National Park Designation: Is it always a good choice?

In the US, we have a long history of preserving places commonly special to us through the National Park System. Recently I have been thinking about the usefulness of the designation of National Park and questioning whether it is always the best prescription. We think of the grandeur and majestic nature of places like Yellowstone and Yosemite and wouldn't think to reconsider continuing their status in the Park system. However, I have come to realize that a place may also be better preserved through a more complex set of protections.

Take for example the Metolius Basin on the East side of the Pacific Crest in Central Oregon (you can view the map of the basin by clicking on the map) The Basin has long been a special place to many, going back to the tribes that once fished for Salmon. In 1913 an editorial appeared in the Bend Bulletin, a local news paper, calling on President Woodrow Wilson to adopt the area as a National Park, as more people began to enjoy it's unique characteristics and pristine waters.

Looking back today, I am not sure that making the Metolius Basin a national park would have been the best preservation path for the area. Currently it is protected as a National Forest, Late Successional Reserve, Wild and Scenic River status along the Metolius River Corridor, and just recently more protection from the State of Oregon. Certain other areas have special status like the Head of the Metolius, and private conservation lands like the Deschutes Land-trust and The Nature Conservancy Lands. There is a time when I would have thought differently.

I lived in the area when I went back to school to pursue a career in conservation. My first biology job was a volunteer fisheries tech position for the Sisters Ranger Station USDA Forest Service.Back then I thought that a hands-off approach to the area would have been best. I also volunteered as a wilderness ranger in the area and felt that there were many places where man had left too much of a mark.

Since then, I have come to see that there are places that uniquely can sustain multiple uses as well as serve as a classroom for current and future generations. The Metolius is one of these places. Yes, many mistakes have been made, some on the belief that they would benefit the species and ecology of the area. Mistakes and successes can now be used to show what we are still learning about how best to manage the natural world.

On any weekend throughout the year people are seen enjoying its landscape through multiple ways ranging from horseback riding, auto touring, hiking the numerous trails or catching wild red-band rainbow and bull trout. Numerous studies and experiments in forest science to aquifer mechanics are being conducted. How the public uses the area is an ongoing debate. Recently, the Basin was permanently protected as an area of critical statewide concern by the State of Oregon.

There are some areas that are well served with National Park Service management and others that are better managed through multiple plans and treatments. While none of them are perfect, as a whole they have added value to the area both scientifically, aesthetically and socially. Is it as pristine as before settlement? No, but it is still a gem, one that continues to add value to those that visit the area, live within its boundaries and continue to seek the balance between common use and protection.

Below are a few links to recent management plans and legislation regarding the Metolius Basin. Agree or disagree? We'd like to hear your perspective as well as some of the places that have significantly impacted your life and how you would choose to protect them.

The Friends of the Metolius

Area of Critical Statewide Concern

USDA Forest Service Metolius Management Documents