| Page 1049 | National Parks Traveler

Obviously, Lee, they have little in common, especially their governing political parties. One might ask Orin Hatch what he would do with Michigan. Certainly wouldn't get a PC response but the answer would get to the core of the problem. A decent and respected leader who is probably heartbroken to view this country as it is now but could still muster the drive to remain hopeful.

Nov 1st - 12:52pm | Lee Dalton

Anon at 9:08 -- there's a huge difference between Utah and Michigan. Utah was not an industrial state dependent upon pretty much a single industry. There is no way you can compare the two in any way.

Nov 1st - 10:08am | Anonymous

Maybe you can explain how Utah has managed to be at the other end of the spectrum (economically and in other ways also) from such states as Michigan, New York and California (with the 7th biggest economy(I believe) if it were a country. I'd think there is something they have been doing that might be looked into if one is willing to look past there own failed policies.

Nov 1st - 08:46am | David Dutton

I'm pretty sure that the Constitution doesn't have provisions in it either for the formation of say...The Department of Labor or the National Endowment of the Arts. I guess there are still some "Sage Brush Rebellion" archtypes still hanging around. Unfortunately for Utah, Mr. Bishop happens to be one.

Nov 1st - 02:20am | Anonymous

Guantanamo Bay is a National Park, right? And those Republicans sure wouldn't want to go emulating Teddy Roosevelt!

Nov 1st - 01:17am | Anonymous

What next from the party of no? Rep. Don Young chairing the House Committee on Ethics? The selective reading of the Constitution by conservatives is second only to the selective reading of the bible by evangelicals as perhaps the most asinine behavior from those of that ideological bent.

Oct 31st - 19:05pm | Anonymous

Agreed as well. When I read the title, I had to read though. There HAD to be more to the story!

Oct 31st - 15:32pm | Bill

If the parks aren't money makers then maybe the National Park Service should close all the parks in Utah for a few summers to help for Federal Deficit and then let the people of Springdale, Moab, and the other small town in Utah explain it to him at the ballot box.

Oct 31st - 14:01pm | stormy

Dad always said "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and confirm it". Rep Bishop proves the truth of those words! Mom always said "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". I tried, but just couldn't do it! PS. I know Dad borrowed that phrase.

Oct 31st - 12:59pm | Kurt Repanshek

Perhaps we should play the audio for her....

Oct 31st - 11:58am | Lee Dalton

I just called Rep. Bishop's office in Utah. The lady there flat denied that Bishop had made any statements of this sort and asked, "Where did you hear that?" I replied that I was reading it in National Park Traveler. She then asked, "Well, what kind of publication is that?"

Oct 31st - 11:37am | Lee Dalton

No, Jim, Mr. Bishop should be eliminated by the voters. But I'm afraid that this is Utah where anyone with a big (R) beside their name on the ballot is a sure winner. I'm ashamed to live in this guy's district. Our other members of Congress are equally dense and all use the "unconstitutional" gibberish very liberally.

Oct 31st - 09:56am | Jim Burnett

I can't resist a little humorous poke at Rep. Bishop, and all of those whose solution for anything they don't like is to simply cry "it's unconstitutional."

Oct 31st - 09:07am | danner

The National Parks should be the last place for drilling. Go there when there is no place left!

Oct 31st - 07:59am | Anonymous

Marty: Agreed!

Oct 31st - 07:33am | Marty Koch

God help us!

Oct 31st - 07:26am | Anonymous

Had to chuckle when I read the title of post. Certainly a good title to stir up the conversation, lol.

Grand Teton National Park Officials ID Bear Victim, Investigation Ongoing

Nov 1st - 12:55pm | Lee Dalton

You may not want to drop a loaded rifle under normal circumstances, but when a bear is charging that's not normal.

Nov 1st - 09:34am | Dave Smith

During hunter education classes, instructors will never train people to drop a loaded rifle and reach for bear spray. When crossing fences and other obstacles, hunters are taught to unload their rifle, put it under the fence, cross the fence, then pick up the rifle and reload. You don't drop a loaded rifle. Period.

Nov 1st - 05:18am | Wm Bova

So all you need is a muzzleblast to deter a grizzly? Grizzlies are so amped up when charging many wouldn't know the difference between a muzzleblast miss or hit for quite sometime. Do you take that chance. Once the bear knows it's injured that just keeps the adrenaline plugged in to the wall socket, and more than likely you will end up severely mauled or dead...plain and simple. Mr.

Oct 31st - 20:14pm | Anonymous

"Here's a better two-hand rule: Two hands on your steering wheel as you drive to a hunting area outside the park." Yep those bears are darn smart and NEVER venture outside of NPS boundaries

Oct 31st - 17:58pm | Anonymous

Ah, yes, Dave, because all bear encounters are created equal, aren't they. Mr. Hix had barely any time to do much of anything, firearm OR bear spray. When he realized that, he did exactly the right thing and rolled into a ball and played dead, and came

Oct 31st - 17:53pm | Anonymous

Here's a better two-hand rule: Two hands on your steering wheel as you drive to a hunting area outside the park.

