Ice Peaks

Proposed National ParkWashington
Glacier Peak from Image LakePhotograph: Martin Bravenboer, CC BY 2.0
All proposed National ParksIce PeaksNo active campaign
Location
Washington
Current protection
North Cascades and Mount Rainier National Parks; Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument; national forest wildernesses
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 2 · National Monument
In the book
Not featured in Undiscovered America

Why should it be a National Park?

From the Columbia River to Canada, the Cascade crest carries five great volcanoes, Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens, with more glacial ice between them than anywhere else in the lower 48.

The Park Service's own study concluded that a park along the crest would outrank any park in the country for scenery, recreation, and wildlife. It was never built, and it remains the boldest National Park idea the West has seen.

The history of National Park Campaigns

Mount Rainier superintendent Owen Tomlinson proposed a Five Ice Peaks National Park, and in 1937 the Park Service studied a park along the Cascade summit from the Columbia to the Canadian border. It left the forests below timberline open to logging, but the Washington State Planning Council, dominated by resource industries, held hearings in timber towns in 1939 and recommended in 1940 that the Forest Service stay in charge. North Cascades National Park, created in 1968, covers part of the northern end.

Distinct National Park attempts
1 (1937–40 Ice Peaks proposal)
Other designation attempts
1 (1968 North Cascades, in part)

Sources

  • Lauren Danner, "Ice Peaks National Park: The Spectacular Failure of a New Deal Idea," Columbia 23:3 (2009)
  • Proposed Five Ice Peaks National Park, npshistory.com
  • Wikipedia, List of proposed National Parks of the United States
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  1. 1937

    The Park Service studies Superintendent Owen A. Tomlinson's Five Ice Peaks National Park, from the Columbia River to Canada.

  2. 1937

    The study concludes the park would outrank any existing National Park in scenic, recreational, and wildlife values.

  3. Late 1939

    The Washington State Planning Council holds hearings in timber towns that draw heavy opposition.

  4. June 1940

    The council recommends the Forest Service remain in charge.

  5. October 2, 1968

    North Cascades National Park is established in the northern part of the area.