"Listening is worship"

Gordon Hempton is fighting to save the sounds of silence in Washington state’s Olympic National Park — one square inch at a time.

Diane Daniel | July 2008 issue

Later I speak with Barb Maynes, the park’s public information officer, about its official position regarding One Square Inch. “We’re grateful for the input Gordon has provided and we do appreciate the concept of natural quiet and soundscapes in the park,” she says, “but we don’t think it’s about ‘one square inch’; it’s about protecting the values of the entire park.”

What gets tricky is the path, or “social trail,” that veers off the official hiking trail. Those aren’t allowed in national parks. Hempton says he followed an existing elk trail. “We do need to monitor the impact to the site,” Maynes says.

And then there’s the jar. Human-made objects are prohibited in wilderness areas. Although the now-departed park superintendent visited the site with Hempton in 2005, until I speak with Maynes, she’s unaware of the jar and says it will have to be removed. (A month later, Hempton reports it’s still there.)

Hempton doesn’t believe the jar is damaging anything and has requested an application for a special-use permit, though he figures it probably wouldn’t be granted—if the form were sent to him.

“We’re talking to Gordon about how he can promote the concepts in a way that encourages people to go on an already established trail,” Maynes says. “Conceptually we’re on the same page, but we’d like to promote the value of soundscapes without devaluing other things in the park.”

It’s clear that National Park Service representatives feel the need to walk a fine line between honouring a noble cause and disagreeing with its methods.

Perhaps this job falls hardest on Karen Trevino, director of the park service’s Natural Sounds Program. “I’m very grateful and appreciative that Gordon is out there,” she says from her office in Fort Collins, Colorado. “He’s done an amazing job of raising the spectre of the issue itself. I totally support his work in general, not just One Square Inch, but his lifelong work. But my concern with One Square Inch is perhaps it’s a bit too gimmicky, and so it could stand to alienate people. It’s important for us to focus on a complete and robust soundscape program.”

Trevino doubts a strategy like One Square Inch alone could be effective anywhere it’s not already quiet.

While Hempton realizes the busiest parks, especially those with helicopter tours, are probably not ready yet for something like One Square Inch, he thinks his plan is “not only a viable way but possibly the only practical way of preserving natural soundscapes. Gobs of money are thrown at reducing noise pollution,” he adds. “The annual budget of One Square Inch is like $2,000. There’s every reason to think that in the future it doesn’t mean we can’t designate a handful of parks and restore natural quiet to those places. I believe that is definitely achievable.”

Of course convincing airlines to alter their courses is a mighty task.

When I checked with Alaska Airlines, its stance hadn’t changed since Hempton first contacted the company three years ago. “We encourage flight crews to avoid flying over for non-routine flights such as maintenance or test flights,” spokeswoman Caroline Boren says. “But routine flight patterns, such as passenger flights, are guided by preferred routing from the Federal Aviation Administration. Also, altering flight paths would mean a less efficient route and more fuel and emissions.”

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