| Page 1433 | National Parks Traveler

@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.

Jan 22nd - 11:43am | Zebulon

JD, you're misinformed and factually inaccurate. Multiple studies have shown that bicycles do no more damage than hiking and way less than horse riding.

Jan 22nd - 07:39am | Betty H

Those of us who appreciate peace and quiet in natural surroundings are not always "liberals". We are just folks who love our great natural areas and will hike to great lengths to get away from it all so we can enjoy nature in its most natural setting.

Jan 22nd - 05:58am | JDRower

I hope they're banned. The damage done by mountain bikes is enormous. The decision will be political but hopefully with an environmental foundation.

Jan 21st - 20:29pm | Zebulon

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Will Obama cater to the very liberal wing of the party (i.e. your typical Sierra Club bike hater) or will he be more centrist in his approach (i.e. recognize that the rule simply transfers decision making power to the local park)?

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.

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

Jan 22nd - 23:35pm | Mike

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

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.

Yellowstone National Park: Poster Child For Goofy Gun Laws

Jan 22nd - 11:35am | Carl in Chicago

That laws respecting the right to carry arms have been somewhat liberalized by this rule change is a good thing in and of itself. Civil liberties are like that, but their rightful expansion often comes with some confusion and getting-used-to.

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Jan 22nd - 10:59am | Lone Hiker

It's sad that our lives are being manipulated by a chosen few on the issue of our planet's "weather" cycle. It's even more curious how after decades and decades of abuse from mankind, his "intellect" now drives him to right past wrongs which he doesn't even completely understand.

Jan 22nd - 09:42am | Kurt Repanshek

Dan raises some valid points. Issues such as climate change and guns in the parks will not be settled at the Traveler. But I'd disagree that this is the wrong forum to discuss them. They are both, in their own ways, highly relative to the national parks, and a key mission of this site is to report on and explore issues pertinent to the parks.

Jan 21st - 21:20pm | Dan

This debate reminds me of the ongoing flame war about concealed carry in the parks. Not only is the argument getting nowhere, but I think this is an especially bad forum for the debate. There are big, ongoing debates about whether the climate is changing, whether this change is caused or exacerbated by humans, and to what extent that change is harmful or beneficial.

Jan 21st - 19:54pm | RAH

Hanson's data had to be revised and the warmest year was substantially changed. His latest data used the wrong month and than declared that he had no confidence on temperature data that came from Russia. There is substantial number of scientists who dispute the hypothesis that global warming or climate change is man made.

Jan 21st - 11:14am | Frank N

I'm sitting here on the 21st. of January in Livingston Mt. looking forward to another clear day in the fifties. So it has been for the past couple of weeks. There is no snow in the valley, and it is getting pretty thin on the surrounding mountains. Yesterday I was out tilling soil in my garden (not that I plan on planting for four more months, but it was that nice out).

Jan 21st - 10:07am | Lone Hiker

Interesting notion, that of "more usable land". But usable in what manner? The atmospheric variances that currently exist on the planet and the direct interaction that they impose on the existing land masses are a direct result of not only the proximity and topography of land masses in relation to the seas but in the specific temperatures of the sea water in a given region.

Jan 21st - 07:56am | JimB

Stephen - Thanks for your comments. Integrity of the evidence is always a valid area of concern for any topic, and worthy of discussion.

Jan 21st - 07:49am | Stephen Martin

I've never disputed the issue of climate change. I was merely trying to protect the integrity of the evidence given, though, and I still maintain it was manipulated. If one truly believes in an issue, then no subterfuge should be necessary.

Jan 21st - 07:03am | JimB

In the context of this story, perhaps we're making a bit too much of the exact vantage point, time of year, or other factors in the two photos.

Jan 21st - 06:37am | Stephen Martin

First of all, I'm not sure how I managed to claim your name while posting to you. Sorry about that as I'm sure I probably addressed the response to you in the wrong place.

Jan 20th - 16:28pm | Richard Smith

Richard Smith......sorry, they're not. It's not even close frankly. Try again?

Jan 20th - 15:32pm | Lone Hiker

Sorry Sandi, but I've taught more Bios classes than you'll ever take. Plants love CO2? There's some accuracy in that statement. Plants tolerate CO2 is a better way of making that statement.

Jan 20th - 13:42pm | Richard Smith

Sandi, Wow, take a biology course? I am a biologist. The carbon is being taken up by the seas, and becoming acidic to the detriment of sea life. Burn some tires? Wow you are one sick individual to celebrate like that.

Lost to Hurricanes, the Flamingo Lodge at Everglades National Park Will be Hard to Replace

Jan 22nd - 08:17am | David

My wife and I stayed at the lodge in December 2000 and had a great time despite unusually cold weather. The birding was fantastic. It's sad that nothing has been put in place to allow people who cannot camp to experience this special place. Camping wouldn't bother us but it is not feasible to bring the necessary equipment from home (England).

Jan 21st - 20:14pm | Anonymous

I so miss being able to come and stay in the Lodge. The Everglades is magical. I enjoyed bringing my children there in years past and have taken many good memories home with me: the prairie warblers and other birds, the bobcat sitings, and the moonflowers which opened at dusk.

At New River Gorge National River, an Iconic Bridge Attracts Suicide Jumpers

Jan 21st - 23:01pm | Anonymous

I too have been touched by the loss of a loved one on this bridge since the last entry. I try to get past the anger and fruitfulness of a young life lost because of the finality of the act. We do not know the desperation and hopelessness one feels because they had chosen not to let us.

