Kayaking in the PNW

[AlmostThere]

July 11 Daily News editorial

Mount St. Helens has a couple of new attractions: guided kayaking trips and live music with the volcano as a backdrop.

Kayak trips on Coldwater Lake started in May, and the new amphitheater next to the Johnston Ridge Observatory had a spectacular debut last Saturday, when two bands played under clear skies.

Both the kayak concessionaire and amphitheater are welcome additions to the volcano visitor experience, though the process under which both were developed shows how slowly ideas become reality with the U.S. Forest Service in charge of the mountain.

Building the amphitheater was included in a 1984 plan for the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Twelve years ago, a Forest Service official told The Daily News that an amphitheater would be built next to the Johnston Ridge Observatory by the fall of 2001. However, a shortage of funds delayed the project -- until the federal stimulus package of 2010. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest received $15.5 million in stimulus funds, which enabled the building of the amphitheater, extensive remodelling inside the JRO, fixing the leaking windows at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center and numerous other improvements around the forest. Though some might argue fixing up tourist facilities used for only part of any given year wasn’t the best use of stimulus dollars, there’s no doubt that volcano tourism has always depended on federal largesse and subsidies.

With the kayak tours, it’s red tape, not federal red ink, that created delays.

As far back as 2005, the Forest Service was announcing that it was inviting entrepreneurs to propose enterprises at the volcano, such as RV campgrounds, snowmobile rentals and guided mountain biking. Until this season, the only concessionaires that have appeared are a few vendors with food carts.

As it turns out, the Forest Service didn’t have a process in place for allowing more concessionaires. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest stopped issuing the required special use permits several years ago because managers said they didn’t have the staff to process the time-consuming permits.

A larger issue is the three-decade-old debate over the balance at Mount St. Helens between preservation of lands for research and expanding public recreation. We can’t think of a less-intrusive form of recreation than kayaking. If the Forest Service can’t make it reasonably easy for a kayak outfitter, it shows there are some headwinds to weather in the journey toward more tourism around the mountain.

[BirdbyBird]

Interesting back story..... government red tape and one hand knowing what the other is doing..... Sounds as if they are finally getting something started......I bet that the visitors spend money in the area and that does stimulate economy...that and the workers that got paid to complete the work.......