Recent comments

MSH, because of its easy access to the public and science affords a unique ability to watch the natural processes of regeneration - a regeneration process which requires park status protection. There are lots of areas outside the monument where Weyerhauser and others can study the effects of timber planting and other intrusions into the natural cycle, but unless MSH is fully protected from "use," it's value to science and to the public's interests as a scenic geological area will become even more compromised than it has been already.

No one's suggesting that every time a volcano blows in the lower 48 it be turned into a NP... though to be honest, all that have erupted in historical times are in NPs EXCEPT Mount St. Helens... the one we have the chance to watch regenerate both biologically and geologically from the its major eruptive event.

As for the idea that the Forest Service will somehow become an instrument of protection rather than use, if Gifford Pinchot couldn't be convinced, it ain't gonna happen 100 years later. The Forest Service may learn how to better allow private use, but it will never cease private use. It's completely contrary to their mission.

And therein lies my argument. MSH has historical, geological, scenic, scientific and cultural value for all Americans. It deserves to be protected for future generations. It will not be under the Forest Service.

Got to be Charit Creek Lodge in the heart of the Big South Fork. It's an old homstead that is now a walk/bike/horseback-in hostel at the confluence of Charit Creek and Station Camp Creek abot 2miles from the nearest trailheads. Head a mile from the lodge over in one direciton and you come to the Station Camp Crossing in one of the most remote parts of the Big South Fork Gorge. Go the opposiite direction for a few miles and you have a smorgasboard of huge standstone arches and stunning overlooks of the gorge.

www.nps.gov/biso
www.charitcreek.com/home.html

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jr_ranger
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President, CHS SPEAK (CHS Students Promoting Environmental Action & Knowledge)
Founder and President, CHS Campus Greens

Many of the areas that would be deemed, by this process of reordering, to be less than full blown "national treasures" would find their new status as state and municipal parks or privately run museums and trusts to be a vast improvement in their preservation and interpretation. Many parks that currently languish in the lower tier of NPS properties would notice an improvement almost immediately from the more focused attention and dare I say love from its more dedicated and locally focused management.

Some immediate suggestions: Cape Canaveral National Seashore (especially the north unit) would make a swell Florida state park. There is nothing of national significance about this storm washed barrier strand that requires the U.S. taxpayer to fund in perpetuity. Starting next year the NPS will begin charging $7 per person ($28 for a family of four!) to enter what is already an underused and seldom visited beach area. There is no reason that Florida or even Volusia County couldn't run this beach in the same spartan and low-key manner the NPS already does. Not a "crown jewel" but still nice enough to visit and be run by locals. Florida charges $4 per vehicle to enjoy all of its state parks including beaches far more spectacular than Canaveral.

Pipe Spring National Monument is a Mormon pioneer focused historical site that could be run much more effectively and with much greater funding by the LDS Church. They own and operate many wonderful historical sites throughout the country which have state of the art interpretive services and visitor centers as well as elaborate living history programs that capture the lives and struggles of their pioneer period. Some of the units include Cove Fort in Millard County, UT, the Jacob Hamblin Home and Brigham Young's winter home in St. George, UT.

Pipe Spring is NOT nationally significant and would be a fine addition to an already impressive collection of pioneer historical parks run by this church. The LDS Church spares no expense in maintaining their sites, which cannot be said of many of the small monuments and historical sites run by the NPS. Pipe Spring is certainly one that we could afford to transfer to a better and more enthusiastic steward.

I have many other examples which I could also expound upon including Gateway NRA, Cedar Breaks NM, Steamtown NHS, Keweenaw NHP and Golden Gate NRA to name but a few. I think that if many of these areas could be transferred or reassigned to other entities there would be more funds available to maintain the true "crown jewels" that were the original core function of the NPS. Stopping politicians from putting "park barrel" in their districts would be another angle from which to attack this from but I've taken up enough space for one day.

This "putting down" of a Teton bear is not an isolated incident, but has a long history that has seen a variety of attitudes over the decades. In fact, questioning the Park Service's enforcement of food storage regulations is a significant development in that history. For a very interesting and readable account of this history of bears and people in the national parks (Yellowstone in particular), I recommend "Do (Not) Feed the Bears: The Fitful History of Wildlife and Tourists in Yellowstone" by Alice Wondrak Biel.

Lone Hiker makes some good points and raises some good questions that should be explored.

As I've noted several times over the past two years, Congress is quick to designate national park system units, but not so quick to adequately fund them. The result? Well, there's that $8 billion maintenance backlog for starters, as well as the National Park Service's trend toward replacing full-time rangers with volunteers because it simply can't cover all the bases.

Lines need to be drawn, both to whittle down the Park Service's budget problems and, frankly, to protect the integrity of the park system. Now, that's not to say that adding Mount St. Helens would damage the integrity. I think a sound argument can be made for its inclusion. But as Lone Hiker questions, where do you stop? If the Park Service budget were solidly in the black, I'd probably jump on the bandwagon. But it's not.

Frank and Beamis more than once have called for a reordering of the Park Service, and one project whose time perhaps has arrived is taking a good, hard look at the various units and deciding whether they truly deserve to be within the national park system.

