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Dale Crane: One ofthe North Cascades’ Biggest Proponents
Dale Crane:
One of the North Cascades' Biggest Proponents
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By Porter Ingrum
/'nthe spring oflastyear, Dale Crane, 63, cameto Western to speak on his experiences in the environmental field. I was immediately struck by his humility and his physical appearance. For someone who hasaccomplished so much. Dalewas suprisingly downto earth, perhaps feelingalittle awkward speaking in front ofa large audience. A large boned man standing over six-feet tall, he reminded me ofa grizzlybear similarto the onesthat he is workingto save.
As the National Parks and Conservation Association’s (NPCA)NorthwestRegionalDirector, Dale has become a crusader in the movement to preserve wildlife in the Pacific Northwest and its NationalParks. I recently spoke withDaleabout his life and his thoughts on protecting the North Cascades.
Dale has had a long and productive professional career. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology from Oregon State University in 1953, hebecame a California stateparkranger, aplanner for the Army Corps ofEngineers and eventually the chiefofnatural resources for the Corps' environmental planning office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After working for the Corps, he received a one year fellowship in 1977 from the American Political Science Association to work in Washington D.C. on environmental policy issues. He spent the next 13 years working on Capitol Hill, becoming the staffdirector ofthe subcommittee on Parks for the House Committee on Interior Affairs. He worked on national park protection and wilderness issues, becoming an expert on park legislation. Some ofthe legislationhewas involved in included protecting the forests ofthe SamoanIslands, establishingthe GreatBasin National Park in Nevada and creating the Holocaust museum and the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C..
The son of a logger. Dale was bom in Tenino, Washington, and is athird generation Washingtonian. As a boy he relished the outdoors and often enjoyed fishing in the Skagit River for salmon. His boyhood passion for fishing is still with him today. “I ifish as much as I possibly can,” he told me. He recently caught a924-poundBlueMarlinoffthecoast ofCabo San Lucas, Mexico. Some ofhis favorite fly fishing spots here in theNorthwest are the Kamloops River in British Columbia and the YakimaRiver in Eastern Washington.
Five years ago his love ofthe Northwest brought him back here to retire and accept the Regional Director’s position forthe Northwest regional office ofNPCA, which covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. NPCA is a 76 year old organization dedicatedto preservingAmerica’s onlytrulyprotected areas - national parks and wilderness areas. It has over 450,000 members nationwide.
Dale'sgoal isto slowthe damageto national parks from humanuse and development, andto assesswhat needs to be done for further protection ofthese areas. More recently he has turned his attention towards establishing an international park in the North
Dale Crane
Cascades.
Huxley College professor John Miles is writing a book on the history ofthe NPCA and is amember ofthe Washington StateForest Practices Board. He said Dale’s work with the NPCA has been important for protecting the North Cascades. “Dale is the key person and the principle organizer ofthe effortto promote the park. NPCA has been the main sponsor that broughttogetherthe coalition oforganizationsthat endorse the park,” John said.
Dale said the U.S. and Canada have taken different Canadian Cascades, as seen from the United States approaches to land management and both have a lot to share with each other in terms oflandscape management. Dale thinks the international parkwill begood ground for exchange of scientific and practical information between the two countries.
When I asked himwhat he thoughtwould happen if the park is not established, he said there will be a short term reduction oflogging in the U.S. because there is not alot left to cut. On the Canadian side we will see continued logging that will further decimate the ecosystem, and as aresult ofthis we will not have the ability to revive the large mammal populations.
Unless we can further protect the Cascades, the outlook is not very hopeful. Dale said. “I think there is averygood chance that the entire North Cascades will be turned into a tree farm, which entails a large loss ofbiological diversity. Thepast and the evidence of so many degraded areas around the Northwest make this almost inevitable.”
When I asked him why he thinks there is so much resistanceto the international park, his responsewas, “There hasbeen a rural Americanrevolutionbecause ofthe growing awareness that natural resources are limited. Astheybecome scarcer, peoplefight forthem more. People also become more afraid and agitated. Alotofpeopleperceive ournrvtural resourcesas something to use and not to protect.” The environmental problemintheNorthCascades thatconcernshimthemostisthedecline ofthe salmon. “You can certainly have major concerns over grizzlies, lynx, marten, fisher and other animals. They are legitimate concerns and their extinction would botherme agreat deal. But theNorthwest is so intertwined with the salmon that to lose them from the North Cascades would be tragic. Plus, the salmon in themselves are akeyto sustainingthe ecosystem. So many avian and terrestrial species depend on the salmonin oneway or another. The continued loss of the salmon would have an incredible impact on declining diversity ofthe Cascades.” Dale is interested in an international parkbecause he has alwaysthoughttheNorth Cascadeswere special. They had large runs ofsalmon and the mountains are still relatively pristine. “I thinkwe needto create this parkwhilethere is still the opportunity,” Dale said. “The nature ofthe landscape itself demands protection. Since it transcendsinternationalboundaries, itis essentialthatthere be a mechanism to get cooperative management betweenthetwo nations so thatwe canprotectthe ecosystem. “From a standpoint ofinternational relations, international parks are a concrete expressionoffriendship and goodwill.”
