Editing North Cascades National Park (section)

== Human history ==
=== Paleoindians and Native Americans ===
Human history in North Cascades National Park and the surrounding region begins 8&ndash;10,000&nbsp;years ago, after the end of the [[last glacial period]].<ref name=apostol>{{cite book|last=Apostol|first=Dean|author2=Marcia Sinclair|title=Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art and Science of Ecological Restoration in Cascadia|publisher=Island Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsGyhzFBjyAC&q=archeology+of+north+cascades&pg=PA248|page=248|isbn=978-1610911030|year=2006|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> [[Paleo-Indians]] slowly advanced from [[Puget Sound]] into the interior mountain region as the glacial ice retreated. Archaeological evidence from other sites hundreds of miles away from the park indicate that Hozomeen [[chert]], a type of rock well-suited to the fabrication of implements, was mined from near [[Hozomeen Mountain]], just east of the park border, for the last 8,400&nbsp;years.<ref name=mierendorf1>{{cite web|last=Mierendorf|first=Robert|title=Cultural History|publisher=North Cascades Institute|url=https://ncascades.org/discover/north-cascades-ecosystem/cultural-history|access-date=June 27, 2018}}</ref>  Tools such as [[Microblade technology|microblade]]s made from Hozomeen chert are part of the archaeological record throughout the [[Skagit River]] Valley, west of the park and in regions to the east.<ref name=mcmanamon>{{cite book|last=McManamon|first=Francis P.|author2=Linda S. Cordell |author3=Kent G. Lightfoot |author4=George R. Milner |title=Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Greenwood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arfWRW5OFVgC&q=chert|page=324|isbn=978-0313331848|year=2008|access-date=July 4, 2018}}</ref><ref name=mierendorf1/> Prehistoric micro blades 9,600&nbsp;years old have been discovered at [[Cascade Pass]], a mountain pass that connects the western lowlands to the interior regions of the park and the Stehekin River Valley. The microblades are part of an archaeological assemblage that includes five distinct cultural periods, indicating that people were traveling into the mountains nearly 10,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref name=archeo>{{cite web|last=Mierendorf|first=Robert|title=Archeology at Cascade Pass|work=North Cascades Resource Brief|publisher=National Park Service|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/historyculture/upload/Archeology-Cascade-Pass-Resource-Brief-2011-2.pdf|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> As well as the archaeological excavation at Cascade Pass, there are another 260 prehistoric sites that have been identified in the park.<ref>{{cite web|title=History and Culture|publisher=National Park Service|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/historyculture/index.htm|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Microblades North Cascades.jpg|thumb|left|Microblades excavated from Cascades Pass; the two on the right were crafted from quartz.<ref name=archeo/>|alt=Five irregular but vaguely blade shaped pieces of crystalline rock. The left-most is blue, the next two are reddish, and the right two are white.]]
When white explorers first entered the area in the late 18th century, an estimated thousand [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Upper Skagit Indian Tribe|Skagits]] lived in what is now North Cascades National Park as well as the surrounding area.<ref name=thompson1>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Erwin N.|title=The Indians|work=North Cascades History Basic Data|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hbd/chap1.htm|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Residing mainly to the west of the park near [[Puget Sound]], the Skagits lived in settlements, culling their needs from the waterways and traveling by canoe. Skagits formed a loose confederation of tribes that united if threatened by outside tribes such as the [[Haidas]], who lived to the north.<ref name=thompson1/> They erected large houses or lodges that could house multiple families, each with their own partitioned area and entrance. The lodges were {{convert|100|ft}} in length and {{convert|20|to|40|ft|abbr=on}} in width, and the roofs were [[Mono-pitched roof|shed-style]]s, with a single pitch; structures built by other Puget Sound tribes usually had [[gable]] roofs with more than one pitch.<ref name=thompson1/> The Skagits were generally lowlanders, who only ventured into the North Cascades during the summer months, and structures in the mountains were more modest, consisting mostly of temporary buildings erected with poles and covered with branches.<ref name=thompson1/> The Skagits erected [[totem pole]]s and participated in [[potlatch]] ceremonies, similar to the Haidas, but with less complexity and extravagance. By 1910, only about 56 Skagits remained in the region, but their numbers have since rebounded to several hundred.<ref name=thompson1/>

