Three environmental organizations have sued to stop Olympic National Park’s plan to airlift two prefabricated trail shelters into the park’s back country.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by Olympic Park Associates, Wilderness Watch and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
It seeks to halt the airlifting of the shelters into the park and to force Olympic National Park to finish its wilderness plan.
“The gist of the lawsuit is that the park is violating several parts of the 1964 Wilderness Act by flying these shelters into a wilderness area,” said Olympic Park Associates Tim McNulty of Sequim.
“They aren’t essential for any kind of management as they are required to be under the Wilderness Act.”
McNulty said the federal Wilderness Act of 1964, which governs 95 percent of Olympic National Park, specifically prohibits “structures or permanent improvements or mechanical transport in wilderness areas.”
“We are asking the court to find the National Parks Service in violation of several parts of the Wilderness Act and stop them from installing the shelters,” McNulty said.
The lawsuit also claims that the park began building the replacement shelters before seeking public comment on their installation, McNulty said.
Shelters from the storms
The park intends the structures to be shelters from the storms, animals and other challenges of Olympic’s back country.
They would replace two decades-old shelters that collapsed under heavy snows nearly six years ago.
