Well, a full year has gone by since the Traveler tossed out some ideas of what we'd like to see take place across the National Park System in 2009. Let's take a look back and see how things turned out.

* That the incoming Obama administration fully funds the National Park Service and, with Congress' support, arrives at a workable solution to the agency's nearly $9 billion maintenance backlog.

Result: Well, the administration did bump up funding for the Park Service, but no visible ground was gained in finding a workable solution to erasing the backlog.

* That the next National Park Service director not only be freed of political blinders, but conduct a top-to-bottom review of the agency to eliminate redundancies, excesses, wastes, and, ahem, snafus.

Result: Well, it took until fall for Jon Jarvis to be seated as NPS director, so he really didn't have time to tackle this item. We'll leave the outcome "incomplete" at this time.

* That sound resource stewardship, based on sound science, guides NPS decisions, not politics. In other words, let the scientists do their jobs and respect their findings and suggestions.

Result: Again, the late arrival of Mr. Jarvis in the directorship makes it impossible to give a solid grade on this item, though he did appoint a science advisor, Dr. Gary Machlis, so things seem to be moving in the right direction.

* That the Congress, if it deems new units of the National Park System appropriate, provide a reliable funding mechanism for those units when it passes enacting legislation.

Result: No luck in this area in 2009.

* That more parks turn to mass transit in an effort to not just cut greenhouse gas emissions, but make it easier and more enjoyable to navigate parks.

Results: There was some progress in this area, as the communities near Sequoia National Park offered shuttles to the park, and a grant from Boeing will help continue a shuttle at Mount Rainier National Park. Anybody know of any other successes in this arena?

* That the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in Concord, California, receive the full stewardship of the National Park Service and that Congress pass legislation that would convert the memorial to a fully administered park unit. Currently, no resource exists to staff maintenance or educational programs, and because the site is on an active military base with security concerns, people who want to visit the site have to apply two weeks in advance.

Result: Success was achieved on this front when the naval magazine was added to the park system in October.

* That the federal Office of Personnel Management drop its concerns about the Alaska Local Hire Program and recognizes that local hire is an outstanding way for Alaskans to share their local knowledge and skills and begin a life-long career with the National Park Service.

Result: Anyone know the answer to this one?

* That the National Park Service adopt a definition of "traditional activities," for which some motorized access is permitted, that disallows recreational snow-machine riding in the 1980 additions to Denali National Park & Preserve.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That the state of Alaska acknowledge that liberalizing the hunting rules for wolves and bears in Alaska's national preserves to enhance hunter success for moose and caribou is contrary to National Park Management Policies and as a result will roll-back bag limits and season length to pre-1994 levels (1994 being the year the state adopted its policy of increasing hunter success for some wildlife by manipulating the populations of others - i.e., predator control).

Result: Didn't happen.

* That the National Park Service make a binding commitment to phaseout recreational snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That there is increased tolerance for Yellowstone bison attempting to access winter habitat and a corresponding end to the bison slaughter.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That no more cell towers are erected in national parks.

Result: Incomplete.

* That the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power drop its proposal to build a 500-kilovolt transmission line along a 10-mile-long swath of desert floor, destroying habitat and bisecting the wildlife corridor that leads from Joshua Tree National Park’s rugged wilderness to life-sustaining water.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve be added to Joshua Tree National Park, as well as the land between what is now the park and Big Morongo’s spring—the same land that bighorn sheep and other wildlife travel to find water.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That somehow, some way, an amicable solution is reached over the issue of off-road vehicle access at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Result: Didn't happen.

* That the National Park Service receives adequate funding so individual parks can afford to hire interpreters and scientists and not have to outsource those positions to volunteers or other institutions.

Result: Didn't happen on a major scale.

* That we see a fully implemented settlement for the North Shore Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our wish is to see a new agreement between the four parties (Swain County, North Carolina, Interior Department, and the Tennessee Valley Authority) that provides Swain County an appropriate monetary settlement with a significant down payment, and eliminates the possibility of any road construction along the north shore of Fontana Lake.

Result: Incomplete. The settlement has been reached in principal, but the dollar amount remains to be determined.

* That the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan gain some traction.

Result: Things are moving in that direction. A big step this fall was groundbreaking on the Tamiami Bridge to help improve water flows through the Everglades.

That we had little success in seeing this items achieved shouldn't be viewed as over-reaching on our part a year ago. Rather, it should be recognized that many of these are highly ambitious and no easily achieved. While we'll have a new list for 2010, let's hope that progress is made in some, if not most, of these areas in the year ahead.