Inland and residing to the north and east of the Skagit tribe, the [[Nlaka'pamux]] (also known as the "Thompson Indians", named after explorer [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]]), [[Chelan tribe|Chelan]], [[Syilx|Okanogan]] and [[Wenatchi]] (Wenatchee) tribes lived partly or year-round in the eastern sections of the North Cascades.<ref name=thompson1/> The Skagits and Nlaka'pamux often had disputes, and raided one another's camps in search of slaves or to exact retribution. Like the coastal-based Skagits, inland tribes also constructed long lodges which were occupied by numerous families, though the style of construction was slightly different as the lodges did not have partitions separating one family from another, and were frame constructed and covered with reed mats rather than from cedar planking.<ref name=thompson1/> One Wenatchee tribal lodge was described by Thompson as being {{convert|240|ft|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=thompson1/> Inland tribes were more likely to travel on foot or horseback than by canoe since the inland regions were less densely forested. Inland tribes also had less bountiful fisheries and greater weather extremes due to being further away from the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean. Inland tribes rarely erected totem poles or participated in potlatch ceremonies. By the beginning of the 20th century, inland tribes, like their coastal neighbors, had experienced population decline from their first contact with white explorers a hundred years earlier, mostly due to [[smallpox]] and other diseases.<ref name=thompson1/>
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=== Anglo-European exploration ===
[[File:Goode Mountain.jpeg|thumb|Goode Mountain is the tallest mountain in the park.|alt=A reddish-brown mountain range. The tops are ragged and sharp and there is dirty old snow on some of the lower parts of the mountains.]]
The first white explorer to enter the North Cascades was most likely a Scotsman named [[Alexander Ross (fur trader)|Alexander Ross]], who was in the employ of the American-owned [[Pacific Fur Company]]. To the southeast of the modern park boundary, Ross and other members of the company constructed [[Fort Okanogan]] in 1811, as a base from which to operate during the early period of the Pacific Northwest fur trade.<ref name=luxenberg1>{{cite web|last=Luxenberg
|first=Gretchen A.|title=Marketing the Wilderness: Development of Commercial Enterprises|work=Historic Resource Study|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hrs/sec3.htm|date=February 7, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Fort Okanogan was the first American settlement in present-day Washington State, well north of the route followed by members of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] of 1804&ndash;1806, and also north of [[Fort Vancouver]], on the [[Columbia River]].<ref name=thompson2>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Erwin N.|title=Fur Trading and Trapping|work=North Cascades History Basic Data|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hbd/chap2.htm|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref> Fort Okanogan was later owned by the [[North West Company]], and then the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], both of which were British-owned.<ref name=thompson2/>

Both Native American and white trappers conducted fur transactions at the trading post, which was staffed by representatives of the fur trading company. During one season, Ross traded 1,500 beaver pelts.<ref name=luxenberg1/> In 1814, Ross became the first known white explorer to explore the valleys and high passes of the North Cascades, but he was less interested in exploration than discovering a route that would easily connect the fur trading posts of interior Washington with Puget Sound to the west.<ref name=luxenberg1/><ref name=thompson2/> Ross was accompanied by three Indians, one of whom was a guide who led the party to a high pass in the North Cascades. Ross and the guide may have traveled as far west as the Skagit River, but failed to get to Puget Sound.<ref name=thompson2/> Fur trading slowed considerably as demand for furs decreased in the 1840s, but a few residents continued to augment their income by trapping for furs in the area until 1968, when the park was established, rendering the activity illegal.<ref name=luxenberg1/>

Aside from isolated trappers, the North Cascades saw no further explorations until the 1850s. In 1853, US Army Captain [[George B. McClellan]] led a party that explored the area for potential locations for the construction of a railroad through the region. McClellan determined the mountains were too numerous and precipitous, and that any railway would have to be constructed well to the south.<ref name=luxenberg2>{{cite web|last=Luxenberg
|first=Gretchen A.|title=Early Impressions: Euro-American Explorations and Surveys|work=Historic Resource Study|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hrs/sec1.htm|date=February 7, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

