I like your suggestion DCR. What I suggest also is to continually not let the soot accumulate on the rock where the Crab Cooker and Main Lower Pool are. If we clean it to where the mud/soot is no longer there, fine. But if the creek floods enough to where the soot/mud redeposites itself back on the rock again, I suggest we work on removing the soot, sooner rather than later. Once the stuff dries, it is more difficult to remove.

Another suggestion about water quality at the springs, (the warm pools).
That pond of stagnate water behind the hot springs, should have an opening on the downstream side in order to let the accumulated water drain from it. By letting it drain, reduces the chances of it, (stagenate water in the pond) to mix with the warm water from the fissure feeding the 3 warm pools that we soak in below, Main Lower Pool, Main Upper Pool and Anniversary Pool. I remember some springers used to keep it open years ago, but it probably hasn't been done lately.