News Release

2024 Helicopter Supported Wilderness Projects

Date: June 13, 2024
Contact: Public Affairs Office

Several projects with helicopter support will begin this season in the Stephen Mather Wilderness as snow levels recede. Time and distance of flights over and around wilderness will be minimized whenever possible. Flight dates are subject to change depending on weather and other safety factors.  

Mid-June: Radio Repeater Maintenance (June 17-21)  
Helicopter flights will support radio maintenance and replacement of outdated equipment will occur to keep the park radio communications system operational. Numerous flights to the Hozomeen and Stehekin areas, and Ruby, Copper, Lookout, and McGregor repeater sites are possible. Flights will be combined with other projects when possible, to reduce flight numbers.  

Late-June: Historic Structure Maintenance (tentative dates June 21-25) 
Helicopter flights will support historic structure maintenance in the Thunder Creek drainage south of Junction Stock Camp. A long-line transport of materials is expected over one-two flights.  

June and July: Bear Creek Fire Rehabilitation  
Located in the northern section of North Cascades National Park on the Chilliwack River, the Bear Creek Camp area has been closed due to fire since July 30, 2021, and sections of the Copper Ridge and Brush Creek Trails will remain closed this year. This rehabilitation project will clear downed trees, repair trail treads, reestablish the collapsed trail, restore and improve drainage features, and build small, slope retaining features from onsite materials as needed. Two helicopter flights will be used to transport crew and materials to Indian Creek Camp as early as possible, sometime during June or early July, weather dependent. Use of the helicopter will facilitate safe access to the area allowing trail crew time to clear trail, repair tread, and accomplish annual maintenance. The work is expected to last 14-18 weeks in 2024 and possibly continue for several seasons. The area will reopen after completed repairs.   

August: Human Waste Removal (tentative in August, may be later in the summer)
Flights to remove barrels of human waste from Cascade Pass, Sahale Glacier Camp, and Sulphide Glacier may occur late summer 2024. Composting toilets are critical for protecting water quality and visitor safety throughout the park, and helicopter flights are the best method for removing the human waste from these locations when needed.   

September: Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring (tentative dates September 3-5) Six mountain lakes in North Cascades National Park Service Complex have been monitored annually through the North Coast and Cascades Network long-term ecological monitoring program since 2012. This program provides a robust and unique data set from mountain lake environments. Flights to transport researchers and haul equipment to two of these lakes, Easy Ridge and Lower Silent lakes, are required due to the technical nature of approaching them by foot. Three flights are required for this project; one for ingress into the primary lake, one to transfer crew and gear to a second lake, and the final flight for egress. 

September: Long-term Glacier Monitoring   
Since 1993, the National Park Service has been monitoring the mass balance of four glaciers in North Cascades National Park: Noisy, North Klawatti, Silver, and Sandalee. Field measurements of winter snow accumulation and summer melt occur twice annually in early spring and fall. From these measurements, annual changes in volume can be calculated providing insight into the glaciers' health and their contribution to regional streamflow. Helicopters support transportation of scientists and monitoring equipment to these remote sites. Spring flights occurred over a two-day period between late April and early May and a one-day fall flight will be required in late September.  

Ongoing: Helicopter flights by Seattle City Light may occur throughout the summer and fall in Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Although flights will not likely occur in wilderness, helicopter noise may be heard on and around Ross Lake.