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Shifting Quinault River Threatening Historic Structure At Olympic National Park

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The Enchanted Valley Chalet at Olympic National Park is threatened by the encroaching main channel of the East Fork Quinault River. NPS file photo by Bryan Bell.

Olympic National Park officials are trying to figure out the best way to save the Enchanted Valley Chalet, a historic structure being threatened by the shifting main channel of the East Fork Quinault River.

Recent ground and aerial photographs of the Enchanted Valley in the park show that the river channel has shifted and is flowing within several feet of the historic Enchanted Valley Chalet.

Migration of the East Fork Quinault’s channel is common, particularly in the wide, flat expanse of Enchanted Valley, say park officials. Storms, fallen trees, rockslides and simply the constant process of deposition and erosion can all cause the river to shift and carve a new channel, they note.

“We are very concerned about the future of the chalet, as well as possible impacts to the river,” said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “The chalet has a great deal of local and regional significance and is well-known to anyone who’s traveled to Enchanted Valley in the past 75 years.”

Park staff is working now to fully assess the situation and determine the best course of action.

“Our options are limited, however, given Enchanted Valley’s remote location within the Olympic Wilderness and the river’s dynamic force," said the superintendent.

A routine monitoring program of biweekly aerial photography flights will provide park cultural and natural resource experts with current information about the upper East Fork Quinault and the chalet. These experts are also working closely with the Pacific West Regional Office of the National Park Service, the Washington State Historic Preservation Officer, and other partners and concerned citizens.

Located 13 miles up trail from the Graves Creek trailhead in the Quinault Valley, the chalet was built by Quinault Valley residents in the early 1930s, prior to establishment of Olympic National Park. It served as a lodge for hikers and horse riders in Enchanted Valley.

Enchanted Valley is within the Olympic Wilderness, designated in 1988 and is a popular wilderness destination. The chalet is used as a backcountry ranger station and emergency shelter for hikers. The chalet was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Comments

I'm enjoying the informed commentary on this.


I am, too. The Enchanted Valley is one of my favorite backpacking destinations in the NP system.


Rod makes a excellent point about the recession of the headwaters glaciers. That probably deposits orders of magnitude more sediment on the valley floor than slides. I still believe snow avalanches are the major reason there are relatively few old trees.

Moving the Chalet intact might be possible, but a look at my linked photo seems to show a lack of any trees large enough to winch from for at least several hundred feet away from the river bank. Those nearby alders would probably be pulled out like dandelions and even old-growth anchors can fail under large loads. I suppose a trench could be excavated with explosives to hold a large buried log with cable yokes as a 'deadman' anchor. A faster possiblity might be to disassemble the roof and upper logs to reduce weight until the remaining log frame could be hoisted by a very large (and very expensive) helicopter.

Although this winter's low snowpack may be helpful, it sure looks like the river could begin foreclosure proceedings at Spring high water in a few months.


I agree Rickb, both the posts of Rodf and Tahoma are very interesting. I know it is a tough issue, it would be a shame to lose the structure, Rodf makes a great case. Having, to a limited extent, been involved in historic cabin maintenance and/or restoration in wilderness areas, there are good arguments on both sides. Tahoma makes a good point, a ski crane helicopter might be a consideration but it is a large building, I simply do not have the knowledge to discuss the technical aspects of it. In the past, I was involved in the taking down of an historic snow survey cabin, log by log, moving it to a an avalanche free area, then rebuilding it. Took time and money, but it was worth the effort. This structure however, is much bigger than what we had to deal with. I wish the park staff nothing but success in their efforts to resolve the issue.


NPS analyzed a range of interventions, including moving the Chalet intact, a decade ago when the river first approached the Chalet. Fortunately, the river returned to its previous channel in 2007, and incised itself into it in 2008, and these plans were put "on hold". Most action alternative would require tools etc. delivered via helicopter long-line.

Since then, the Green Mountain Lookout court decision casts uncertainty over the use of helicopters over Wilderness. It ignores the explicit deference to historic preservation laws granted in the Wilderness Act Section 4(a)(3) itself, apparently nullifying the National Historic Preservation Act within Wilderness? We thought we our charge was to harmoniously reconcile both mandates. But if some laws are nullified, the the NPS Wilderness Steering Committee white paper on Cultural Resources and Wilderness and application of NPS DO-28 are also uncertain. In short, one judge selected the "nuclear option" and cast the legal basis of NPS policy into disarray.

To serious students seeking an in-depth analysis and case studies of these issues, I highly recommend Allison Swing's thesis Cultural Wilderness: How the Historical Evolution of American Wilderness Values Influence Cultural Resource Management within Wilderness Areas in National Parks (U Penn, 2011).

To all interested in the deeper philosophical questions, I beseech revisiting William Cronon's The Trouble with Wilderness.


I'm curious and will show my ignorance when I ask if the building is currently actually used for anything. All the photos I've found show it with all the windows boarded up. (Not that boarded windows mean it shouldn't be saved, but just wondering . . . . )


Lee, when I was there in June 2013, it was being used as a ranger station.


Thanks, Justin. (And the last paragraph of Kurt's article. Gotta start reading all the paragraphs . . . . )


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