| Page 1432 | National Parks Traveler

Careful, imtnbike, lest you draw the ire of horse-packers...;-) And yet....that's one camp that's been missing in this discussion. Much has been made in similar discussions on the Traveler that horses cause more erosional problems than mountain bikers. Is that so? Is there a horse outfitter out there who can weigh in on this?

Jan 23rd - 20:26pm | imtnbke

@ Warren Z: Is your preferred mode of travel in the national parks "appropriate," as you put it? If so, why it is so and mountain biking not?

Jan 23rd - 20:05pm | imtnbke

At the risk of sounding elitist, I must take exception with the above. The fact that parks are the common property of the American people does not necessarily mean that all must be equally accommodated when it comes to access preferences. Cycling is generally permitted on established roads in the parks but may be excluded from less developed areas.

Jan 23rd - 20:03pm | Warren Z

A very reasonable comment, Ray. National Parks are special places. And full recreational use, mountain biking for instance, just isn't appropriate for all NPS lands. But some folks just aren't used to hearing "please wait", or "no" in response to their wishes, no matter how reasonable or harmless they think they are.

Jan 23rd - 19:54pm | Zebulon

Ray, I ride my local parks on a regular basis. I had no idea that the term "park" automatically banned bikes... :) Just be honest, and tell us that you don't want to share these taxpayer funded trails with other users. That would make more sense than making up illogical arguments.

Jan 23rd - 18:35pm | Ray Bane

Jan 23rd - 17:30pm | Anonymous

You know it's my opinion that our national parks belong to us all and I can see no reason why it's not possible for responsible use of the parks for literally all of us. Isn't this really about respect of each other and the park? To me, this is a great opportunity for literally everyone to come together and join in that endeavor of mutual gratification and mutual respect.

Jan 23rd - 16:44pm | imtnbke

Questions for those who oppose this proposed rule: 1. Would it be acceptable to you to have alternate-day use of trails by cyclists in national parks, so that there would still be days on which you would encounter no bicycle riders?

Jan 23rd - 15:05pm | Anonymous

Unfortunately it isn't that simple. This proposed rule takes away public input at the national level and leaves it up to local interests, who occasionally apply inappropriate influence on the park manager. Not sure why requiring rulemaking, which opens up comments to a national audience, allowing all interests to be heard, is so objectionable. What's up with transparency in government?

Jan 23rd - 12:02pm | Zebulon

MRC, I've stopped more than once to let a hiker pass, especially if I'm by myself going slowly uphill and big group of hikers is coming down. It makes more sense. Now, whether you feel second rate or not is frankly a non issue, a national park is not your own private Idaho. We just have to learn to share. Furthermore, there are plenty of ways to do it in ways that are fair.

Jan 23rd - 02:34am | MRC

@Zebulon: Of course it is the governments role to determine which kinds of use are allowed on which parts of the public lands. Bikes are permitted in National Forests, on BLM land and in more than 40 national parks including spectacular routes like the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. But other parks are closed to bikes - particularly on single trails.

Jan 22nd - 20:12pm | Zebulon

Joan, all great points. Let me address them if I may.

Jan 22nd - 20:01pm | Mark E

Really Joan? Waaaaayyyy more damage than what I'd would see on the foot-travel-only section of popular hiking trails? Say, the Appalachian Trail? The Colorado Trail? The Wilderness sections of the Colorado trail? Come visit the later and take a good look at he sections that allow bikes and those that are restricted to foot travel.

Jan 22nd - 18:37pm | Joan 1

Zebulon, Nobody is banned when mountain bikes are restricted. You are still able to hike the trail along with the rest of us. It is only your mode of transportation that is restricted.

