An Administrative History of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

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McKay, Kathryn L.; Renk, Nancy F. Currents and Undercurrents: An Administrative History of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC. 2002-01-00 589p.

Lake Roosevelt Recreation Area, 1008 Crest Drive, Coulee Dam, WA 99116. Tel: 509-633-9441; Fax: 509-633-9332; Web site: http://www.nps.gov/ laro/adhi/adhi.htm. Books (010) Historical Materials (060) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS Price MF03/PC24 Plus Postage. *Government Role; Higher Education; *Land Use; *Parks; Physical Geography; *Recreational Facilities; Rivers; Social Studies; United States History Cultural Resources; Management Practices; National Park Service; Reservoirs

ABSTRACT The 1,259-mile Columbia River flows out of Canada and across eastern Washington state, forming the border between Washington and Oregon. In 1941 the federal government dammed the Columbia River at the north end of Grand Coulee, creating a man-made reservoir named Lake Roosevelt that inundated homes, farms, and businesses, and disrupted the lives of many. Although Congress never enacted specific authorization to create a park, it passed generic legislation that gave the Park Service authority at the National Recreation Area (NRA). Lake Roosevelt's shoreline totals more than 500 miles of cliffs and gentle slopes. The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO) was officially created in 1946. This historical study documents the long and complex story of the establishment of LARO and how it has been managed since its creation. Following informational materials and an introduction, the study's chapters are: (1) "When Rivers Ran Free"; (2) "The River Becomes a Lake"; (3) "A Long Road Lies Ahead: Establishing Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area"; (4) "Agreements and Disagreements: From Tri-Party Agreement to Multi-Party Agreement"; (6) "Family Vacation Lake: Recreation Planning and Management"; (7) "Building and Maintaining the Park: Administrative and Visitor Facilities"; (8) "Changing Stories: Interpretation"; (9) "From Simple to Complex: Cultural Resources Management"; (10) "An Uphill Struggle: Natural Resources Management"; (11) "Regaining Ground: Leases and Special Use Permits"; and (12) "Echoes of the Past: Future Issues." Includes seven appendices and an extensive bibliography. (BT)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Currents and Undercurrents: An Administrative History of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

*Mt

Kathryn L. McKay and Nancy F. Renk U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

January 2002

y This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.

C._

Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy.

Currents and Undercurrents: An Administrative History of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington

January 2002

by

Kathryn L. McKay and Nancy F. Renk

3

Cover photo: LARO ranger and Park Service boat near northern end of Lake Roosevelt, ca. 1972. Photo courtesy of National Park Service, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area ("A Boater's Guide to Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake," draft ca. 1972, file K3819 Lake Roos. Boater's Guide, LARO.HQ.CIO).

TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Preface

vii

Abbreviations Used in Text

xi

Abbreviations Used in Endnotes

xiii

Introduction

1

Chapter 1

When Rivers Ran Free

9

Chapter 2 The River Becomes a Lake

27

Chapter 3 A Long Road Lies Ahead: Establishing Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

47

Chapter 4 Agreements and Disagreements: From Tri-Party Agreement to Multi-Party Agreement

83

Chapter 5 Charting the Course: Managers and Management Issues

129

Chapter 6 Family Vacation Lake: Recreation Planning and Management

189

Chapter 7 Building and Maintaining the Park: Administrative and Visitor Facilities

245

Chapter 8 Changing Stories: Interpretation

305

Chapter 9 From Simple to Complex: Cultural Resources Management

359

Chapter 10 An Uphill Struggle: Natural Resources Management

409

iii

5

Chapter 11 Regaining Ground: Leases and Special Use Permits

445

Chapter 12 Echoes of the Past: Future Issues

489

Appendix A LARO Superintendents

493

Appendix B An act for the acquisition of Indian lands for the Grand Coulee Dam and Reservoir, and for other purposes (Act of June 29, 1940)

495

Appendix C Memorandum of Agreement Among the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Office of Indian Affairs Relating to the Planning, Development, and Administration of the Coulee Dam Recreational Area (December 18, 1946)

499

Appendix D Public Land Order 2087 (May 9, 1960)

