Committee says no to Mount St. Helens national park

An advisory committee on the future of Mount St. Helens is recommending that Congress keep the mountain in the hands of the U.S. Forest Service instead of converting it to a national park. The committee's draft recommendations now go out for public comment. Advocates of a national park say the mountain would get more money and visitors if it was run by the National Park Service and was given the marquee status that goes with national park designation. Others worry that access would be restricted if the 108,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was converted to a national park, including limiting opportunities for elk hunters and snowmobilers. The 14-member committee, including county and tourism officials, did recommend after meeting last weekend that the Forest Service create campgrounds within the monument boundaries and reopen the Coldwater Ridge vistor center, closed in 2007 for lack of funds, as an overnight destination. The service should also "develop destination resorts in and around the monument," the committee said...The Oregonian