Aztec Ruins and the River of Lost Souls

Jan 24th - 11:19am | Barky

I visited Aztec just this past year on my trek through New Mexico, and two things stood out:

A Major Overhaul at Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Raises a Few Eyebrows

Jan 24th - 09:43am | robmutch

Well done, Jim. This article was an excellent read. Non-profits and NPS units have interesting relationships. rob --- Executive Director, Crater Lake Institute www.craterlakeinstitute.com Robert Mutch Photography, www.robmutch.com

Jan 23rd - 13:24pm | Warren Z

The collection on exhibit in the basement of Ford's Theatre in 2005 (when I left my position there) was a mixture of artifacts owned by the NPS, and those on loan from the Smithsonian; this collection included the Derringer. I would imagine it will be part of the newly refurbished museum at the theatre.

Jan 23rd - 11:43am | Bill R.

Superb article! I'm confused though, where is the Derringer used to assisinate Lincoln? Last time I saw it, it was in the Smithsonian. Few years ago --- like forty(?). Articles like this make me want to load up the 4X4 and hit the road to head for civilization. Presently reside in the Kommunist Republik of Kalifornia, but am a native Texian.

Jan 23rd - 08:37am | JimB

Warren Z- Thanks for the comment, and the perspective from someone with first-hand experience at the site. The tip on the publication will be appreciated by history buffs.

Jan 23rd - 07:12am | Warren Z

Thank you for another excellent article. Your reporting will surely help folks navigate a site that used to be somewhat visitor-unfriendly. I'm eager to return there and judge the experience for myself. I've sat through performances in those old chairs and they are indeed extremely uncomfortable!

Interior Secretary Salazar Uses the "S" Word On Second Day at the Office

Jan 24th - 09:24am | Anonymous

Science is like statistics. If you want data to support a decision you can get it. Keep in mind that data on the other side is also readily available. I would hope that the new administration will be ethical and their decisions will be based on values that are at least somewhat in line with my own. Probably won't happen that way.

Jan 24th - 06:10am | MRC

@ Frank: Maybe we are leaving the focus of this blog now, but the question of right and wrong, of values and rules is of course an old and fundamental one. Much of the history of philosophy is about this question and related ones.

Jan 24th - 01:06am | jsmacdonald

Frank,

Jan 23rd - 17:20pm | Frank N

Jim, so who decides which values are legitamite? You ask if both sides of an issue are equally legitamite and then answer your own question with, "I don't think so". You naturally believe (as I do) that our values are correct; yet individuals on the other side may be just as convinced that theirs are. Not all "value" issues are as cut and dried as racism, sexism etc.

Jan 23rd - 13:29pm | Leo

I agree that science is not the answer to everything, however when it came to science during the Bush administration his line of thought reminded me of Mary Shelley's book "Frankenstein." Shelley was concerned that medical science had gone to far and doctors were now "playing God." Under the Bush administration scienctific advancement was sacrified because of his religious beliefs.

Jan 23rd - 12:10pm | Dan

Jim's dead on. Science is not an oracle that can be consulted for the answers to all of life's conundrums. Policy decisions are value decisions, and the Bush administration got to influence those value decisions for eight years because they had been elected. That's how our system works. Now, the Obama administration gets to influence those value decisions, for the same reasons.

Jan 23rd - 11:11am | jsmacdonald

Frank,

Jan 23rd - 10:54am | Anonymous

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" - Albert Einstein, Science is not the answer to everything...

Jan 23rd - 10:33am | Frank N

Of course another arguement againt snowmobiles in Yellowstone is the problem of bison following groomed roads out of the Park and into trouble in Montana, though I guess the roads have to be groomed for snow coaches as well. Wouldn't it be great if the Obama administration could find solutions for both of these problems?

Jan 23rd - 10:16am | Kurt Repanshek

Of course you're right, Jim. Science can't be held in a vacuum as a cure-all. And neither can values. The trick is to find a balance.

Jan 23rd - 10:05am | Frank N

The problem with making decisions based on values is that everyone's values are different. My values may be different than yours, and both of our values are no doubt different from former (don't ya love it!) President Bush. Science is science. While I would agree that you cannot blindly follow science wherever it leads, decisions clearly based on it are hard to dispute.