509

Appendix E Lake Roosevelt Cooperative Management Agreement (April 5, 1990)

511

Appendix F Edward G. Torrison and Marlene J. Torrison, Husband and Wife, Plaintiffs, v. Vaughn L. Baker, et al., Defendants (September 27, 2000)

527

Appendix G Visitor Statistics

541

Annotated Bibliography

543

Index

579

6 iv

United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IN REPLY REFER TO:

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area 1008 Crest Drive Coulee Dam, Washington 99116

FOREWORD

This administrative history is one of a series being done throughout the National Park System. It adds to our knowledge and understanding of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area and how it came to be. The study chronicles the establishment of the recreation area from its roots in the Grand Coulee Dam project to the present. It traces how the area has been managed and operated over time by the National Park Service. It also portrays various issues that have been associated with the recreation area since its establishment in 1946.

While administrative histories are of interest to a wide range of individuals, they are particularly useful for Park Service staff to help them better understand why the area looks and operates the way it does due to decisions made and policies implemented over the years by their predecessors. It provides a context for making management decisions on issues, some of which have been present for decades.

This document was prepared for the National Park Service under contract with Tracks of the Past and Flume Creek Historical Services, consulting firms based in Columbia Falls, Montana, and Sandpoint, Idaho, respectively. The primary authors are Kathryn L. McKay and Nancy F. Renk. Through the use of outside parties to produce these studies,

the National Park Service hopes to provide an independent review of the events and circumstances that have shaped this unit of the National Park System. As such, the views expressed are those of the authors based on their research and contacts with numerous individuals having knowledge about various aspects of the National Recreation Area. This history of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is a "living" one. As additional information comes to light about the events described in this document and as subsequent

events occur relevant to the unit's administration, revisions of this document will be made as appropriate.

Vaughn L. Baker Superintendent

Preface Many, many people helped us with this project. First and foremost, we would like to thank the current and recent employees of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. We understand why the park has a reputation for friendly staff and a good work environment! Those who were particularly helpful included Vaughn Baker, Sherry Dotson, Dan Hand, Lynne Brougher, Roberta Miller, Ray Dashiell, Linda Morgan, Dan Mason, Scott Hebner, Karen Taylor-Goodrich, Marty Huseman, Ray DePuydt, and Gina Arnold. Past employees and their spouses who agreed to interviews included Gerry Tays, Dan Brown, Don and Connie Everts, Bill and Doris Schieber, Gary Kuiper, Tom Teaford, and Sis Robinson. We greatly enjoyed talking with and learning from each of these people. We also appreciate their useful comments on drafts of this report and their patience with follow-up inquiries. Librarians, archivists, and museum employees throughout the Pacific Northwest provided tremendous assistance to us as we searched for documents and other materials related to the history of the Lake Roosevelt area and the National Park Service. These include: Pat Witham of the Grant County Historical Museum; Tim Brooks and Cheryl Grunlose of the Colville Tribal Museum; Gary Schmauder of Lincoln County Historical Museum; the National Archives branches in San Bruno, California (and we'd like also like to thank our research assistant Marcia Plancon for the many linear feet of photocopies she sent us from San Bruno); Joyce Justice at the National Archives branch at Seattle, Washington; Frank Sciamanda of Washington State University's Holland Library, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections; Washington State Archives in Tacoma; Gary Lundell at University of Washington, Manuscripts and University Archives; Bonneville Power Administration Library in Portland, Oregon; David Hastings at the Washington State Archives in Olympia; Grant County Archives in Ephrata; Grand Coulee Library in Grand Coulee; Flathead County Library in Kalispell, Montana; Washington State Archives, Central Regional Branch, Ellensburg; Nancy Compau at the Northwest Room, Spokane Public Library; Shirley Dodson at the Stevens County Historical Society; Karen Deseve of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society Research Library and Archives; Jeff Creighton of the Washington State Archives, Eastern Regional Branch; Rodney Cawston, Aletha Heath, and Jayleen Palmer of the Colville Confederated Tribes Archives in Nespelem; and Bryon Flett, archivist for the Spokane Tribe of Indians in Wellpinit. We would particularly like to thank our technical contact, Gretchen Luxenberg of the Columbia Cascades Support Office, for her cheerful and knowledgeable assistance with all aspects of the project. Former Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area employees who revised drafts of this report included Kelly Cash, Art Hathaway, Gary Kuiper, and Gerry Tays. We also benefited greatly from the review comments of people who currently work at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. We would like to give special thanks to the National Park Service reviewers not at Lake Roosevelt, including Cathy Gilbert, David Louter, Janet McDonnell, Stephanie Toothman, Bill Walters, and Fred York.

