The last of the three great National Parks we are featuring this month is Washington’s North Cascades Park.  It is also the last of our parks to be designated as such, with park status only coming in 1968 with the passing of the North Cascades National Park Act.  The park along with two “National Recreation Areas”, Ross Lake and Lake Chelan, and all are managed as the North Cascades National Park Complex.

However long before it became a National Park this area was well known for its beauty and ruggedness.  One of the chief missions of the Washington State Library is to “Collect, preserve, and make accessible to Washingtonians materials on the government, history, culture, and natural resources of the state.”  In other words, for anything to do with Washington State history, we are a great place to start.

While we do not have a primary source record from the Native American viewpoint we have information about the native cultures of the area.

Mierendorf, Robert R, and Kenneth C. Reid. People of the North Cascades. Seattle, Wash: National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1986. I 29.2:C 26/6 c.2

Smith, Allan H. Ethnography of the North Cascades. Pullman: Center for Northwest Anthropology, Washington State University, 1988. WA 378.5 Un3eth n 1987

Early settlers to the region also kept accounts of their travels and discoveries. Three books immediately jump to the head of the line.

Küster, Heinrich, and Harry M. Majors. Discovery of Mount Shuksan and the Upper Nooksack River, June 1859. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1984.  NW 979.5 Northwest 1984

Küster, Heinrich, and Harry M. Majors. First Crossing of the Picket Range 1859. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1984.  NW 979.5 Northwest 1984

Ross, Alexander, Thomas J. Dryer, and Adella M. Parker. The First Crossing of the North Cascades. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1980. NW 979.95 Northwest 1980

But what if you wanted to learn about contemporary park management or the environmental aspects of the park?  We not only collect Washington State Documents but as a Federal Repository we collect and provide access to federal documents about the park.

Lesher, Robin. Botanical Reconnaissance of Silver Lake Research Area, North Cascades National Park, Washington. Portland, Or: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1984.

North Cascades: A Guide to the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington. Washington, D.C: Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1986.

General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment: North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. , Washington, D.C: Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1987

Ecological Effects of Stocked Trout in Naturally Fishless High-Elevation Lakes, North Cacades National Park Service Complex, Wa, USA. Seattle, Wash.: National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1999.

Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. Sedro-Woolley, WA: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 2008. Volume 1, Volume 2

What about just the pure pleasure of visiting the park?  Well we’ve got you covered there too.

Spring, Ira, and Harvey Manning. 100 Hikes in Washington’s North Cascades National Park Region. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers, 2000. NW 917.9773 ONE HUN 2000  

Dietrich, William, Craig Romano, Gary Snyder, Christian Martin, and Richard Louv. The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby. , 2014 NW 508.797 DIETRIC 2014 

Bake, William A. Stehekin: A Wilderness Journey into the North Cascades. Washington, D.C.: Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1977  RARE 917.9759 BAKE 1977

And finally for those of you who stuck with me to the end of this post, I saved the best for last with the prize for most original chapter title being “Run hippie run! Rednecks gonna get ya!”

Harrison, Buckwheat” B. Hippie Tales of the Northwest Woods. Minneapolis: Mill City Press, 2014.  NW 305.568 HARRISO 2014