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NPS Retirees Oppose Carrying Guns in National Parks

Dec 5th - 20:16pm | Kurt Repanshek

Editor's note: Today's developments are certainly not surprising. The reaction from those in support of the regulation change and those against it is not surprising, either. However, please respect the opinions that are espoused, even if you do not agree with them, and do not resort to gratuitous attacks.

Dec 5th - 20:10pm | Peter Courtenay...

Concealed Weapons holders are the most law abiding segment of the public at large. They are hardly the fools that this anonymous coward intimates. They are much more likely to err on the side of caution and sensibility than are the general public.

Dec 5th - 19:47pm | Anonymous

Well said!!!

Dec 5th - 19:44pm | Anonymous

As a gun owner who is also a concealed carry your argument does not have merit when you say (the fear factor would go away if one could had a firearm) When I am carrying a gun concealed or other wise I am very mindful of my responsibility and fear does not go away because I have a gun. Only a fool would think such a thing.

Dec 5th - 19:35pm | Anonymous

Is that all you got, name calling law abiding citizens. Get a grip

Dec 5th - 18:24pm | mr. Y

It would appear that NPCA needs to moveon.org http://www.bighammer.net/timeline.html#12/05/08 Final regulation approved by DOI will allow weapons.

Dec 5th - 17:44pm | Woody

Well, all I have to say about this is IT'S FAR FAR BETTER TO BE TRIED BY 9 THAN CARRIED BY 6. Also there are those that feel that something is only illegal if you get caught. Our government works that way and so does Wall Street.

Interior Department To Be Sued Over Cape Hatteras National Seashore Plover Habitat Decisions

Dec 5th - 19:29pm | J.B.

Have you really been to the Islands? ATV's are not allowed. Jet skis are also banned.

Dec 5th - 19:23pm | J.B.

Have you really been on the Islands? ATV's are not allowed. Jet skis are also banned.

Dec 5th - 18:46pm | d-2

I have always loved being at Hatteras. It feels to me like some of the wildest country in America. Somebody's loud, poluting ATV is destructive and out of place.

Dec 5th - 15:04pm | FHTS

d-2, you paint a really nasty picture of what you must think the seashore is becomeing. I live here and that's not how I see it at all. "For "EVERYONE" even if it means the destruction of the very special qualities that caused the creation (for "EVERYONE") of the National Seashore in the first place?" What destruction are you talking about?

Dec 5th - 11:34am | dapster

Anon/Anchorman, How about we let the court decide just whose attempt is "pathetic", shall we? Ginny covers the details quite concisely and thoroughly, so I'll take your stance to task.

Dec 5th - 10:39am | d-2

So, george53, tell us what "for EVERYONE" really means to you?

Dec 5th - 07:01am | george53

My comment was directed at those who wish to take away the area,s that was designated as recreation area,s That is what Hatteras seahore was set aside for.. For EVERYONE not just birds And turtles. It has been proved time and again all can coexist.

Dec 4th - 20:58pm | d-2

Ginny ! What a hoot ! Greedy Environmentalist Attorney's !

Dec 4th - 18:48pm | Ginny

Anonymous Are you aware of the Center for Diversity's campaign to ban ORV use in all critical habitat areas and to remind the government of the real meaning of critical habitat? In this light, the contention that critical habitat won't result in additional restrictions is dissingenuous.

Dec 4th - 17:13pm | dapster

Kurt, Thanks for the article! While it's certainly regrettable that this issue must once again enter the federal judicial system, perhaps it will be put to bed at long last.

Dec 4th - 16:19pm | Anonymous

Yet another pathetic attempt by the yahoos on the Outer Banks to turn a National Seashore into the Dare County Motor Park. There's no question there's critical habitat at the National Seashore. So this will simply tie the issue up in legal knots for years. Remember, this issue has already been in the courts for a decade.

Dec 4th - 15:17pm | George 53

If aBIG IF . The truth about special interest groups trying to steal public property would come to light it would be a great victory for the average taxpaying American.

Leave it to the Beaver

Dec 5th - 18:28pm | Rich Furlong, E...

