Recent comments

Oh please Ruth,be for real.. Any one who has ever taken the time to go to St.Helens knows ,it's anything but a barren wasteland. Maybe people, who don't know what their talking about,should keep their thought 's to themselves.Especially, when it comes to such important matters.

My original comment:

"This was the most momentous volcanic eruption on the continental United States in the history of the country."

Beamis' comment:

"If I'm not mistaken the eruption of Lassen Peak on was equally powerful. Any vulcanologists out there know which was bigger?"

I wasn't eluding to the power of the eruption. I was using "momentous" in terms of a historical event. It was the first eruption in the continental U.S. of the modern media era. The eruption spawned coverage that was deep and broad, and will therefore be etched in the memory of the country for an extremely long time. I also think that St. Helens had a greater impact on the population (more evacuations, more casualties, more economic impact) than Lassen.

I think the geological, ecological, and historical elements of the St. Helens area demands NPS status.

"Do the Hawaiian islands count? I know many native islanders who consider the United States a hostile occupier and so maybe they don't count in the "momentous eruption" category as being in the United States."

I clearly stated "continental" for that very reason. Hawaii has an intimate relationship with its many volcanoes; to us "conties", volcanoes are an extremely rare occurrence.

I have no idea if any animals were harmed. However, studies done in Yellowstone have shown that the noise pollution from snowmobiles have changed feeding patterns for moose and deer, and may show a decrease in offspring the following year. Someone made the comment above saying that thunder is louder than a fly-by and the wildlife don't have a problem with that. I'm no biologist, but I would say that the noise produced by thunder is something the animals have adapted to over their lifetime, and even know when the storms are coming and are able to prepare for them. I've witnessed fly-bys several times (and have been awed and inspired by them, to be sure) but the noise grows very quickly into a roar -- not something the wildlife would be able to prepare for. And when they hear it, does it scare them into unnatural behavior? Do they bolt into oncoming traffic? Would that, along with a hiker coming up a trail, scare a bull moose into charging? I don't know, and I doubt anyone knows; I'm just bringing up the point that I don't think the benefit of a photo opportunity offsets any potential disturbance of the wildlife. Besides, there are so few places left in the United States where one can go to get away from the hustle & bustle of everyday life, get away from cars, planes and exhaust fumes, and find some time in the peace and quiet of the outdoors. I know if I was trying to enjoy some time on the trails in Grand Teton while the jets roared overhead, I would be a tad annoyed at the break in my solitude.

Having said all that, considering all the other problems the NPS has in regards to funding, mismanagement, and illegal activity within park boundaries, jets flying over the Tetons really is small potatoes, and not really worth a bunch of time arguing about.

I live in Portland and am familiar with the politics and problems surrounding the monument. It was carved far too small to serve as the island of scientific and natural study it should have been, but it's better than nothing...

However ever since it's establishment, the monument has been beseiged by commercial interests who seek to decrease its size or get inroads in. From lumber interests to mining interests to real estate interests, the monument is under attack and the Forest Service - far more used to bending to commercial use - is not protecting the resource as it should be.

The visitor center that is closing is only one of two in the park (the other two are managed by private sources - one of which is Weyerhauser, a major logging enterprise, whose visitor center is a pure propaganda machine.) And though I understand some who want to be alone with the mountain, there are many who wish to know more about it and would like to have some understanding of what they're seeing. The visitor's center is imperfect, but far better than no interpretation at all. There are still plenty of miles of trails on which to be alone with the mountain.

If the site of this historic eruption is to be preserved for future generations and for study, it must be moved into NPS hands. Sure there are money issues in the NPS (and there aren't in the NFS?) but at least their mission is primarily about preservation and not about selling out to the highest bidder.

Mookie, what animals were harmed? Could you be a bit more specific, please?

From the USGS: "Dramatic eruptive activity in the Cascades has been rare so far in the 20th century. Until the recent eruptions at Mount St. Helens, the only Cascade volcano that had a major eruption during this century was Lassen Peak in California. A series of intermittent eruptions of steam and volcanic ash beginning in May 1914 and lasting until 1921 climaxed, during the 4 days from May 19 to 22, 1915, in a series of violent events comprising small lava flows, massive lava-triggered mudflows, and explosive eruptions of ash. The most destructive of these eruptions included a nearly horizontal (lateral) blast that reached only about one-fifth as far as the recent Mount St. Helens lateral blast."

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Lassen/EruptiveHistory/eruptive_activity_1914.html

Hey, it's not the size of the eruption, it's the... well, I don't know. But it is the most significant eruption of the 20th century in the Cascades and it ought to be left alone, IMO.

As far as the explosivity of Mt. St. Helens, it is smaller than that of other volcanoes that are presently inside of the United States. But, I think the original comment is correct, that since the United States has existed as a country, Mt St Helens has been the biggest. I know that the Mt Mazama eruption, was bigger (the caldera of which is now called Crater Lake), and eruptions inside of what is now Yellowstone are about the biggest ever documented on the planet. Check out this interesting page on Wikipedia, the Volcanic Explosivity Index.

Sounds like the government BS bureaucracy machine.

Keep up the good work. I've been critical of your "slant", as I'm far left on the issue of preservation, but you both are doing good work.

Mt. St. Helens absolutely needs to be a National Park.

First, there's just the overall beauty and remoteness of the site.

Second, there's the preservation of an ecology in repair. There is a fascinating naturalist tale to be told at St. Helens: how the land recovers from trauma.

Third, it's actually a historically significant locale, and as such, deserves NPS status. This was the most momentous volcanic eruption on the continental United States in the history of the country.

If it stays with the forest service, it'll become a playground for loggers and ATVs, and thereby be destroyed.

I personally don't think the Forest Service should be building lavish Visitor Centers. If it's worthy of a Visitor Center, it's worthy of National Park status. Either close the thing permanently and let people enjoy it without all the fuss of National Park status, or make it a NM and fund the thing. I was there a few years ago with my son. We had fun without the VC experience.

Volcanoes are skittish things. We're not really preserving anything -- we're temporarily permitted to place a few buildings on its slopes until the next time it goes kablooey. Then Mother Nature reinvents the park all over again and we're back to building more roads and Visitor Centers and parking lots. But then again, it may be a thousand years before the next big one, so who knows...?

-- Jon

Thanks everyone for the comments. Without getting into the details, we had run into a situation where we were refused some park information because we were "just bloggers". As you all have found with the new website, and backed up with Kurt's statement in this article, we are really trying to build something beyond "just" a blog. The community participation in the new site has been extraordinary so far, and Kurt and I both feel an obligation to bring quality stories to the site and feed the dialog about park issues.

Andrea, thanks for the video comment! I've got more in the works, including an interview tomorrow, and another request sent in email.