American and British disputes in the region centered on the fur trade, and the [[Treaty of 1818]] allowed for joint administration of [[Oregon Country]], as it was referred to in the United States{{snd}}the [[British Empire]] referred to the region as the [[Columbia District]].<ref name=thompson3>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Erwin N.|title=International Boundary|work=North Cascades History Basic Data|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hbd/chap3.htm|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> The treaty set the international border at the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]], but this was disputed west of the [[Rocky Mountains]], since the rival fur trading outfits had their own ideas about where the border should be. The [[Oregon boundary dispute]] between Britain and the United States eventually led to the [[Oregon Treaty]] of 1846, and the 49th parallel forms both the current international border as well as the northern limit of the current park.<ref name=thompson3/> During the late 1850s, members of the US North West Boundary Commission explored the border region, attempting to identify which mountains, rivers and lakes belonged to which country.<ref name=thompson3/> One party of the commission was led by explorer Henry Custer, and they explored the northern district of the park, publishing their report in the 1860s. Custer's party crossed Whatcom Pass in 1858, and were the first whites to see [[Challenger Glacier (Washington)|Challenger Glacier]] and Hozomeen Mountain.<ref name=thompson3/> Impressed with the scenic grandeur of the region, Custer stated, "must be seen, it cannot be described".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kiver |first1=Eugene|last2=Harris |first2=David|title=Geology of U.S. Parklands |year=1999|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0471332183|page=192|edition=5th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0zDQWiFuvkC&q=Henry+custer+must+be+seen,+it+cannot+be+described&pg=PA192|access-date=July 4, 2018}}</ref>

In 1882, US Army Lieutenant Henry Hubbard Pierce led a government-sponsored exploration that traversed the western boundary of the southern section of the current park, in search of transportation routes and natural resources. As with the party led by McClellan in the 1850s, Pierce failed to find a suitable route for a railway, and only marginally suitable routes for roads. However, the expedition discovered gold in a [[quartz]] vein on the slopes of [[Eldorado Peak]].<ref name=explorers>{{cite web|title=Settlers and Explorers|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/historyculture/settlers-and-explorers.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=May 26, 2014}}</ref> Further expeditions by the military in 1883 and 1887 also determined that the mountains were virtually impenetrable.<ref name=luxenberg2/> Explorers continued to seek out routes for wagon roads and railways and by the end of the 19th century, much of the park had been explored, but it was not until 1972 that the [[Washington State Route 20|North Cascades Highway]] bisected the mountains.<ref name=luxenberg2/>

=== Mining, logging and dam construction ===
[[File:Ross Lake Dam, North Cascades National Park, Washington - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Ross Dam in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area|alt=A curved concrete dam, viewed from slightly above. On the left is a steep forested valley, and on the right is blue-green water. The reservoir is almost full.]]
Mineral prospectors entered the North Cascades region, and by the 1850s were doing [[placer mining]] along the banks of the Skagit River in search of gold. In the 1870s, placer mining also commenced along [[Ruby Creek (Washington)|Ruby Creek]], and hundreds of miners came to the region even though it was difficult to access. Most mining activity along Ruby Creek had ended by the 1880s, but was soon replaced by [[Underground mining (hard rock)|hard rock mining]] for silver and other minerals.<ref name=luxenberg1/> This second period of mining lasted from the 1890s to the 1940s, but was only marginally more lucrative.<ref name=thompson5>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Erwin N.|title=Mining|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hbd/chap5.htm|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Miners were hampered by short working seasons, difficult terrain, low quantities of ore and a lack of financial investment.<ref name=miners>{{cite web|title=Miners|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/historyculture/miners.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Miners built some of the first trails and roads into portions of the backcountry, some of which involved intricate engineering, including bridges over the numerous streams and dynamiting rock ledges above steep gorges during trail construction.<ref name=luxenberg1/><ref name=build>{{cite web|title=The Builders|work=History and Culture|publisher=National Park Service|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/historyculture/the-builders.htm|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> One mining company built a series of [[flume]]s, the longest of which was over {{convert|3|mi}}, to transport lumber and to supply water for use in their [[hydraulic mining]] operation.<ref name=luxenberg1/>

During the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, larger operations mined silver and lead in addition to gold, mostly with little or no profitability. The demand for metals was not constant, and so prices tended to fluctuate too greatly for mining to be viable.<ref name=luxenberg1/> Once the region became a national park, some privately owned mining inholdings remained. One such inholding, the Thunder Creek mine, was still privately owned as of 1997.<ref name=louter1>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=Land Use and Protection|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/chap1.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

