1982 RESOLUTIONS
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| No. 21 |
RESCISSION OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL RESOLUTION | |
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At its 1981 Convention,
the Federation of Western
Outdoor Clubs adopted Resolution No. 29 concerning the Pacific
Northwest Trail, in which the Federation ". . . requests Congress to
authorize this system of trails . . ." |
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| Studies by the U.S. Forest
Service and the National Park Service have shown that this trail system
is neither feasible nor desirable. Individual organizations,
including the Mountaineers (a Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs
member club), the Olympia Park Associates and the North Cascades
Conservation Council, have taken positions opposing the Pacific
Northwest Trail. These positions reflect the following concerns: |
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| 1. Trail use in both
the North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness Area is
already approaching a maximum. In order to protect the resource,
the National Park Service has been forced to ration back-country
permits on lands under its jurisdiction. While the U.S. Forest
Service has not yet taken so drastic a step, it recognizes the problem
and is developing data on carrying capacity of lands in the Pasayten
Wilderness. The only possible trail routes through the above
federal lands cross extremely fragile areas not suitable for
mass-recreation use. It is a certainty that creation of a
national scenic trail through these areas would attract more trail
users than the resource can withstand. |
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| 2. Experience with
the Pacific Crest Trail has shown that designation of a "national
scenic trail" causes the land-management agencies to spend
disproportionate amounts of funds on the construction and maintenance
of the designated trail. These funds are siphoned off from
construction and maintenance of more needed trails in other areas. |
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| 3. As has been shown
by the example of the Pacific Crest Trail, a "national scenic trail" is
constructed to high standards inconsistent with the National Wilderness
Preservation System. Such construction imposes irreversible
damage on the wilderness resource and detracts from the wilderness
experience of the visitor. |
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| Because of these concerns,
and due to the controversial nature of the Pacific Northwest Trail
proposal which is causing division among environmentally concerned
organizations at a time when maximum unity is required, the Federation
hereby rescinds Resolution No. 29 of the 1981 Convention pertaining to
the Pacific Northwest Trail and the actions called for therein.
The Federation takes no position for or against the trail proposed. |
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