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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Visitors Biggest Spenders In National Park System

Jan 31st - 13:14pm | David Crowl

What is the true spending per visitor? I am curious if the total $ spent is only highest at Great Smokey N.P. because their visitation is probably triple Grand Canyon N.P.  What I am getting at is your title to the article could infers that each visitor spends most at GSNP or it could mean the total of visitors spend more there only because there were more visits.

Jan 31st - 12:02pm | Anonymous

my family and i have visited many of the national parks, camping.  in 1994 dad suffered a massive stroke, and required 24/7 care, provided by mom and me.  we could no longer camp.  so we began staying at a motel, visiting the Smokies because it was only a good day's drive from home.  we ate out, usually in Pigeon Forge.

Jan 31st - 06:39am | Lawrence J. Caldwell

I hope this does not encourage encroachment.  Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are communities butted against the GSMNP, not separated by some buffer zone natural or otherwise.  While these communities may be home to some, they seemed to me just tourist traps to pass through to get to the real wealth of the excursion, a National Park essentially untouched and unmarred by human intervention.  Economi

TRACK Trails Offer Nationwide Weapon Against “Nature Deficit Disorder”

Jan 31st - 11:48am | Randy Johnson

Just so you and other readers are certain, Brad, Carolyn is Carolyn Ward, executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

Jan 31st - 11:04am | Carolyn

Thanks for asking...the angle of the picture is a little deceptive, but it was higher than we would have liked and now the design is like the first picture in the story with the kids gathered around it.

Jan 31st - 09:43am | Randy Johnson

Brad, check out the sign in the new photo we just added above. They're all pretty nicely sized for kids. I think I shot the photo at Parkway headquarters from a lower perspective so it may look higher than it really is.

Jan 30th - 15:28pm | Brad

This is great, but I do have one question.  In the last picture, how are children supposed to read the sign with it being so high?

Bus Bust at Petrified Forest National Park Nets Stolen Wood - and a Lot More

Jan 31st - 10:47am | Carol B

Stealing from the park is soooo beyond ridiculous, especially since you can buy ALL YOU WANT in the surrounding towns or on eBay.  Guess I should return that one I took?  [just kidding].  My backyard and home is loaded with rainbow petrified wood that I bought in Holbrook and legally found in East Texas.  I'm in love with it and paid a pretty penny for the boulders I bought.  Worth every dollar

Jan 30th - 11:57am | Dick G.

I wish they had done some jail time-- taking that petrified wood is stealing from all of us as well a people who want to go there in the future.They got off way to easy IMHO

Jan 28th - 19:59pm | Jim Burnett

I suspect Lee is correct - involvement of the county was most likely a mutual aid situation. Very few parks have a trained drug dog, and with only two rangers on the scene and 12 suspects, it was prudent to call in whatever resources were available. Since the cases were heard before the federal magistrate, it's clear these individuals were charged with federal violations.

Jan 28th - 19:52pm | Lee Dalton

Was it permission or mutual aid?  They were taken to see the federal magistrate.  I'm guessing the rangers didn't have a drug dog handy. Also, in many areas with concurrent or proprietary jurisdiction, rangers are often also deputized by the local jurisdiction.

Jan 28th - 18:32pm | y_p_w

I'm just thinking aloud. Marijuana possession is actually a federal crime, as is theft of federal property. NPS rangers (as federal law enforcement) wouldn't even need permission from the local law enforcement to enforce those laws. In many states, NPS LE and US Park Police need the permission of the local LE agency to enforce state and local laws, even for traffic violations.

Jan 28th - 09:48am | ed-123

Glad they were caught...Gives a new meaning to Stoner though

Study Says Pythons Behind Startling Declines In Common Mammals in Everglades National Park

Jan 31st - 10:33am | Carol B

"It took 30 years for the brown treesnake to be implicated in the nearly complete disappearance of mammals and birds on Guam; .... get PETA involved, and there will be NOTHING left in Florida because of these snakes.  Very sad .... if they don't get on it to irradicate these snakes, Florida will end up like Guam.

