Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
Wilderness ID: 075
Wilderness Name: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
National Forest: Mount Baker National Forest, Wenatchee National Forest
State: WA
Counties: Chelan, Skagit, Snohomish
General Location: Northern Washington Cascade Range
Acres: 566,057
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page 1 of 5
Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
Wilderness ID: 075
Wilderness Name: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Wilderness Categories
Information Specific to this Wilderness
Year Established
1964
Establishment Notes
90-544, The Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, Washington State Wilderness
Act of 1984
Designation
Clean Air Act Class 1
Administrative
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests
Unique Landscape Features
Glacier Peak Wilderness, which shares its northern border with North Cascades
National Park, has few equals in terms of sheer ruggedness. Glacier Peak, the highest
summit in the area at 10,541 feet, is more remote than any of the state's other famous
old volcanoes. Above the tree line (5,000 feet to 6,000 feet), lovely meadows stretch
out below the tattered ridges and the dozen or so summits draped with active glaciers,
while below the tree line you will wander through dense forest cover. Ultimately, the
steep fractured walls and ragged peaks lead to deep U-shaped valleys tangled with
huckleberry and other woody plants. Numerous ice-cold creeks splash gloriously
through the valleys from their sharp drainages.
Other bodies of water include more than 200 lakes, many unnamed and tremendously
difficult to access, in various cirques and hidden basins. Wildlife species include
several that epitomize Wilderness: grizzly bears, wolverines, gray wolves. Snows
accumulate to depths of 45 feet on the west side of the crest. The paths of old
avalanches mark some of the forested hillsides.
Climbers have put up routes on at least 140 peaks and faces in the area, and the rock
climbing rates among the best in America. Blue Mountain, for example, in the
northern portion of the area, boasts a 700-foot granite face with routes rated as high
as 5.10. Some of the faces in the Wilderness exceed 1,000 feet.
Lakebed Geology Sensitivity
High
gneiss quartzite schist granite (42%), andesite dacite diorite phylite (35%), basalt
gabbro wacke argillite undifferentiated volcanic rocks (11%), amphibolite hornfels
paragneiss undifferentiated metamorphic roc (10%), Unknown buffering capacity
(2%), GC 1+2 (77%), GC 1+2+3 (88%), GC 4+5+6 (12%)
Not Reported
Not Reported
Lakebed Geology Composition
Visitor Use
Mean Annual Precipitation
Elevation Range
Mean Max Aug Temp
Mean Min Dec Temp
Lake Acres
Pond Acres
Lake Count
Pond Count
334 - 3210 (meters)
Not Reported
Not Reported
10,359
321
72
120
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page 2 of 5
Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
Wilderness ID: 075
Wilderness Categories
TES Flora
TES Wildlife
TES Fish
Ozone Sensitive Plants
Air Quality Sensitive Lichens
Cultural Resources
Status/Trends: Acid Deposition:
Status/Trends: Nutrient
Enrichment:
Status/Trends: Ozone Impacts:
Wilderness Name: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Information Specific to this Wilderness
Allotropa virgata, Antitrichia curtipendula, Botrychium minganense, Botrychium
montanum, Buxbaumia viridis, Calicium viride, Campanula lasiocarpa, Cantharellus
subalbidus, Cantharellus tubaeformis, Carex proposita, Chaenotheca brunneola,
Chromosera cyanophylla, Clavariadelphus occidentalis, Collybia bakerensis,
Cortinarius barlowensis, Craterellus tubaeformis, Cryptogramma stelleri,
Dermatocarpon, Diplophyllum albicans, Dryas drummondii, Erigeron salishii,
Galerina atkinsoniana, Galium kamtschaticum, Gastroboletus ruber, Gastroboletus
turbinatus, Gomphus floccosus, Gomphus kauffmanii, Gyromitra californica,
Gyromitra esculenta, Helvella crassitunicata, Hydropus marginellus, Hydrothyria
venosa, Lobaria hallii, Lobaria linita, Lobaria pulmonaria, Loiseleuria procumbens,
Macowanites lymanensis, Mycena overholtsii, Nephroma bellum, Nephroma
helveticum, Nephroma parile, Nephroma resupinatum, Pellaea breweri, Peltigera
collina, Peltigera pacifica, Platanthera orbiculata, Polyozellus multiplex,
Pseudocyphellaria ra nierensis, Ptilidium californicum, Ramaria celerivirescens,
Ramaria rubripermanens, Rhizomnium nudum, Sarcosoma mexicana, Saxifraga
rivularis, Schistostega pennata, Thaxterogaster pingue, Tholurna dissimilis
Gray Wolf, Northern Spotted Owl
bull trout, chinook salmon, steelhead
Ponderosa pine, Red elderberry, Scoulers willow, Snowberry, Thinleaf huckleberry
Alectoria sarmentosa, Cavernularia hultenii, Hypogymnia apinnata, Hypogymnia
occidentalis, Nephroma helveticum subsp. sipeanum, Nodobryoria oregana,
Parmelia pseudosulcata, Parmeliopsis hyperopta, Platismatia norvegica, Sticta
fuliginosa
Not Reported
Not Reported
Not Reported
Not Reported
AQRV's
Fauna
Fauna Priority: Low
Fauna Receptor: Fish
Fauna Indicator: Concentration of methyl mercury
Fauna Trends: Not Reported
Fauna Actions:
Sample fish for mercury.
Flora
Flora Priority: High
Flora Receptor: Lichens
Flora Indicator: Changes in community composition
Flora Trends: Not Reported
Flora Priority 2: High
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page 3 of 5
Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
Wilderness ID: 075
Wilderness Name: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Flora Receptor 2: Lichens
Flora Indicator 2: Concentrations of N, S, P, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ni, Ti, V and Zn
Flora Trends 2: Not Reported
Flora Priority 3: Low
Flora Receptor 3: Ozone
Flora Indicator 3: Visible injury on ozone-sensitive plants
Flora Trends 3: Not Reported
Flora Actions:
Increase plot density to meet 1 plot per 20,000 acre goal. Conduct repeat visits once every 10 years to monitor trends. Work
with regional lichenologist to have data evaluated for community composition.
Visibility
Visibility Priority: High
Visibility Receptor: Scenic Views
Visibility Indicator: Regional haze
Visibility Trends: Decrease
Visibility Actions
Site is represented by the IMPROVE monitor at Snoqualmie Pass.
Water
Water Priority: High
Water Receptor: Water Chemistry
Water Indicator: ANC
Water Trends: Not Reported
Water Priority 2: High
Water Receptor 2: Water Chemistry
Water Indicator 2: DIN: TP
Water Trends 2: Not Reported
Water Priority 3: Low
Water Receptor 3: Diatoms
Water Indicator 3: Community Composition
Water Trends 3: Not Reported
Water Actions:
Need repeat visits to a candidate lake in one year or multiple subsequent years to improve integrity of baseline. Repeat
visits to a few lakes since the Western Lake Survey. Evaluate water for anions, cations, and nutrients.
Challenge Points
Fauna Challenge Points: 0
Flora Challenge Points: 4
Total Plots: 5
Desired Plots: 28
Additional Plots Needed: 23
Data Type: Baseline
Round 1 Visits: 0
Round 2 Visits: 5
Baseline %: 18
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page 4 of 5
Glacier Peak Wilderness Air Quality Report
Wilderness ID: 075
Wilderness Name: Glacier Peak Wilderness
Trends %: 0
Visibility Challenge Points: Not Reported
Water Challenge Points: 7
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page 5 of 5