Crater Lake Under Threat, According to New Report

Three logging projects threaten wildlands surrounding Oregon's only National Park.

Oregon's only National Park is more popular than ever with the public. But according to a new report Thursday, it's *threatened by logging proposals and federal funding cutbacks.
 
"The Best of America Under Threat from Underfunding", by Environment Oregon, says 7 percent more people visited Crater Lake in 2009 than the year before. At the same time, its operating budget has been cut by a full percentage point. Environment Oregon's Eva Birk came to the Eugene Federal building to deliver the report to Senators Merkley and Wyden and Congressman DeFazio.
 
Birk: "We are gathered here today to urge our elected officials to fulfill the promise of our National Park system by making sure that Crater Lake National Park is just as majestic in 2099 as it was in 2009."
 
Birk says there are also several commercial logging proposals near Crater Lake that would severely impact the region. One is the recently approved D-Bug project in a roadless area on the Umpqua National Forest.