AS a retired NJ State Trooper of 25 years service, I can relate to the many various characters that Law enforcement officials run into in the course of performing their duties. It always makes the job more fun when you can pull off a prank on a pinhead. Thanks for the laugh, and keep up the good work.

Dec 5th - 13:33pm | Bugsyshallfall

Wow, that's great!

Dec 5th - 10:07am | Anonymous

I love it! I'm guessing those two boaters went snipe hunting for their next outing! Great story, Thanks!

Whatever Happened to That Rule Change To Allow You to Pack Heat in National Parks?

Dec 5th - 13:58pm | Random Walker

December 5, 2008 Interior Announces Final Firearms Policy Update

Dec 4th - 14:52pm | Anonymous

Frank C, why is your whole life consumed on the gun issue. It seems like your always splitting hair over the gun arguments to pack heat...to anywhere and everywhere. In seeing my first homicide victim (a police officer with family) as a young surgical tech, just made me puke about the NRA and it's overly hell bent gun fanatics.

Hikers, Bikers and National Parks

Dec 5th - 08:33am | Kurt Repanshek

One would think the change in administrations would make a perfect time for the folks at DOI and Ag to sit down and sort through their maze of properties and see which really fit best where. From time to time one hears rumors of the Forest Service being moved over to Interior. Perhaps BLM would fit better under Ag. But that would be just for starters.

Dec 5th - 07:04am | Sabattis

I've noticed an interested connection between several Traveler articles recently, including this one, the article on China's "First" National Park, and the article on "Did the NPS Ever Manage this National Monument".

Climbing is Capped at Mount McKinley and Climbers are Left to Wonder What’s Next

Dec 5th - 07:46am | Bob Janiskee

Sabattis, as attractive as your ration-by-price scheme might seem at first blush, I doubt you'd find many Americans who'd endorse an access rationing system for our premier national park experiences that unabashedly favors wealthy people (especially foreigners) over people of ordinary means. Yes, let's cap the number of permits at a reasonable level.

Dec 5th - 07:09am | Sabattis

It seems self-evident that some sort of limit is the right way to go. After all, the capacity of Mt. McKinley is not infinite - if you think 1,500 is too low, could the mountain handle 3,000 climbers? 6,000? The real question is how should the National Park Service allocate the slots.

Dec 2nd - 18:12pm | Anonymous

Dang! Your right on target Bob! Bobby Kennedy did indeed scale Mt. Kennedy in 1965 and with the world famed mountain climber Jim Whittaker. I kept thinking along it was Mt. Denali. Thanks for the research.

Interior Officials Release Draft Reports on Climate Change

Dec 4th - 23:45pm | Kurt Repanshek

Ummm, scroll down to the third graph from the bottom and click on that blue link that says "this site" and you'll be taken to the page where you can download the reports.

Dec 4th - 23:21pm | Anonymous

where's the report? this only tells us what they're supposed to do and who they're made up of, what happened to the report? is this just to tell us we're to stupid to know, just pay someone to pretend they're doing something?

Federal Judge Blocks Recreational Snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park

Dec 4th - 15:48pm | Anonymous

All this makes no sense to me.

Injuries Prove Fatal To Hiker Who Fell in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Dec 4th - 12:53pm | Nashville hiker

Sometimes accidents just happen. I once suffered a concussion while skiing, even though I was only skiing a green run, was wearing a helmet, and did not run into a tree or other obstacle - just fell to the ground (or possibly collided with another skier - the details are not known and I don't recall due to the concussion).

At 55 and Counting, Wright Brothers National Memorial Enjoys Its Monumental Facelift

Dec 4th - 10:40am | dapster

Great article, Bob! Thanks for bringing this project to light. Prior to the 2003 "Centennial of Flight" celebration, the entire WBM complex had become rather worn looking, to say the least. Decades of exposure to salt air and simple visitor wear and tear had taken its toll.

28 Years Ago, the National Park System Gained Millions of Acres

Dec 3rd - 20:14pm | JimB

d-2 and Rick - Thanks for the additional insights into this part of NPS history.

