Amid all the wrangling at next month’s special session of the Legislature over health care, mortgage lending and other hot-button issues, Rep. Fred Girod hopes his fellow lawmakers will pause to consider his modest proposal.

He wants to make Silver Falls State Park into a national park.

“In four miles of trail you get 10 waterfalls, and four of them you can walk underneath,” said the Stayton Republican, whose district spans the eastern portions of Clackamas, Marion and Linn counties.

By any measure, Silver Falls is a showpiece of Oregon’s scenic beauty. Just a half-hour drive from Salem in the heavily timbered Cascade foothills, the park encompasses the north and south forks of Silver Creek, whose waters plunge dramatically over towering basalt ledges.

Altogether the park boasts 14 waterfalls, counting some on smaller tributaries, that range in height from 27 to 178 feet. It also has extensive visitor facilities, including a historic lodge, a modern conference center and multiple camping options.

At just under 9,000 acres, Silver Falls is the largest state park in Oregon. It’s also one of the most heavily used, with nearly 1 million visits each year from hikers and horseback riders, campers and conference-goers — roughly twice the number seen by Crater Lake, the only national park in the state.

This is not the first attempt to bring Silver Falls into the national park system. The park service evaluated the area in 1926 and again in 1935 but rejected the idea both times, in part because the Silver Creek watershed had been heavily logged.

But trees grow fast in Western Oregon. The forests around Silver Falls have made a spectacular comeback, and Girod thinks the time is right to consider the notion again.

“I think that idea sells itself,” he said.

A magnet for tourism

A regular visitor to Silver Falls himself, Girod sees several potential benefits to national park status, from wider exposure to bigger budgets.

Along with the prestige the federal designation brings, Girod said, comes a much broader tourism appeal. An influx of out-of-state visitors would create an economic ripple effect for the whole area.

“A nationally designated attraction in our state does add some cachet,” said Michelle Godfrey of the Oregon Tourism Commission, citing Crater Lake as an example.

The national park draws around 500,000 sight-seers a year and generated nearly $28 million in visitor spending in 2006, according to a Park Service study. Those tourist dollars supported approximately 641 jobs in the region worth $9.8 million in annual salary, not counting the park’s own payroll.

Given Silver Falls’ proximity to major population centers and current high use levels, national park status wouldn’t necessarily translate into a huge visitor upsurge. But more tourists are always welcome in nearby communities such as Silverton, a town of 9,000 that bills itself as “the gateway to Silver Falls.”

Local businesses already rely heavily on spending by people going to and from the park, said Stacy Palmer of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce, and a 100-room resort going up next to the Oregon Garden will further bolster the town’s tourism economy.

“We could certainly handle an additional influx of visitors,” Palmer said. “Bring it on!”

Stayton Mayor Virginia Honeywell also stresses the potential economic boost for the area.

“Having a national park in our own back yard would benefit everyone,” she said.

It’s far from clear, however, whether the state would welcome such a move.

“We haven’t really studied that issue in depth yet,” said Chris Havel, a spokesman for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “We would have to sit down and study that from a lot of angles because it’s a really complex issue.”

From a revenue standpoint, the department would lose about $800,000 a year in visitor fees and other income generated by the park. On the other hand, it would also lose the financial burden of operating and maintaining the popular destination. The park’s budget currently exceeds revenues and has to be supplemented with lottery funds.

“We try to operate on a break-even basis,” Havel said. “We get no tax money.”

Girod believes deeper federal coffers would mean more funding for improvements at the park, but that’s not necessarily the case. Like other federal agencies, the National Park Service frequently finds itself fighting for budget appropriations.

The long road

and the shortcut

Generally speaking, it requires an act of Congress to establish a national park, and Girod’s bill would be the first step in that direction. If approved by the Legislature, the state would make a formal request to Congress and the president to consider adding Silver Falls to the federal park system.

Congress could then direct the National Park Service to study the matter in detail.

“The study would look at three things: Is it suitable? Is it feasible? Is it nationally significant?” said Holly Bundock, a National Park Service spokeswoman. “All of those factors have to be yes.”

There are currently 25 such studies under way. They tend to be exhaustive, time-consuming affairs that can take years to complete before the park service comes back with a recommendation to Congress, which must then consider enabling legislation.

But there may be a quicker route to federal park status available. Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the president is empowered to create national monuments with the stroke of a pen.

Jimmy Carter created 15 new monuments in Alaska at the end of his term, many of which were later incorporated into national parks, and Bill Clinton proclaimed the controversial Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah as he was exiting the White House.

Hoping to take advantage of that presidential desire for legacy-building, Girod’s bill includes an appeal to the current chief executive, whose term expires next January.

“George Bush is going to be leaving office, and historically when they leave office is when they make these designations,” Girod said.

First things first

Before either Congress or President Bush can consider elevating Silver Falls to national park status, however, Girod’s bill has to make it through the Oregon Legislature.

He knows the measure is a departure from the script for February’s special session, which is supposed to be a carefully choreographed display of government efficiency calculated to boost voter support for lawmakers to meet annually instead of only in odd-numbered years (an idea Girod opposes).

“It’s a longshot,” Girod conceded. “But it’s picking up momentum.”

He’s already met with the mayors of Salem and Stayton, which both stand to gain from increased tourism, and he’ll sit down with Silverton’s mayor next week. He has an audience with the governor scheduled for Jan. 23 and plans to lobby Oregon’s congressional delegation for their help as well.

And even though his party is out of power in Salem, he may have some support from across the aisle in the House. State Rep. Sara Gelser of Corvallis says she can see the economic benefits of Girod’s plan.

“I certainly will be supporting that bill,” Gelser said. “I think it’s a good discussion to have, and I think this is the right forum to have it in.”

Realistically, Girod rates his chances of getting the measure passed during the special session at 50-50. But if it falls short this time around, he says, he’ll try again later, and he feels sure he’ll succeed eventually.

“At the federal level, it might not be one of those things we get through this year,” Girod acknowledged. “It may take some time. But I think the idea sells itself, and I think sooner or later it’ll be a reality.”

By Bennett Hall, bennett.hall@lee.net