[pct-l] Why remove Bear Lockers

[Joanne Lennox]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <kmurray at pol.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 11:19 PM
> This newer generation is gradually bringing the strict interpretation of
> the act online in many ways, and one of them is to remove from wilderness
> any permanent improvements, which lockers certainly are.  This is why
> there are no toilets on the Whitney trail anymore, or on top of Whitney.
>
>
And putting stone steps everywhere on the trail,  are not permanent 
improvements?  Stone steps are more intrusive and common and seen by 
everybody than bear boxes.  As are all the signs announcing bounderies, 
jurisdictions and rules - which I have seen on the park  boundaries in an 
area that was a cross contry route where there was no trail and very little 
sign that it was used - except for the big metal Yosemite Park sign.  Or how 
about the " this area is being restored " signs every 20 feet or so, which 
are frequently not made to blend into the environment, nor is the mesh 
stablity fabric used in those areas.

Cascade Pass in the N. Cascades National Park has spent 2 years trying to 
redo about an 1/8th of mile of a trail to save about 100 yards of heather - 
daily helicopter trips with gravel , l;arge rocks, white sandbags, and metal 
boxes out in the open to store tools and equipment - the cost is 
prohibitive, the visual and audio intrusion of helicopter trips immimical to 
wilderness, and it is all in the name of "restoration".  They can do 
anything if they call it restoration.  In the meantime, there are miles of 
trails in the Park that are receiving no maintenence at all, and more trails 
are being labeled primitive or unmaintained which is a harbinger of trail 
death.  More Missionary Managers, who are  using the Wilderness Act 
piecemeal  to support their version of what is intrusive and what is 
permanent.( and managing forest, wildlife and natural resources is 
nonexistent, and has come to be seen only as managing humans that are not as 
bright, as informed, as enlightened as the park and forest service personel 
that must educate the unwashed and undeserving masses that they hope to 
prevent using their park if at all possible).

Goforth