CABIN CLASH OWNERS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AT ODDS ON LEASES.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK - Cabin owners in the rustic Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park are getting ready for a showdown with a force of nature - their landlord, the National Park Service.

The flash point of the conflict is the termination of generations-old leases, some passed down from original turn-of-the-century cabin settlers to people such as Sharon Devol of Canyon Country. But the stewards of millions of acres of public land say their hands are tied by 1978 legislation that dictates a gradual elimination of the private community.

``The issue is that Public Law 95-625 says that permits expire upon the death of the current holder of record. No provision currently exists to extend the permits to the heirs of those people,'' said David Graber, senior scientist for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

A recently released general management plan proposes several alternatives for cabin use, ranging from preservation and rental to what cabin owners fear could be demolition by neglect because of budget shortfalls.

``The preferred plan would designate a nonprofit organization that could very well be the cabin owners' groups: the Mineral King District Association or the Mineral King Preservation Society, to operate the cabins for public use,'' Graber said.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, has introduced legislation to amend the language of the law to permit extending the leases. The bill, H.R. 4508, was introduced June 3 and cleared a House subcommittee on July 14; Nunes' office expects floor action on the bill in about a month. If approved, the leases would be extended to the heirs, successors and assigns of the 1978 owners of record.

Private ownership of structures on public land is not unusual. Graber said that the Park Service already has more than a thousand such leases in the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and other locations around the country.

Canyon Country resident Devol, whose family maintains and spends summers in the 1926-built Dixon cabin, said the larger issue is the availability of resources to protect the cabins should the park service decide to leave them standing.

Five generations of Devol's family have passed through the primitive cabin, their contributions documented in historical records and archival material. She dedicates much of her spare time sending e-mail messages to cabin owners and other supporters, keeping them apprised of the evolving situation and asking them to write letters supporting the continued extension of cabin leases.

These aren't just any summer cabins. Built between 1870 and 1926, the 62 cabins make up the Mineral King cabin community, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2003. Aside from losing their seasonal retreats, cabin owners are concerned about the government's ability to preserve their historic character.

``The park has no resources, no manpower and is totally unable to maintain the cabins financially,'' Devol said. ``Who better to do it than the people who have been doing it for more than a hundred years?''

Park officials look at projected higher demands on wilderness use and are working to increase public access to all national park properties. This process includes adding to the inventory of overnight accommodations.

``We are expecting a substantial regional population increase,'' Graber said. ``The reality is that visitation has bounced around because of construction and 9-11, which has altered visitor patterns. We have found that visits by local area residents are increasing, but the funny thing about Mineral King is that it's too remote to visit on a day basis and there is only one place to stay.''

This crisis isn't the first to unite the cabin owners. In the early 1970s, The Walt Disney Disney Co. proposed a ski resort for the area, a plan that would have significantly changed the landscape. It wasn't until Congress passed the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 that the area was included in Sequoia National Park, safe from the encroachment of corporate recreation. Ironically, it is that legislation that is forcing the Park Service's hand.

``We do all sorts of things for people who come up to visit the area,'' Devol said. ``We give directions, clean up trash - if anything needs doing we just do it. We do trail maintenance, recording problems with people or places or things, painting park benches. We have VIP volunteers in the park, in the ranger station, giving campfire talks.''

The group has also written and published a road guide for people going up the road, complete with history and descriptions of some of the sites that the park hands out at the ranger station.

The National Register designation itself offers no protection, but does set the property apart in guidelines set up by the National Park Service related to the preservation of historic cultural elements. Officials from the National Trust are working to keep the goal of preserving the historic fabric of the area foremost in everyone's mind.

``We have always stated an agnostic interest, our first and foremost concern is the preservation and continued use of historic resources. We want to help the public understand the resources, not support the property interests,'' said Anthony Veerman, senior project manager of the National Trust's Western office. ``However, we also want the cabin owners to be taken seriously. A compromise is the only real long-term viable solution.

``This is a situation where the Park Service inherited agreements that were created by the Forest Service. It concerns us that there are repeated statements on the part of the Park Service that they have a lack of resources. We want to make sure they don't put the cabins at peril just to enhance public access.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

The period for public comment has been extended to Oct. 6. The plan may be accessed at planning.nps.gov.

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The National Park Service says that 1978 legislation dictates a gradual elimination of the historic private community of cabins in Sequoia National Park.