Survey of Western Attitudes Shows Strong Support for National Parks, Clean Environment

Jan 31st - 09:24am | Anonymous

Well Lee, I will always be open and expectant of a breakthrough for those with similar stridency on both sides of the issue.  Lifetime of government service verses private sector careers certainly develope different leanings with odd and extreme impressions of the other seldom completely correct.  

Jan 31st - 08:40am | Lee Dalton

I'm glad you pointed out the glaring (I'm struggling to find an appropriate word here) of our Republican legislators and governmental leaders.  Some of them won't be satisfied until every acre of our land have been paved and contain either densly packed homes, a drill rig or some kind of mine and after the dollars they have generated are lining the pocket of some of their usually very wealthy f

Birding in The National Parks: Bald Eagles No Longer A Ghost Bird in the National Parks

Jan 31st - 08:31am | Lee Dalton

And even though our local newspapers ran an article just a week or ago about how people were flocking to a nearby spot to photograph bald eagles and were exclaiming over these magnificent birds, one of the papers also carried a quote by one of our state legislators slamming Rachel Carson as a psuedo-scientist who was an environmentalist hack. Welcome to Utah!

Jan 31st - 08:16am | tahoma

Golden eagles are more common at Mount Rainier, but Bald eagles can also be seen occasionally, even though there are no real salmon runs in our glacial rivers. 

Talking About Video Games, History, And Teens At America's Summit On National Parks

Jan 31st - 06:10am | Anonymous

Tom, you have hit on my theme for the years I've been in the parks.  What's interesting is it's not always received well by even those given responsibilities for the parks.  Not saying the majority are that way but it just happens in any large (or small) body of administrators and field personel dealing with all the challenges of the job.

Jan 30th - 22:57pm | Tom Ribe

   As an attendee at the Summit, I can say that people found the presentation on gaming both disturbing and intriguing. When asked by the gaming industry man who in the room had a gaming machine at home and used it, a majority of hands among the hundreds there went up. So this is not a crowd hostile to gaming.

Jan 28th - 12:04pm | rdm24

Actually, I'd love it if game designers were encouraged to use national parks settings more. If you play Red Dead Redemption, you can recognize a number of features from national parks throughout the Southwest. I'd like to see more of that, but in a less fictionalized form.

Eradicating Everglades Pythons Will be a Formidable Task

Jan 31st - 06:09am | Harry

I was just on line and saw the price of rattlesnake meat at $40lb and higher. The bounty idea is good buut why not make it profitable for the hunters? Snakeskin is a highly sought after "leather'. Snake meat can be used for food or pet food or fishing bait. Bones can be pulverized for fertilizer.

Jan 30th - 21:43pm | Roberto S.

More layers of regulation and future study... There should be an outright ban on the animal and anyone caught having one should be heavily fined. Any snake found in the wild should be slaughtered. I've lived in Guam and the place is devoid of natural life except for a few other invasive species such as the english sparrow and man.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Partners Develop Program To Strengthen Connections With Surrounding Community

Jan 31st - 05:50am | Bob Janiskee

Seth, sport hunting is permitted in many National Park System units, including the 18 National Preserves, and with certain exceptions, the National Seashores, National Lakeshores, and National Recreation Areas.

Jan 30th - 22:13pm | Seth

Barky, That is what the National Forests are for. I've never heard of a National Park allowing hunting. There has got to be somewhere that is a sanctuary for wildlife. The park is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of Nat Forest Game Lands. Is that not enough?

Jan 30th - 07:32am | Anonymous

This is lipstick on a pig of discontent.  Another example of Supt Ditmanson kissing the rear ends of big business while screwing the actual park user groups through proposed fees.  Friends is nothing more than a Ditmanson love society.  Real locals despise this superintendent but he cares naught.  It's money that drives this park, corporate money.

Jan 29th - 15:06pm | Barky

I would suspect GSM is one park that has the worst relationship with the locals because of hunting bans. Anyone have local knowledge on that? Does the NPS address hunting in these outreach programs?

