AN OPEN PIT Visible from the MOON The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest ADAM M. SOWARDS An Open Pit Visible from the Moon The Environment in Modern North America Leisl Carr Childers and Michael Childers, Series Editors An Open Pit Visible from the Moon The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest AdAm m. SowArdS An Open Pit Visible from the Moon The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest AdAm m. SowArdS UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS : NORMAN Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sowards, Adam M., author. Title: An open pit visible from the moon : the Wilderness Act and the fight to protect Miners Ridge and the public interest / Adam M. Sowards. Description: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. | Series: Environment in modern North America | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Combines rigorous analysis and deft storytelling of the struggle to define the contours of the Wil- derness Act when the Kennecott Copper Corporation announced its plan to develop an open-pit mine in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2019049766 | ISBN 978-0-8061-6501-1 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Environmentalism—Political aspects—United States. | Copper mines and mining—Environmental aspects—Washington (State)—Glacier Peak Wilderness | Strip-mining—Environmental aspects—Washington (State)—Glacier Peak Wilderness | United States. Wilderness Act. | Kennecott Copper Corporation. | Public interest— United States. | Glacier Peak Wilderness (Wash.)—Environmental conditions. Classification: LCC GE197 .S68 2020 | DDC 333.78/216097977—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049766 An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest is Volume 2 in the Environment in Modern North America series. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞ Copyright © 2020 by Adam M. Sowards. Published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record- ing, or otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copy- right Act—without the prior written permission of the University of Oklahoma Press. To request permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Drive, Norman OK 73069, or email [email protected]. For Mom and Dad, who created a home, in the shadow of the Cascades, where I could flourish CONTENTS List of Maps ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: The Telescope 3 PART ONE Bedrock ONE The Foundation 15 TWO The Wilderness 35 PART TWO Challenges THREE The Dance 57 FOUR The Summit 72 FIVE The Secretary 83 SIX The Doctor 100 SEVEN The Justice 111 EIGHT The Park 120 NINE The Student 137 PART THREE Resolution TEN The Trouble 149 ELEVEN The Stories 158 Conclusion: The Ends 173 Notes 179 Bibliography 215 Index 227 viii CONTENTS MAPS Major features of the North Cascade region 14 North Cascades administrative boundaries after creation of the national park in 1968 135 ix