Understanding and
caring for the ancient forests at Crater Lake National Park has always been an important
part of park management. Although its tree species are at relatively high elevations (4400
to 8900 feet), the park's forests were of enough interest to men like John Muir, Gifford
Pinchot, and John Wesley Powell that they assisted William Gladstone Steel with his
efforts to establish a national park in 1902. Subsequent extensions to the park in 1932
and 1980 were made with the intention of protecting representative samples of the region's
ancient forests. There are four major forest zones at Crater Lake National Park, each
named after it's dominant tree species. Starting in the park's lower elevations (about
4500 ft), a ponderosa pine forest is the first zone greeting visitors who enter on Highway
62 from the south or west entrances. The ponderosa zone gives way to a dense lodgepole
pine forest at about 5000 ft. Sometimes referred to as dog's hair forest because of the
dense, scraggly stands of thin lodgepoles, this zone sometimes covers vast areas. Mountain
hemlocks become dominant at about 6000 feet. This zone has the final tall trees in the
park and has limited underbrush. The next zone is almost purely whitebark pines and
extends from about 7500 ft to the top of Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park (8,929
ft). The whitebark pine zone is more an open woodland than a forest.
Management of Crater Lake's ancient forests ranges from proper fire control to
ecological studies, such as surveys for ancient forest dependent species like the northern
spotted owl. A critical difference between the National Park Service and the Forest
Service is the "use" of these forests. The Forest Service, under the Department
of Agriculture, manages its lands as "multiple-use" lands. The USFS strives to
maintain a balance between commercial harvesting, stock grazing, mineral extraction, and
recreation. The National Park Service has a different mandate. The NPS seeks to preserve
the systems that have shaped the land. National Park lands are preserved for human
enjoyment, enrichment, and understanding. These ancient forests are an integral part of
Crater Lake National Park.