Help Ken Burns Chronicle the Parks

Jan 21st - 21:16pm | Jim Bloom

Back in the early 1990s, I met a National Park Service ranger named Donald Scott. He was quite interested that I was the chapter advisor for the Sigma Chi chapter at UC Berkeley. It turns out that when Stephen T. Mather held the conference to write the National Parks Act, he did it at Cal and had the congressmen and other dignitaries stay at the fraternity house.

National Park Quiz 38: African Americans

Jan 21st - 19:37pm | Barky

A couple of weeks ago, you challenged me to attempt this quiz when it came out. My results ... well, got 8 right. I am irked I got #7, about the Tuskegee Airmen, wrong. I visited that site (actually, it was just a trailer in a field, the NPS was still figuring out what to do with it), and should have known Moton Field was the right answer.

National Park Foundation Loses Its Honorary Chairperson

Jan 21st - 19:21pm | Dan

Are you sure she's not continuing in the position? There's no press release on NPF's website, and there's no reason a former first lady can't be the honorary chair of a foundation.

Jan 21st - 19:16pm | Barky

No kidding. First I've heard of this. I guess her absence from NPS issues puts her above her husband on the Success-O-Meter: she didn't leave any mark at all, while her husband left a big stain. ====================================================

Jan 21st - 12:29pm | Bugsyshallfall

Wait.......so Mrs. Bush was trying to help the NPS while her husband was slowly destroying it? I am confused, how much good did she do and how much did she influcence her husband?

Interior Officials Want to Allow Concealed Carry in the National Parks

Jan 21st - 18:33pm | Anonymous

I don't necessarily agree with the "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" concept, I think most of those arguing against the new proposal are kidding themselves about what would happen. Does anyone doubt that some people have been "packing" in national parks for years? Have any of you ever been frisked?

Yosemite National Park Officials Looking For Suggestions on Preserving Badger Pass Ski Lodge

Jan 21st - 09:50am | tahoma

Those interested in the history of skiing in the National Parks should not miss Ch XIV, "The Problem of Winter Use" in the Mount Rainier Administrative History: http://www.nps.gov/archive/mora/adhi/adhi14.htm

Sequoia, Kings Canyon National Parks Low on Snow For Holiday Weekend

Jan 21st - 09:36am | Kurt Repanshek

Things still seem to be pretty grim in that neck of the Sierra for winter fun, Anonymous. Here's the latest forecast from the folks at Monticeto: Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Southeast wind around 6 mph.

Jan 21st - 05:43am | Anonymous

What do you think about this upcoming weekend Jan 23rd - Jan 25th? We were thinking about Montecito Lodge to do winter play with our 4 yr old but don't really want to spend all the money if the snow situation is no good. Thanks for your help.

National Parks and the Inauguration of President Obama

Jan 21st - 03:45am | coffee

i don't doubt that Obama will be a vast improvement for the U.S. and the rest of the world

Jan 20th - 18:53pm | Warren Z

Obama is playing a few cards very close to his chest. I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait and see where Salazar will lead the NPS. I have a feeling that the NPS, Fish & Wildlife, and the Forest Service are fairly low priorities during the first 100 days of the administration. Let's hope the Thomas Hill painting is a positive indicator!

Commentary: What Would An Economic Stimulus Package for the National Parks Buy Us?

Jan 20th - 20:11pm | Ray Bane

"Fortunately the end is near as the federal government is totally bankrupt and its creditors are about to stop lending it any more money by refusing to buy treasury debt which has been the fuel of the current reckless borrowing and spending spree. The Feds will try to print their way out of the predicament but that will fail miserably and the final day of reckoning will be upon it.

Jan 20th - 15:11pm | Lone Hiker

I guess the operative inference was in pointing to "our" definitions. For simplicity sake we often refer to things in "our" terms, but clarity and understanding could be obtained by utilizing more exacting terms, which neither include double entendre nor doublespeak.

After the Inauguration ... Next Up, the Lincoln Bicentennial

Jan 20th - 18:17pm | Warren Z

Thanks for a great article! I was fortunate enough to work at Ford's Theatre for a short time (not as an NPS employee), and not a day goes by that I don't miss that incredible place. What a great opportunity that was to learn about Lincoln.

Jan 20th - 12:12pm | JimB

Thanks for the additional information! Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and the nearby attractions in Spencer County are delightful places to visit and to learn about Lincoln. I'm planning a story about Lincoln Boyhood here on the Traveler on February 19th, which is the anniversary of the official authorization of the national memorial.

Change.gov and the National Park System Under the Obama Administration

Jan 20th - 16:26pm | Kurt Repanshek

You raise a good point, and it's one that the Park Service is aware of. Indeed, for a few years now technicians have been measuring ambient sound levels at various parks to try to get a fix on what is natural and unnatural as well as to measure decibel levels.

Jan 20th - 15:34pm | Anonymous

I understand this problem is small in the grand scheme of park system finances and management. This may not be a widespread problem but I imagine thousands of visitors have similar sentiments, which relate to conduct in polite society. I found my visit to Glacier National Park significantly and negatively impacted by noisy vehicles.

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

Jan 20th - 13:53pm | ohio bill

I'm glad to see this.

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