Dec 3rd - 17:15pm | d-2

I think they did a pretty good job, considering what was at stake, how enormous the controversy was, how many PRIVATE SECTOR lobbyists were engaged, and how complicated the task was. I thought most of the politicians had more courage than most of the agency people or the private sector. They had to stand out there and take the hits.

Dec 3rd - 17:10pm | Rick Smith

In 1979, I was one of a small group of NPS rangers (21 in total, I believe) sent to Alaska in the summer to establiish an NPS "presence" in President Carter's new national monuments.

Dec 3rd - 16:51pm | Kurt Repanshek

D-2, thanks for providing "the rest of the story." Nothing ever seems to be easily accomplished when it involves the federal government and politicians, does it?

Dec 3rd - 15:29pm | d-2

Kurt -- it is such a kick to see so many pieces, and comments, in this website about Alaska over the past several days. Now with this piece you bring it all together, by highlighting President Carter's Alaskan National Monuments. -- On how long it took to get the Alaska Lands Act (ANILCA) passed, it DEPEMDS on how you count.

Rescued Yosemite Hiker Has Lots to be Thankful for This Year

Dec 3rd - 19:49pm | Hobblefoot

Lucky guy, glad all ends well. Honestly I can't think of a nicer place to get stuck for a week or 2. If Steve F. would like, I will send him a copy of my photo from above Red Devil Lake from early Sept. (it was much warmer then). I can easily see why a couple of feet of snow would have stopped any progress in country like that. Nothing but rocks , and granite slabs and wind exposure.

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

Dec 3rd - 18:40pm | Russell

Anyone who says that they "would not let go of a child's hand for one second" either does not have children or lives in a dream world. This is real life and the world is an imperfect place. My heart breaks for the parents of this poor kid. The memory of this event will haunt them forever. It's too bad that some idiots focus on how such a thing could only be an act of negligence.

Study Says Loss of Wolves Damaging Olympic National Park's Forest Ecosystem

Dec 3rd - 14:59pm | Anonymous

we need to reintroduse wolfs, why? it is because, the elk and deer heards are tearing up our forests! they are eating the plants that contain river banks, they eat the shoots of new trees. if we allow controlled hunting, people from all over the USA will come to Washington, to hunt the elk, and even with the hunting being controlled the elk numbers will still drop like flies.

Dec 2nd - 18:02pm | Random Walker

From Sightline Daily Bringing Wolves Back to Washington Posted by Eric de Place 11/21/2008 11:05 AM

Dec 2nd - 15:23pm | Anonymous

the hunters need to stay away and the wolfs need a reservation to keep pochers away

China Moves to Designate its First National Park

Dec 3rd - 13:54pm | Lepanto

Thanks, Sabattis, for bringing up the Kobuk Valley National Park.

Dec 3rd - 06:31am | Sabattis

If this is truly the "first" National Park - it sounds like this really raises the question of what is a National Park. It sounds like China is interpreting a "National Park" to be a place that is oriented towards visitation in a way that does not necessarily apply to all of the US National Parks - say like Kobuk Valley National Park in the United States.

National Park Quiz 31: World War II

Dec 3rd - 13:12pm | Bob Janiskee

You're welcome, Fred. When my wife and I toured "Big Mo", I was puzzled by the fact that it was impossible to get a good view of the USS Arizona Memorial from the quarterdeck of the battleship -- that is, from the part of the Missouri where the Japanese surrender ceremony took place. Finding out why was a real revelation. The symbolism is very powerful.

Dec 3rd - 12:35pm | Fred Miller

Although I lived on the island of Oahu for many years, I never knew why the Missouri is placed the way it is. Thanks for sharing this piece of history with us.

Dec 3rd - 05:21am | Bob Janiskee

Nice catch, MRC. I fixed it. This was an especially dumb mistake on my part. Several months ago I even started to write an article about the Minidoka redesignation and expansion, emphasizing the satellite site on Bainbridge Island. Might still do it.

Dec 3rd - 04:46am | MRC

Minidoka is a National Historic Site since May 2008. It was vastly expanded in size but downgraded from NM to NHS by this years Omnibus Bill.

The Essential RVing Guide

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