At age 80, USFS cabin is still in shape, and it’s historic

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090509/NEWS0107/905090445/1006/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01

The small log cabin near Elk Lake has been a summer base for U.S. Forest Service guards and their families and, more recently, an interpretive center for visitors.
And now, 80 years after it was built, the Deschutes National Forest’s Elk Lake Guard Station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, located about 30 miles west of Bend off Cascade Lakes Highway, was added to the list because of the role it played in local events, said David Bogan, communications coordinator for the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. The building’s application for the National Register notes that the guard station helped make the area a center for recreation.

"Paul Claeyssens says it in a nutshell...Historic buildings listed on the National Register still need a purpose, just like people, in order to survive. It sounds like the old Elk Lake Guard Station continues to have a purpose, long after its use as a guard station is long gone."--aggie castronuevo

Stimulus to help NPS

http://www.inyoregister.com/content/view/120871/1/


Obama stimulus bucks headed for Death Valley

Friday, 08 May 2009
By Mike BodineRegister Staff5-7-2009
National parks are getting a chunk of President Barack Obama’s Economic Stimulus money. Congress has approved more than $900 million in stimulus funding to make long-overdue improvements to infrastructure at more than 500 parks, including Inyo County’s own Death Valley National Park.It’s been just a little over two months since Obama signed the bill into law on Feb. 16, and already park officials are deciding where to spend the cash.However, the decision will not be very difficult to make, as the list of items in need of repair or upkeep is long after years of inadequate funding. Terry Baldino, Death Valley Park’s public information officer, said Tuesday that all national parks have had insufficient funding to keep up with maintenance for years, and so the money will go to repairing necessities such as roads and employee housing.

"It's good to see that money is finally getting to programs that have suffered in recent years; especially those that preserve and protect our Heritage resources. Unlike natural resources, vestiges of our heritage are not renewable, once they have succombed to time, disrepair, and the effects of vandalism." --aggie castronuevo

Mount Taylor Endangered

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/44086517.html

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Mount Taylor, near Grants, N.M., to its 2009 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list highlights important examples of the nation’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.Located in the southwestern corner of New Mexico’s San Mateo Mountains, midway between Albuquerque and Gallup, Mount Taylor, with an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, is a startlingly beautiful, sacred place. Visible from up to 100 miles away, the mountain has been a pilgrimage site for as many as 30 Native American tribes, with special significance for the Acoma people...

The complete list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2009 Endangered Sites:• Mount Taylor, Grants, N.M.• Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif.• Miami Marine Stadium, Fla.• Dorchester Academy, Midway, Ga.• Lãna’i City, Hawaii• Unity Temple, Oak Park, Ill.• Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, Mass.• Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, N.H. & Kittery, Maine• Human Services Center, Yankton, S.D.• Cast-Iron Architecture of Galveston, Texas• The Manhattan Project’s Enola Gay Hangar, Utah

"see link above for entire article"--aggie castronuevo

Old Packwood Ranger Station

http://www.columbian.com/article/20090424/NEWS02/704249948

"According to the newspaper article published in the Columbian and the Seattle P-I, the old Packwood Ranger Station in Gifford Pinchot National Forest is being sold after a 45-day waiting period. I first learned of this Ranger station in the 1980s while reading Tatoosh--female fire lookout, Martha Hardy's account of life atop Tatoosh Mountain watching for forest fires and enduring the loneliness inherent in that job. Like all old ranger stations, Packwood will be remembered as a part of Forest history; and this one as a part of the history of Gifford Pinchot NF, Mount Rainier, Tatoosh, and Packwood Ranger District.--aggie castronuevo johann"

Japanese Bombing Site Vandalized

http://www.fs.fed.us/fstoday/081128/03.0About%20Us/memorial.html

"The Forest Service and Curry County (Ore.) Crime Stoppers are seeking the public’s help in finding those responsible for the recent damage to Wheeler Ridge Japanese Bombing Site Trail facilities on the Gold Beach Ranger District. “Vandals have damaged an important trail facility that serves as a local historical and recreational opportunity to the American public,” said Alan Vandiver, Gold Beach District Ranger. ..."

This site, on the Oregon coast is one of four sites on American soil hit by bombs during World War II. Although the war is but a memory to most and a page in world history, this memorial is a testament to a history and relationship between two countries, now allies.

The racist symbols etched into wood, and the graffiti serve no purpose other than to damage a piece of our World's heritage, as well as to remind the world that divisiveness still exists today.
--aggie castronuevo

[Article on trail dedication]
http://www.fs.fed.us/fstoday/080919/03.0About%20Us/trail_dedication.html
[Forest Service information on the Wheeler Ridge Japanese Bombing Trail]
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/recreation/trails/japanese-bombing-site.shtml