Jan 23rd - 09:25am | jsmacdonald

I wish people were careful about this when they would give hegemony to science without a clear understanding of what science does and doesn't do. Science does not settle value decisions, which must be at the root of any policy decision. It isn't something that takes the place of values or is itself a higher value.

Help Ken Burns Chronicle the Parks

Jan 23rd - 12:47pm | S. Mattson

One of the elements that might be considered when searching for who we are as Americans should look at who we first set out to be. In the preamble to our constitution for instance, we are betrothed to insure “Domestic Tranquility”....what does that mean?...what should it mean?...what does it currently mean to many? Is anyone really working to "insure" it?

Humans as "Super-Predators" – New Study Offers Startling Information about Hunting and Fishing

Jan 23rd - 12:04pm | JimB

Scot - Good question. At the time I wrote the article, I had to rely on the abstract for the study, which you'll find at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/01/12/0809235106, and on e-mails with the author of the study and the press release.

Jan 23rd - 11:30am | Scot M.

Jim, your article's link to the study takes you to a press release about the study, but not the actual study. Do you have a link to the actual study?

Jan 23rd - 11:09am | Dean

When asking whether human evolutionary impacts on other species should just be treated as another natural selective force, the question we should fundamentally be asking is whether that force is tending to undermine the broader health of the system. And I'm defining health here not in some aesthetic sense, but whether biomass and complexity are decreasing.

4-Year-old Dies in Fall off South Rim of Grand Canyon

Jan 23rd - 10:22am | Frank N

"An adult has to hold onto a 4 year old at all the Grand Canyon overlooks. Constantly and tight."

Jan 23rd - 09:32am | Kurt Repanshek

Whoa, Rudee, that's pretty harsh. I agree that many groups of inner city kids (and even from other areas of the country) at times seem to be running like wild packs in the parks. But if they don't even get a chance to experience a park how can they learn to appreciate them?

Jan 23rd - 09:25am | Rudee

I have to say, this verifies my cynicism when I toured the South rim once. The place was crawling with urban brats of all kinds who were clueless about being in the outdoors. Kids running rampant, women hiking trails in high heels. It was a ridiculous three ring circus. They were ALL like a bunch of children in need of supervision, not just the 4 year olds.

Jan 22nd - 23:35pm | Mike

LOL! You're right Russell.... they probably haven't had kids.

National Park Quiz 38: African Americans

Jan 23rd - 09:13am | Bob Janiskee

Congratulations, Barky. This was not a particularly easy quiz. BTW, I'll soon be selecting quiz topics for March. Got any suggestions?

Muir Woods National Monument is More than Really Old, Really Big Trees

Jan 23rd - 02:33am | Kevin Anthem

Muir Woods is simply wonderful. I remember going there last year with my wife. Teddy made the right decision to declare this a national monument in the name of John Muir. I must say, it's one of his administration's legacies. Something that the next generations will surely appreciate and preserve.

Don't Try this At Home: Driver's Life Saved By Vegetation and Ledge at Colorado National Monument

Jan 22nd - 20:07pm | ReBecca

Our local news paper has a slide show of the wreck: http://www.gjsentinel.com/ap/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=141600

It's Not Too Early To Start Planning This Summer's National Park Vacation

Jan 22nd - 13:24pm | dwulfman

We've been helping families plan National Park camping trips for 10 years and our Trip Consultants have a good feel for when each Park normally begins selling out. In 2008, we reserved about 2500 nights in NPS and NFS campgrouds across the west, but we expected things to progress much more slowly this year. Yet, so far 2009 looks about the same as previous years.

Jan 22nd - 12:34pm | JimB

Kurt - Good advice. A friend started checking in mid-summer last year on lodging in Yosemite for this coming summer - and found very slim pickings, with the possible exception of the higher-priced spreads. He was told by a reservations agent for the concessioner to plan a year ahead for peak travel periods in mid-summer at Yosemite.

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