Coldwater Ridge should remain open. We visited Mt. St. Helens in April and would not have been able to if it was not open then. This resource is very valuable for the general public and teachers such as myself.

"USFS simply isn't used to deal with keeping the balance between tourism and protection in a highly visible NM. "

hold on a minute...

maybe not a "highly visible NM" but they do manage highly visible, heavily used national forests- many national forests get way more visitation than the parks and are coping with much smaller budgets. san bernardino, wasatch-cache and maybe a few more near the front range of colorado come to mind... and there is no off season. i would put money on the fact that some of these forests have visitor centers that get more visitation in a weekend than some nps units receive in a year and are additionally on par or exceed annual visitation at yellowstone or yosemite.

kurt- i'd like to see some numbers on this, to compare, if we're going to banter about nps vs. usfs and visitor centers and who should manage. i mean, really, it's not like you often even see uniformed rangers in the nps visitor centers (save zion, you see them there) last three visits to capitol reef were vols, saw no uniforms (concessionaire employees!) in bryce, retirees (vols) in yellowstone and i guess escalante doesn't count because they're blm anyway. i guess my issue is it's not like nps is the only land management agency out there dealing with the crowds. if you look at the population explosion out west, where the bulk of public land is, everyone is forced to deal with increased visitation trends these days.

disclosure: i do not work for the usfs, i think it would drive me crazy.

What's the difference between flint and limestone?" he was asked. "I really don't know," was the answer.
Everyone clap for Owen. He already knew the answer.

In reflecting upon Owen's experiences during his recent visit to Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, I am afraid that the NPS interpretive program might indeed be operating at the C grade level. Now had the interpreter lied, or fabricated information, I would have given them an F, not a C. Sadly, this reported experience is not inconsistent with a growing number of other observations reporting increasing mediocrity within NPS Interpretive programs.

Not that long ago, the NPS had a first class educational program staffed with professional naturalists and historians who took personal pride in striving for excellence in park interpretation. Most seasonal uniformed interpreters were secondary teachers and college professors who were employed during their summers as educational liaisons with the NPS and the visiting public.

P.J. Ryan, of Thunderbear fame suggests that the reason mediocrity may have become so noticeable in NPS interpretive programs over the years is that no one has ever bothered to sue the NPS over a substandard guided walk or evening program. Of course, suing a government agency requires high attorney fees and lots of time.

On the other hand, critical evaluations of interpretive experiences that are reported on the internet via electronic trip reports might be far more effective in bringing about positive corrective action.

Preparing a fact sheet of Frequently Asked Questions is easy to revise and serves as an excellent learning reference for new personnel and the visiting public. Why is it that the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve home webpage lists 2006 Bus Tour Schedules? Why is it that only one FAQ is posted ("Where has all the tall grass gone?"). Obviously, NPS website maintenance is clearly needed here in addition to a more comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Section.

I recall my first role as an NPS Naturalist at The General Sherman Tree when the SEKI superintendent would frequently appear with visitors and listen to the presentation. He demonstrated a clear management concern for the quality of the program. SEKI Chief Naturalist Russ Grater would frequently demonstrate in the field what he wanted us to do in communicating an understanding of the value of ancient giant Sequoia forests. NPS Budgets were far less than today's (inflation adjusted) but a professional work ethic was more evident.

Electronic trip reports published by knowledgeable park visitors which evaluate the integrity and effectiveness of NPS interpretive programs might serve as a modern method by which the NPS can get feedback from the public that will utlimately enhance the overall quality of the park experience.

And one more thing, the USFS does not operate three visitor centers in the monument. It used to, but one visitor center (Silver Lake) is now operated by the Washington State Parks and Recreation department and it isn't located in the monument, but several miles away near Interstate 5. Two are left and one is being closed. The one left, the Johnston Ridge Observatory, is essentially a bookstore, a movie theatre and a viewing platform. The visitor center that is closing (Coldwater Ridge) was the one with most of the interpretive displays. This will leave hardly any interpretive opportunities in the monument.

Are three visitor centers necessary?

I have to agree with Owen here. Not only has the quality of interpretation slipped, but the quantity of interpretation has seriously declined. Used to be a host of walks and evening programs and other programs to help one better understand the park and its history, geology, etc. Now they're hard to find and now the few that are offered are often the same programs as last year and the year before.

And of even further concern, in my opinion, is the way some of the parks (Yosemite's on my mind here) have really turned interpretation over to the concession. Delaware North does a big portion of evening programs and even nature walks in the park and this seems to me not to really be in the park's or the visitors' interests. The concessions are, after all, a profit-motivated business and if you don't think that the programs include a lot of info on where to get the best pizza rather than where to find the best glacial polish, you aren't paying attention. It bothers me that the NPS is so neglected by federal funders that we are left with turning over interpretation to private interests.

I do have to say, I've been impressed by the interpretation brought to Yosemite recently by the Sierra Club at LeConte Memorial and by Yosemite Association. But there's no substitute for the ranger naturalist.