Add to Hatfield Wilderness Area
April 9, 2004
To the Editor: I thank Sen. Ron Wyden for proposing to add 160,000 roadless acres as wildernessin the Mount Hood National Forest, which includes about 36,000 acres of the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.
The gorge is a national scenic treasure. It contains the highest concentration of waterfalls in North America, including Multnomah Falls, the fifth-highest waterfall in North America.
Above the falls on the flanks of Larch Mountain lies Multnomah Basin, where a network of trails provides easy access to the largest remaining old-growth forest left in the gorge. In just a 30 minute drive from Portland and you can be hiking in an old-growth forest.
The Forest Service recently proposed new management guidelines that would allow "forest health" logging in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, even in places like Multnomah Basin. The only permanent way to protect this gem is through its addition to the Mark Hatfield Wilderness Area.
PETER CORNELISON
Hood River