Visitors flood Three Creek Lake

The sudden flow of late-summer visitors to Three Creek Lake has been hard on locally sensitive plant and wildlife habitat.

Sisters Ranger District field ranger Kate Goossens reported that impatient recreationists drove their vehicles across Three Creek Lake's earthen dam on August 21 to access the Driftwood campground, which was blocked by a 70-foot-long snowbank.

She explained that the "sub-alpine" habitat in the area has a very short growing season and that such extreme impacts on the ground can cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

"These plants are very slow to recover," said Goossens. "They live a very short season snow-free and there's very little time to re-grow vegetation."

The onslaught of visitors and a lingering snow pack caused parking and pet problems as well as other impacts to Three Creek Lake itself. Goossens said people were bathing themselves and cleaning fish in the lake, activities that they are "supposed to do at home."

She also observed campers allowing their pet dogs to wander away from their campsites off their leashes.

"Our biggest concern is when a dog is threatening other people," Goossens explained. "But it's also a safety precaution for the dogs. They chase wildlife and can get lost."

She said that campers had reported mountain lion sightings three mornings in a row the last week of August near the Driftwood campground bathrooms, posing a potential threat to unwary, unleashed dogs. The Forest Service leash law requires dog owners to keep their pets on a six-foot leash in any campground.

Goossens also said that a release gate wasn't working properly in the Three Creek dam and may have caused lake levels to be higher than normal, increasing the potential for shoreline damage.

"This lake doesn't filter itself out too well," she said. "The dam or culvert may be clogged or the gate stuck closed, but it's not draining properly. We're not sure why."

On August 23, the Forest Service installed "No vehicles" signs on both ends of the Three Creek dam, and they replaced large rocks that visitors had moved to gain access to the area.

Goossens said her position increases the agency's presence in heavy-use areas and helps to educate visitors about low-impact recreation.

"I reach out to the public at campgrounds and recreational areas, gather information, interact with them and get direct feedback," she explained. "I bring the feedback back to (Forest Service) resource specialists to use in planning new projects and as input for current projects.

"We want people to be delicate where they park and walk," she said. "You can't erase trails through these (areas). We want to focus on protecting Three Creek until we can get to planning and managing the situation."