ROW says NO!

and force the state to pursue expensive legal battles to obtain title to each route—something the state can ill afford.

Most of these rights-of-way, probably the vast majority, have no potential to become roads or highways. Rather, they serve as important trails that give access to private property or natural resources such as firewood, berry patches or hunting and fishing areas. For the most part, their use is limited to Off Road Vehicles (ORVs), snowmachines and dog sleds.

NPCA cites threats to “historic treasures including onetime gold mining sites and numerous prehistoric and historic Athabaskan Indian sites.” But it was just these mines and Indian sites that were the reasons for the routes in the first place! Why is it threatening for Americans to be able to see and enjoy these treasures?

The Jake’s Bar Trail is a good example, as is the McCarthy-Green Butte Road. Both were part of the mining routes 80 years ago. Neither are accessible from the state’s highway system, nor are they likely to be in our lifetimes. Yet they both clearly qualify for acceptance under RS 2477. The first provides access to the back-country during winter months via snowmachine, dogsled and people traveling on skis. The second provides the only overland access to private property at the Mother Lode Mine, as well as access to beetle-killed trees and other natural resources.

Frankly, RS 2477 routes in WRST have the potential to make the park a much more friendly place not only for inholders and local residents, but also for visitors—to provide environment-friendly access to portions of the park that are now only accessible by the very rich. They are hardly a threat.

Because the NPS has chosen to pretend these routes do not qualify, many thousands of dollars of park funds have been used in needless litigation. And, not insignificantly, local residents have suffered being dragged into federal court or other intimidation. It would be to all American’s benefit to find a way to settle these claims instead of pretending they are a new “threat.”

NPCA also cites “irresponsible use of allterrainvehicles (ATVs) on trails that crisscross the park” as a threat. Remember, this is the group that has been trying to stop all motorized recreational use of the parks—ATVs, snowmachines and jet-skis.

Again, let’s look at the facts. In 1984, the Park Service published a list of some 335 ATV trails in the park. Most were listed as “current use” or “historic use.” They had a mandate to identify and designate trails and areas where ORVs would be permitted, and a mandate to allow “customary and traditional” use. Along with this they were to develop operating conditions, establish enforcement procedures, and publish and distribute ORV use information to the public.

Rather than fulfil their mandate, the NPS, encouraged by extreme anti-access groups such as NPCA, designated only 13 trails in the entire 13 million acre park as “authorized trails.” Since this left over 300 trails that had been in use as “unauthorized trails,” with little to no regulation or oversight, naturally there were conflicts and some ecological damage since the park service would not repair these trails, nor allow them to be repaired.

This has been dramatically brought to the public’s attention in the case of Doug Frederick at Slana. Rather than work with a native-born Alaskan to provide necessary access, the Park Service has attempted to frustrate this family at every turn, even to the extent of bringing federal charges when the Frederick’s attempted to alleviate ecological damage by bridging some of the worst spots on a trail.

If this park is endangered, it is because of the shameful way the park service has failed in its mandate to manage these lands, not because of “irresponsible ATV use,” or by RS 2477 routes suddenly turning into paved freeways.

“I feel the real endangerment to WRST is to the remote community culture and the long-term viability of the lifestyle that has developed inside America's largest national park over the past 100 years,” says Neil Darish, partner in McCarthy Ventures, one of the major service providers in the McCarthy-Kennecott area.

His concern is echoed by many area residents and business owners. While the Park Service on one hand says they are mandated to protect local cultures, some see their actions towards the Fredericks, the Pilgrim family and others as “speaking louder than words.”

“Most every American has dreamed of living in the wilderness, and today's residents inside this park are in danger of having their way of life reduced to eventual elimination,” says Darish. “Endangerment of WRST in the form of restricting locals’ access, restricting service access, and preventing improvements for visitor access is denying Americans the base camp required in any national park unit.”

So, is WRST endangered? Ecologically speaking, not really. What little damage to trails could be easily alleviated by means of a working partnership between NPS and local residents. Instead of only working with those who already agree with their agenda of making the parks less accessible, NPS would do well to broaden their outreach to the park communities in general, rather than fighting those who may disagree with their policies.

America's national parks were created to preserve natural, cultural and historic resources. But the human aspect often gets left out. That's the opinion of John Debo, superintendent of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in Ohio. Debo says some national parks surround towns, villages and farms. He says park service policy is to buy them out.

“I think some very important cultural assets — these communities, towns, villages, farmsteads, whatever have been placed within park boundaries and then, of course, subsequently eliminated. We have a name for these things; it's called inholders. It's really a pejorative term; it suggests that it's something that's there that shouldn't be there.”

Debo says many of the homes bought by the Park Service have remained vacant and boarded up, creating eyesores. Debo says Cuyahoga Valley takes a different approach.

“We're essentially arriving at the decision that the highest and best use, from a park perspective, of these properties is private residential occupancy. That is what is historically authentic. I'm really not interested in turning these villages into museum landscapes.”

Debo says rather than trying to eliminate or ignore inholder communities, the National Park Service should take an interest in their wellbeing. He says many of them are centuries old and can be a historical asset to the national parks.

Neil Darish agrees: “My hope is that the NPS can become our hero and we as resident stewards can become the heros of the NPS.”