Government Denies Responsibility In Death of Man Gored By Mountain Goat at Olympic National Park

Jan 31st - 01:52am | Ron

At first I thought this was a frivolous lawsuit..after reading the facts...kill the goat and give the people some $$$ not $10mill not even 5mill. If I were judge that would be my ruling. He was on a trail...where he is supposed to be and a known goat that was deemed to be dangerous was not dealt with.  If park chooses to not kill goat...dig deeper next incident

Creature Feature: Burmese Pythons Prowl the Everglades, and That’s Not a Good Thing

Jan 30th - 20:26pm | Jacob

Bruce, please explain to me what discipline of science you studied and at what university?  You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.  Tilting the balance of nature --for the economy or for the love of having a giant useless reptile as a caged pet-- is only going to lead to trouble in the long run.  Think of Rome, Or the Maya.

Yellowstone National Park Officials Look To Boost Lodging at Old Faithful Complex

Jan 30th - 17:16pm | Anonymous

My husband and I stayed in one of these cabins in 1950 while on our honeymoon.  The pictures brought back a lot of memories and I'm glad they're going to be put to that use again.  Why waste a good thing?

Jan 30th - 14:36pm | Lee Dalton

Aren't they actually just returning these cabins to their original use?

Jan 30th - 12:25pm | Yellowstone Ed

I'm glad they recognize the need for moderate priced housing. When we worked at Canyon Village they tore down a row of Frontier housing units and built the very nice and more expensive Cascade unit. Some of the visitors were not happy at the loss of the less expensive housing.

Microbe Discovered in Death Valley National Park May Have Important Uses

Jan 30th - 15:04pm | Anonymous

Product of heading down an unsustainable direction with little character involved.

Jan 30th - 14:33pm | Lee Dalton

Evolution is an elegant design.

Jan 30th - 13:31pm | Dick G.

seems pretty elegant to me!!!

Jan 30th - 09:27am | Bob Janiskee

Uh, for the record, I do believe in evolution.

Jan 30th - 09:08am | Anonymous

It is not an elegant design. It is a mechanism derived from evolutionary processes. 

Money Found To Finish Restoration of Bodie Island Light at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jan 30th - 13:42pm | Dick G.

2 million more??? Does that sound like a lot of money for this?? Especially since it appears that a significant amt of the work has been already completed.Seems like the whole thing could be rebuilt for that kind of money.I would hope that this job was bid out ?? The light house certainly should be restored but hopefully with some sense of economy.

Jan 29th - 17:13pm | Kurt Repanshek

The short answer is NPS. Which fund was tapped wasn't mentioned.

Jan 29th - 17:10pm | Anonymous

What's the source of the new funding?

Jan 29th - 15:04pm | Barky

Nice. :-) Love the history of shipping along the Carolina coast, and you can't tell that history without including the story of the lighthouses and their keepers.

What's the Word at Chiricahua National Monument After Last Summer's Major Wildfire?

Jan 30th - 13:16pm | Cochise County ...

Thanks for the post about Chiricahua National Monument. Glad you took the trip. The rocks are still amazing! We're excited that the monument opened up again in December and is now welcoming visitors.

Jan 29th - 15:03pm | Barky

Fire is as much a part of life & nature as water and wind. It's also a great opportunity to educate visitors.

Jan 29th - 13:09pm | Lee Dalton

Thank you, Jim.  I have been worried about the fire after having visited there last spring.  I was especially worried about the fire in the campground and around the other visitor facilities.  That was such a delightful place, I was scared that it had been torched.

We've Added The Blue Ridge Parkway To Our Collection of Essential Park Guides

Jan 30th - 07:57am | Kurt Repanshek

Hmmm, good choice. We'll see what we can do.

Jan 30th - 07:50am | Anonymous

Ozark NSR

Traveler's Gear Box: Therm-a-Rest's NeoAir XTherm Sleeping Pad Wards Off Cold Nights

Jan 29th - 21:42pm | magpie

Jan 2012 and no x therms

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Proposing to Preserve Five Light Stations

Jan 29th - 21:12pm | margaret mary

this message is for mr.

Park History: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

Jan 29th - 20:13pm | Anonymous

someone needs to put in some pictures of the new bridge  when it was dedicated and senàtor annabelle obrien was present for the opening of the bridge  .

Poll Shows Maine Residents Support Creation of National Park, Sustainable Logging From the North Woods

Jan 28th - 20:25pm | Anonymous

http://www.preservemainetraditions.com for an alternate point of view.

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