Olympic National Park officials have received permission to move the Enchanted Valley Chalet/NPS
Olympic National Park officials have received approval to move the Enchanted Valley Chalet away from the East Fork Quinault River, and will try to accomplish that before fall.
An environmental assessment prepared for moving the chalet about 100 feet to both protect the river corridor and save the historic structure from collapse analyzed potential impacts of relocating the two-story log building from its current location, where it is being undercut by the East Fork Quinault River
'To avoid immediate environmental harm to the East Fork Quinault River and risks to threatened bulltrout and other aquatic resources, it is imperative that the chalet be moved away from the river bank before the fall rains begin,' said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. 'A second and more extensive planning and public review process will begin later this year, and will examine options for long-term disposition of the historic chalet.'
Details about how and when the chalet will be moved will be released as soon as they are available.
The Enchanted Valley Chalet is located 13 miles from the nearest road, deep within the Olympic Wilderness. The chalet was constructed by Quinault Valley residents in the early 1930s, prior to establishment of Olympic National Park. The chalet served for several decades as a backcountry lodge and more recently, as a wilderness ranger station and emergency shelter. The chalet was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Migration of the East Fork Quinault River's channel is common in the loose, unconsolidated soils of Enchanted Valley. Storms, fallen trees, rockslides and simply the constant process of erosion can all cause the river to shift and carve a new channel.
While the chalet is located within the Olympic Wilderness, where the use of power tools typically is prohibited, park officials say an exemption under the Wilderness Act would allow them to use a 10-horsepower motor to help crews lift the 90-ton log building off its foundation, and to rely on a helicopter to transport equipment and materials to the site. Steel rails and beams would be used by workers to "leap-frog" the building away from the river to a site 50-100 feet away, according to the EA.
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Comments
"...within the Olympic Wilderness...the use of power tools typically is prohibited..."
That may be true on paper, but the fact is chainsaws have been used in OLYM's designated Wilderness almost daily for decades, even by unsupervised volunteers at times. The use of helicopters, power winches, rock drills and explosives was also common and I was never aware that any exemption was required or obtained for them during the twenty-plus years I worked there. My supervisor considered them the "minimal tool", while in the adjacent National Forest Wilderness, even wheelbarrows were prohibited!
I'm all for moving the Chalet but am curious, what exactly is the "environmental harm" and "risks to threatened bulltrout" if it isn't moved before the rains begin.
The concern, I believe, is that fall rains could speed erosion and cause the lodge to topple into the river.
I see that, I just don't see the environmental issue or the threat to the trout. Does she think the building is going to land on the fish?
It's a rather large building for that stream. I suppose it could dam the stream and impede the trout's runs.
Natural logjams do not normally impede fish passage and I doubt a collapsed Chalet would either. I suspect the park's main concern is chemical pollution from wood preservatives, paint, and asphalt roofing paper. There would also be a fairly large amount of nails and hardware, perhaps galvanized.
How much does an helicopter cost versus using land based machinery? The Wilderness machinery prohibition is so nonsensical.
The wilderness machinery prohibition is actually very sensical because even noise can affect/disrupt a habitat and its inhabtants. It's exception gives a small restictive leeway for allowing minimal machinery when neces. This just ensures that the wilderness will remain as unaltered as possible, where machinery of any kind will only be used when there is no other choice, therefore keeping with the definition of a wilderness as defined by The Wilderness Act:
"A wilderness, incontrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hearby recognized by and area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain."
The key word here being untrammeled. This is a minimal (if any) impact zone unaltered and untouched without roads. As minimal human presence/disturbance as possible, the key phrase being " where man himself is a visitor and does not remain"