NATURE NOTES FROM CRATER LAKE

	Volume XXX - 1999
Presented by
National Park Service Crater Lake National Park		Crater Lake Natural History Association

Work on a new fuel line and the Cleetwood Cove Trail prevented last year's visitors from fishing or taking boat tours, so the summer of 1999 promises a return to Crater Lake. Not since 1952 had a whole season passed without public access to the water, so it seemed fitting to begin this edition of Nature Notes with articles about the lake and the spectacular geological story it represents.

As anyone who has experienced the beauty found in its forests, wet lands, and even barren areas will readily attest, there is more to Crater Lake National Park than its central feature. Since each part of the park contains something of interest, Nature Notes is devoted to providing visitors with information they might not otherwise obtain on their own. In this edition, for example, there are articles on how to identify the various sedges, a rare wildflower called Mount Mazama collomia, and why weather plays a some times defining role in the visitor experience.

Change occurring over the length of one, possibly two, lifetimes is the common thread among the last three contributions. One article touches on the importance of memory to continuity in the park, while another piece about the habits and management of bears is essentially a retrospective. The last article describes what can be found in the seemingly mundane area around Whitehorse Creek in order to emphasize that repeated visits often result in new understanding about a place.

Nature Notes from Crater Lake is made possible by the Crater Lake Natural History Association, now in its 58th year. It sponsors this publication as part of an ongoing commitment to support the educational and resource management programs of the National Park Service. Please join them in this effort by becoming a member of CLNHA and receive a 15 percent discount on items sold in the William G. Steel Center at Park Headquarters or at the summer visitor center located in Rim Village.

NPS photo by George Grant, 1936.

Born of chaos, fire and smoke,
Turbulent nature did'st invoke
Mazama's fall—that thou should'st be
Silent, mysterious, sapphire sea.

Belle Menefee Meyer, 1941

Wizard Island and Llao Rock by Karl J. Belser.