vii

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At the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Grand Coulee, the following people provided easy access to documents and photographs and answered questions: librarian Marjoe Richards, Jack Scoles and Judy Quill in the photograph archives, and Public Information Officer Craig Sprankle. In addition, Regional Archaeologist Lynne MacDonald in Boise gave freely of her time to discuss cultural resource management issues at Lake Roosevelt. We appreciate the willingness of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane Tribe of Indians to cooperate with our research at their tribal archives. We regret, however, that the documents we requested have not been located to date. We did find in other repositories copies of many important documents prepared by the tribes, and these helped greatly in understanding their concerns in relation to the management of Lake Roosevelt. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area staff submitted draft copies of this report to the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane Tribe of Indians but received no comments or corrections. Both authors of this report live on tributaries to the Columbia River: Kathy on the Flathead River in northwestern Montana and Nancy along the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille system in northern Idaho. When we began this project, we spent one day late in the fall of 1998 driving around Lake Roosevelt. We watched the landscape change from arid lands near the dam to forests at the upper end of the lake and then back to arid as we returned to Coulee Dam. Despite the changes in the landscape, one force tied it all together: the Columbia River flowing slowly through the land as it flows through our lives. The story we uncovered during the course of this project is one of high hopes, grand plans, insufficient funding, conflict, challenges, mistakes, and successes. Many players have been involved in creating and operating the national recreation area, making its history rich and complex. We hope you enjoy exploring the story, as much as we have.

Kathryn L. McKay Tracks of the Past Columbia Falls, Montana

Nancy F. Renk Flume Creek Historical Services Sandpoint, Idaho

January 2002

9 viii

Note: The unit of the National Park System discussed in this report was known as the Coulee Dam National Recreation Area (CODA) from the 1940s until 1997, when its name was changed to the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO). The current name, LARO, is used throughout this report except in direct quotes or citations, regardless of the year in which the event or activity occurred.

ix a.

0

Abbreviations Used in Text ARPA BIA BLM BPA CBAS CBIAC CDAA CCSO CCT CMP CODA

Corps CRMP CY DARE DCP DOI DSC EA EIS EPA FY GCNC GMP HBC I & RM IAF ICC IPM IRA LARO LRCC LRCMA LRCOG LRPOA NAGPRA NHPA NPCA NPPC NRA 01A

Archaeological Resources Protection Act Bureau of Indian Affairs (formerly known as Office of Indian Affairs) Bureau of Land Management Bonneville Power Administration Columbia Basin Archaeological Survey Columbia Basin Inter-Agency Council Coulee Dam Amphibious Aircraft Company Columbia Cascades Support Office, Seattle Colville Confederated Tribes Concessions Management Plan Coulee Dam National Recreation Area, Coulee Dam Recreational Area (renamed Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in 1997) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cultural Resources Management Plan Calendar Year Drug Abuse Resistance Education Development Concept Plan Department of the Interior Denver Service Center Environmental Assessment Environmental Impact Statement Environmental Protection Agency Fiscal Year Grand Coulee Navigation Company General Management Plan Hudson's Bay Company Interpretation and Resource Management Ice Age Floods Indian Claims Commission Integrated Pest Management Indian Reorganization Act Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt Coordinating Committee Lake Roosevelt Cooperative Management Agreement Lake Roosevelt Council of Governments Lake Roosevelt Property Owners Association Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act National Historic Preservation Act National Parks and Conservation Association Northwest Power Planning Council National Recreation Area Office of Indian Affairs (later Bureau of Indian Affairs)

