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I hiked and camped on the shores of Spirit Lake before the eruption. I enthusiastically supported creation of the Mount St. Helens National Monument in 1982 and I have climbed the volcano and hiked all the trails in the monument since then. I have watched the evolving landscape as Spirit Lake and the lands around it have recovered. Congress made scientific research the primary management objective with recreation to be allowed where it does not conflict with science and natural recovery. Spirit Lake is the largest lake in the US not open to human intervention and devoted to long term science. Nowhere else has natural aquatic ecosystem recovery at this scale been implemented and studied. It's the one place in the world where this kind of science is going on and it should not be wasted for short-term recreation for a handful of anglers.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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