Unlike in many other regions of the Pacific Northwest, logging had little impact on the future park.<ref name=thompson8>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Erwin N.|title=The Public Domain|work=North Cascades History Basic Data|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/hbd/chap8.htm|date=June 11, 2008|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> The ruggedness of the terrain and the existence of more economically viable timber resources that were closer to transportation routes largely dissuaded the timber industry from logging in the area. In 1897 the [[Washington National Forest|Washington Forest Reserve]] was set aside, preserving the forestland that would later become the park. By 1905, the management of the reserve was transferred from the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]] to the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]]. The [[United States Forest Service|Forest Service]] was subsequently created to administer these forest reserves nationwide, which were redesignated as National Forests.<ref name=luxenberg1/> Though the Department of Agriculture allowed commercial enterprises to log the forest with a permit, most of the timber taken from the region was used only locally for the construction of cabins and similar small-scale enterprises. Logging expanded when the [[Skagit River Hydroelectric Project]] was commenced by the public utility [[Seattle City Light]] in the 1920s.<ref name=build/> Almost {{convert|12000|acre}} of timber would have been left underwater by the completion of the [[Ross Dam]]. A contract to extract the timber was awarded in 1945 and the project was completed in 1958.<ref name=luxenberg1/> None of the dams or areas that were extensively logged are within the current boundaries of the national park, but they are in the adjoining [[Ross Lake National Recreation Area]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Protecting The Natural Environment with Low Impact Energy Generation|url=http://www.seattle.gov/light/Skagit/|website=Skagit River Hydroelectric Project|publisher=City of Seattle|access-date=May 18, 2018}}</ref>

=== Establishing the National Park ===
[[File:NPS DirectorandStaff.jpg|thumb|Stephen Mather (seated at center) was the first Director of the National Park Service, and is the namesake for the vast wilderness area that now encompasses almost all of the park.|alt=A black-and-white photo of five men wearing business attire. Two are standing and three are seated.]]
The establishment of [[Yellowstone National Park]] in 1872, and [[Yosemite National Park]] in 1890, led [[Historic preservation|preservationists]] to argue for similar protections for other areas. Even before the North Cascade region was designated as a Forest Reserve in 1897, activists argued the region should be afforded the greater protection accorded from a National Park designation.<ref name=louter2>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=A Wilderness Park|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/part1.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>  Washingtonians submitted a petition in 1892 to establish a national park to the north of [[Lake Chelan]], as many who had visited the region believed it to have scenery "greater than Switzerland's".<ref name=louter3>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=Contested Terrain: The Establishment of North Cascades National Park|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/chap1.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Further efforts took place in 1906, and again between 1916 and 1921, when artist Julian Itter and the Mazamas Alpine Club lobbied for a bill to designate "Mount Baker National Park".<ref name="Times-1967">{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Walt |date=March 21, 1967 |title=North Cascade Park Bill Was Long In Coming |page=2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The proposals failed to gain approval from the [[United States Congress|US Congress]] and were shelved for decades.<ref name=louter3/><ref>{{cite news |last=Halliday |first=William R. |date=March 16, 1969 |title=The Forgotten Father Of North Cascades National Park |pages=14–15 |work=The Seattle Times Magazine}}</ref>

Not all locals supported the idea of a national park, as they felt that such a designation would damage the economics of the region. The Forest Service was also not in favor of park designation, as they would have to relinquish control over the land to the Park Service, which was not uncommon, since many parks being established were originally managed by the Forest Service. In an effort to appease their detractors, the Forest Service designated [[Primitive Area]]s which would provide increased protection to some of the most pristine regions they managed.<ref name=louter3/>

By the mid-1930s, forester [[Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)|Bob Marshall]] argued that the region should be set aside as wilderness. Rival interests continued to argue over whether the lands should remain under the management of the Forest Service or the National Park Service, but by the 1960s the environmentalist argument advocating for a national park prevailed.<ref name=louter3/> President [[John F. Kennedy]] directed the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to fund a joint study into a possible national park in the North Cascades region, which was completed in January 1966 and submitted to Congress.<ref name="Times-1967"/> The size of the national park was subject to debate locally and in Congress, as well as its effect on the local logging industry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Walt |date=February 11, 1966 |title=Pros and Cons on U.S. Parks Heard |page=45 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 21, 1968 |title=North Cascades Compromise Hinted |page=45 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a [[List of national parks of the United States|national park]] on October 2, 1968, and the National Park Service commenced direct management on January 1, 1969.<ref name=louter4>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=Administration|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/chap2.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> The North Cascades National Park Act also designated Ross Lake and [[Lake Chelan National Recreation Area]]s. [[Redwood National and State Parks|Redwood National Park]] in California was also signed into existence on the same day as the North Cascades.<ref name=louter3/> By 1988, much of Bob Marshall's original plan to set aside the future park as wilderness was achieved when almost all of North Cascades National Park was designated as the [[Stephen Mather Wilderness]].<ref name=wilderness>{{cite web|title=Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/parkmgmt/washington-park-wilderness.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>