ORV PA Park Service Reclamation RMP RRE SCS SHPO STI TVA USGS VAC WPA YACC YCC

off-road vehicle Programmatic Agreement National Park Service U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Resource Management Plan Roosevelt Recreational Enterprises Soil Conservation Service State Historic Preservation Office Spokane Tribe of Indians Tennessee Valley Authority U.S. Geological Survey Visitor Arrival Center Works Projects Administration Young Adults Conservation Corps Youth Conservation Corps

12 xii

Abbreviations Used in Endnotes Eastern Washington University, Cheney Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Harpers Ferry Center Photo Archives, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia LARO.FS.1107 files maintained by LARO's Natural Resources Manager, Fort Spokane LARO.HQ.ADM LARO's central files, park headquarters LARO.HQ.CIO files maintained by LARO's Chief of Interpretation LARO.HQ.LIB files or books available in LARO's library, park headquarters LARO.HQ.PAO files maintained by LARO's Program Assistant's Office LARO.HQ.RMO files maintained by LARO's Resource Manager's Office LARO.HQ.SUP files maintained by LARO's Superintendent LARO.HQ.100-USA files maintained in the attic at LARO headquarters LARO.KF.2004 files maintained by LARO's Archaeologist, Kettle Falls NARA-PAR National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Alaska Region, Seattle NARA-PSR National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Sierra Region, San Bruno, California n.d. not dated n.p. no place NPS National Park Service RG Record Group UI University of Idaho USBR U.S. Bureau of Reclamation UW University of Washington, Seattle WASO Washington, D.C., Office, NPS WPA Works Projects Administration (Works Progress Administration) WSA Washington State Archives, Olympia WSA-CRB Washington State Archives, Central Regional Branch, Ellensburg WSA-ERB Washington State Archives, Eastern Regional Branch, Cheney WSU Washington State University, Pullman EWU GPO HFC

3

Introduction For thousands of years, the upper Columbia River sustained the people living within its watershed. Early people established camps and homes along the river, followed in more recent times by others who also built houses and communities along the banks of the wide, flowing river. By 1941, however, the federal government had dammed the river at the north end of Grand Coulee, creating a man-made reservoir named Lake Roosevelt that inundated homes, farms, and businesses and disrupted the lives of many. But government officials also envisioned the new lake's potential to attract visitors and residents for a new purpose recreation and National Park Service representatives began to plan for recreational use of the area. Park Service employees of the 1940s, from people in the field on up to the Director himself, argued the merit of including "national recreational areas" within the National Park System. After considerable hesitation and disagreement, the Park Service determined that Lake Roosevelt was nationally significant, paving the way for it to become a National Recreation Area (NRA). Although Congress never enacted specific authorizing legislation to create the park, it passed generic legislation that gave the Park Service authority at the NRA. In addition, Congress has recognized the unit with lineitem appropriations since 1949, and in 1970 it became a unit of the National Park System. Many challenges face the managers of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Some result from the boundaries of the park, established in the late 1930s and modified in later years. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) acquired all land above the water, which is at 1,290 feet at full pool, up to the "taking line" at the 1,310-foot contour line; this strip is often referred to as the freeboard lands. Because it was often easier and in some cases cheaper simply to purchase entire parcels rather than partial tracts of land, the boundary line for the NRA is irregular and sometimes goes above the 1,310-foot taking line. The width of the shoreline strip administered by the Park Service thus varies from about fifty to several hundred feet, depending on the steepness of the slope. Lake Roosevelt's shoreline totals more than five hundred miles of cliffs and gentle slopes. Today, the Park Service manages 61 percent of the narrow strip of federal land along the shoreline of Lake Roosevelt and 58 percent of the total water surface area. The Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane Tribe of Indians manage most of the remainder of the land and water. Reclamation retains management of the dam, its immediate area, and a few other locations considered necessary for reservoir operations. Management of the reservoir and its resources is complicated by the fact that nine federal agencies, two tribes, four state agencies, six counties, and four cities have interests in various aspects of this essentially linear resource.

Physical Characteristics of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area The 1,259-mile Columbia River flows out of Canada and across eastern Washington and then forms the border between Washington and Oregon. The river contributes some 89

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