Oct 31st - 15:18pm | dave smith

To provide for hunter safety, Grand Teton National Park should urge hunters in grizzly country to use the two-hand safe carry for their rifle, and keep a round in the chamber, safety on. That lets you get a shot off quickly. Instead, GTNP tells hunters to carry bear spray and know how to use it. Lotta good that did Mr. Hix.

Trails I've Hiked: Bechler River Trail In Yellowstone National Park

Nov 1st - 12:53pm | Olympic Peninsu...

It's been so long since I've been in an Alpine environment! It's been all Grand Canyon for the last five years and with your article, Kurt, I'm hearing the call but don't think I'll ever be through with the Canyon! Will have to make some forays. Thanks, Kurt.

Nov 1st - 12:48pm | Kurt Repanshek

That's a great question, Bob, though one I can't exactly answer. I did ask Ranger Stanley if he thought it was wetter than usual (I think this was his third season in that area of the park), but he didn't think so. The big crossing of the Bechler definitely caught our attention, as did that of Mountain Ash Creek...

Nov 1st - 12:43pm | Bob Pahre

Sounds like a great hike, Kurt. It's been on my to-do list for a long time, awaiting a free September. Do you know whether those are typical September river levels? Or did the heavy snowpack of 2010-11 make the rivers much fuller, much later than usual?

Science Takes A Hit In President Obama's 2012 Budget

Nov 1st - 09:51am | Anonymous

You know, for the millions of foreclosed on house owners you could shed some tears for also. From what I see there hasn't been an Obama budget since he assumed the top spot. Interesting the coincidence between the decline in revenues for these projects and the horrific decline in the private sector. When one is broke it just seems right to stop spending or fix the problem.

Nov 1st - 07:56am | Lee Dalton

I'm afraid this is just the beginning of a very long ordeal. Especially when we have people like Utah's Rep. Rob Bishop in charge of the bank accounts.

Elk Hunter In Grand Teton National Park Injured By Bear

Nov 1st - 06:13am | Wm Bova

An ex-marine up in Alaska carrying his 30-06 decided to challenge a griz from 20 yds last month. The bear was hit, but this man ended up severely mauled. The rangers found the blood trail but elected not to pursue it.

Nov 1st - 00:26am | Lee Dalton

One or two headshots either grazed it or bounced off. There were a couple of wounds in the fur, but none penetrated. In any case, it was a very impressive experience. I carry bear spray now, but hope never to use it. However, I did think about it one night recently when I encountered a very stoned individual who was trying to break into a neighbor's home while we were waiting f

Oct 31st - 23:42pm | Dave Smith

Dropping a loaded firearm is taboo.

Oct 31st - 23:24pm | Dave Smith

Sorry to bring facts into the discussion again, but when Interangecy Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz reviewed bear-hunter conflicts in the Yellowstone region from 1992-2004, not once in 12 years did a hunter "switch" from gun to bear spray.

Oct 31st - 22:52pm | y_p_w

Lee Dalton: That bear covered about 60 feet without a heart! I'm not sure I'd have wanted to stand there with bear spray (it wasn't available back then), but after that experience, I almost think I'd be safer. As it was, I almost wet my pants.

Oct 31st - 18:34pm | Lee Dalton

I was involved along with five other rangers in killing a grizz back in 1968. Three of us were carrying .357 magnum revolvers loaded with SuperVel. Three had 12 gauge shotguns all loaded with rifled slugs. We opened fire after a dart filled with a lethal dose hit fat tissue.

Oct 31st - 17:14pm | Anonymous

Dave, your views are black and white, and you think a gun is the only solution to every bear encounter while hunting, which is quite simple-minded.

Oct 31st - 13:23pm | Anonymous

So, Dave Smith, if "the bear spray cult" got this guy hurt, who do you blame for Steve Stevenson's death in September? He's the man who got killed by a gunshot when his partner started shooting at a wounded grizzly in NW Montana. Is he dead because of "firearms propaganda" from the "firearms cult"?

Oct 31st - 11:58am | Dave Smith

Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska says, "In 96% (69 of 72) bear spray incidents the person's activity at the time was reported.

Oct 31st - 11:23am | dave smith

In an article titled "Spray then pray" in the 9/29/11 Coeur d'Alene Press, "Chuck Bartlebaugh, director of the Be Bear Aware campaign for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee" said the bear spray can "must be held with two hands so it doesn't tilt upwards."

Oct 31st - 09:15am | Anonymous

Statistics don't lie. A study of human/grizzly encounters in Alaska showed that those who used bear spray came away uninjured 92% of the time. And of the remaining 8%, none of killed and all suffered only minor injuries.

Oct 31st - 07:31am | Marty Koch

Last time I checked the statistics bear spray was 89% effective vrs 60% for firearms. With a firearm you have to hit your mark very precisely under the most stressful circumstances possible.

Popular Swimming Area At Capitol Reef National Park Closed Due To Dangerous Conditions

Oct 31st - 12:33pm | Do I have it right

Let me see if I have this figured out? The Park doesn't care about the waterfall. They just want to spend millions of tax dollars to put in 2 bridges so they can put the river back in the only place in the river that man hasn't changed. However the river hasn't been there for 50 years???

Sagamore Hill, Home To Theodore Roosevelt, To Get $6.2 Million Renovation Next Spring

Oct 31st - 11:35am | Joe Pagliaro

Thank you for this info. Joe Pagliaro

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