascade Mountains , dominated by forests , subalpine and alpine vegetation forms. Among the trees, West American hemlock , purple fir , rocky mountain fir , subalpine mountain hemlock, and coastal fir / common Douglas fir are the indicator species.

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness offer habitats for a wide variety of animal and plant species. Refuge areas for many species on the "Species of Concern" list (in Germany comparable to the warning list) of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife can be found in the primary forests . These species include Rana pretiosa , common loon ( Gavia immer ), western grebe ( Aechmophorus occidentalis ), goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ), golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ), bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ), peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ), Merlin ( Falco columbarius ), Ponderosa -Zwergohreule ( Otus flammeolus ), spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis ), gray abdominal Segler ( Chaetura vauxi ), helmet Specht ( Dryocopus pileatus ), blood face Specht ( Melanerpes lewis ), White-headed ( Picoides albolarvatus ), black-backed woodpecker ( Picoides arcticus ), lark ( Eremophila alpestris ), Nuthatch ( Sitta carolinensis ), Berg Mockingbird ( Oreoscoptes montanus ), Louisiana Würger ( lanius ludovicianus ), evening bunting ( Pooecetes gramineus ), sage bunting ( Artemisiospiza belli ), Townsend-long-ear ( Corynorhinus townsendii ), fisher ( Pekania pennanti ), Wolverine ( gulo gulo ) and Canadian Lynx ( Lynx canadensis ).

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness offers a variety of ecological benefits. It offers exceptional water quality and includes parts or all of the headwaters of the Skykomish River , Snoqualmie River , Wenatchee River and Yakima River . The Skykomish and Snoqualmie Rivers flow westward into the Snohomish River and the Wenatchee River and Yakima River flow eastward into the Columbia River . In addition to the more than 700 lakes in the area, there are more than 480 km of rivers with classification levels 1 and 2 of the Forest Service. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness plays an important role in the supply of drinking and irrigation water to the surrounding region. This becomes a problem with the adequate supply of clean water to a growing population and increasing demands from agriculture. The expansion of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness into the Pratt River area would allow further protection of the lower-lying forests in the region and the lower water catchment areas. In addition, these forests would protect against floods.

management

The Enchantment Lakes basin from Prusik Pass

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is managed by the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the west and the Okanogan - Wenatchee National Forest in the east. There are four ranger districts that manage the area: Cle Elum , Leavenworth , Snoqualmie Pass, and Skykomish . The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is one of the most popular recreational areas in Washington State. Although the area is designated as wilderness and no motorized vehicles such as cars, motorbikes, not even bicycles can circulate in the area, there is heavy traffic from hikers and campers throughout the area. This popularity leads to physical, biological and social influences.

The Forest Service has taken many steps to minimize the environmental impact of recreational use. Education and information is a priority method of the Forest Service. Contacts with the rangers, regulations, permits, renaturation efforts and keeping paths clear are also part of this. Permission to enter is required due to the popularity of the Enchantment Lakes area . These permits must be applied for well in advance and are granted at random.

recreation

Mount Daniel , 2426 m high in early autumn in the snow

The western end of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness can be reached via the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River northeast of North Bend . The south west of the wilderness can be reached via Snoqualmie Pass . Salmon La Sac, north of Roslyn , is a starting point for several forest service trails and roads providing access to the southern and central regions. The Stuart Range at the eastern end of the Wilderness is accessible via Ingalls Creek to the south and Icicle Creek to the south of Leavenworth . North of Icicle Creek, the Chiwaukum Mountains extend northward to Highway 2 . The northern areas of the Alpine Lakes can be reached via Highway 2 and Stevens Pass .

A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail runs from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass and includes the Kendall Catwalk at Kendall Peak. This exposed section should not be walked on in snow and ice.

Remarkable mountains

Gnome Tarn and Prusik Peak in the Enchantments .

Notable mountains and ridges of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness:

Lakes

Notable lakes of the Alpine Lakes Wildernis are:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alpine Lakes Wilderness . In: Wilderness.net . University of Montana. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ Section 16 of the United States Code , §1131, Public Law 88-577 “Wilderness Act” . The definition of a wilderness area was given by law as “ … an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of ​​wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of ​​undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions ... "(for example: "... an area in which the earth and its communities are unhindered by humans, where humans are only visitors who do not stay permanently. A wilderness area within the meaning of this law is also an undeveloped federal area that retains its primeval character and influence , without permanent improvement and human settlements, which are protected and managed in this way in order to preserve the natural conditions ... ")
  3. ^ A b c d e Kevin Marsh: Drawing Lines in the Forest . University of Washington Press, Seattle 2007.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Alpine Lakes Area Land Management Plan . USDA Forest Service, 1981.
  5. ↑ a b Congress Expands Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Seattle . In: The Seattle Times , December 12, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  6. ^ Reichert, local officials and citizens announce intention to expand wilderness , Office of Congressman Dave Reichert. August 8, 2007. Archived from the original on September 2, 2007. 
  7. ↑ a b House votes to increase Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and add protection for Middle Fork . In: SnoValley Star , Issaquah Press Inc., March 18, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
  8. ^ Lynda V. Mapes: More land sought for Alpine Lakes Wilderness . In: The Seattle Times , March 27, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Kyung M. Song: Reichert-Murray Alpine Lakes Wilderness bill this in Senate . In: The Seattle Times , December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010. 
  10. ↑ Kyung M. Song: Reichert, Murray make 3rd attempt at Alpine Lakes expansion . In: The Seattle Times , February 10, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011. 
  11. ↑ Jeff Smoot: Backpacking Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness . The Globe Pequot Press, Helena, Montana 2004.
  12. ^ A b c d e Arthur Kruckeberg: The Natural History of Puget Sound Country . University of Washington Press, 1991.
  13. ↑ Species of Concern . Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. June 30, 2008.
  14. ↑ Our changing nature . Washington State Department of Natural Resources, 1998.
  15. ↑ a b c d e f g What is wilderness? . In: Alpine Lakes Wilderness . United States Forest Service. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  16. ^ Alpine Lakes Wilderness: Okanogan-Wenatchee . In: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest . US Forest Service. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Alpine Lakes Wilderness: Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie . In: Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest . US Forest Service. Retrieved April 2, 2015.

See also

Web links

Commons : Alpine Lakes Wilderness  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files