Bob Janiskee


Biography

While serving 33 years on the faculty of the University of South Carolina, I taught a national parks course, helped get Congaree National Park established, and worked as a V.I.P in that park. Now retired as Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Geography, I want to continue visiting parks, thinking about parks, and writing about parks until I assume room temperature. To help keep me focused and busy I teach “America’s National Parks” and several other courses through the University’s Independent Learning division.



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Park Police Arrest Men Who Brought a Loaded Submachine Gun to a Playground in National Capital Parks-East

Policing National Capital Parks-East can be downright scary at times. On August 21, for example, Park Police officers patrolling Anacostia Park arrested two men who had brought a loaded submachine gun to a picnic area playground.

Flooding Nurtures Life in Congaree National Park

The Congaree River is flooding again, and as far as Congaree National Park is concerned, that’s a good thing. Periodic flooding is the very lifeblood of the extraordinary river bottom forest that the park preserves.

National Park System Quiz 17: Presidents

This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of national parks related to the presidents. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we’ll make you memorize the entire 42-person list in chronological order.

The Economist Warns that America’s National Park System is in Deep, Deep Trouble

Is the National Park System primed for decline? One of the world’s most respected international periodicals thinks so. The Economist blames shifting public interests and anti-development environmentalists for falling attendance and warns that public support for national parks may quickly erode.

National Park System Quiz 16: Waterfalls

A waterfall is defined as a steep descent of water from a height. Whatever you call these falling waters, they delight the senses. This week’s quiz will see how much you know about waterfalls in the national parks. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, you’ll be assigned plunge pool cleaning duties.

Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished

The National Park System grew by 69 units via the Reorganization of 1933, which was signed August 10, 1933. However, six of the “1933T” national parks were subsequently abolished. This serves to remind us that periodic pruning is a natural and healthy function of large, complex systems.

Super Storm Impacts Linger at Guam’s War in the Pacific National Historical Park

Guam's War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which celebrates its 30th birthday August 18, was so badly mauled by supertyphoons that its visitor center, bookstore, museum, and research library have all been put out of action. But visitors are back, so rangers serve them while keeping a wary eye on the weather.

Seventy-Five Years Ago, the Reorganization of 1933 Impacted the National Park System Like No Other Event Before or Since

What’s the single most significant date in the evolution of the National Park System? It’s hard to argue with August 10, 1933. That’s when the Reorganization of 1933 took effect, and no other event in the history of the national parks before or since can match it for the sheer scale and portent of its long-lasting impacts.

MSNBC’s Top 10 National Park Lodges List Draws Curmudgeonly, but Gentle Criticism

MSNBC has compiled a Top 10 National Park Lodges list for the purpose of helping us choose where to “sleep in style on a summer escape to our nation's national parks.” They might want to re-state that. Two of the lodges aren’t in the United States and another is said to be in a park that, technically speaking, doesn’t exist yet.

National Park System Quiz 15: Ring of Fire

This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of geologic features and processes in the national parks that lie within the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that rings the Pacific Basin. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we'll make you write "convergent boundary" 100 times on the whiteboard.