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How We View National Parks Today Matters For Tomorrow

Jun 7th - 08:05am | Bob Janiskee

With all due respect, Sabattis, you're asking the wrong question. It's a given that the designation types should matter. Classification is possibly the most fundamental concept in science or, if you will, scientific management. Each designation type should represent a group of parks having similar characteristics and similar managerial needs.

Jun 7th - 07:28am | Sabattis

Of course, Cuyahoga Valley was originally establised with the same National Recration Area designation as Gateway and Golden Gate, and was basically just "rebranded" for greater publicity. I think it would be hard to get too concerned if Cuyahoga Valley was managed in roughly similar ways to Gateway and Golden Gate.

Jun 7th - 06:34am | Bob Janiskee

Skyrocketing fuel prices, budget tightening, and related factors are going to keep people closer to home. This should make our urban-oriented national parks (the ones within day-tripping distance, that is) much more appealing.

Jun 6th - 10:01am | Rangertoo

Bay Area leaders may have advocated for Point Reyes, but they did not create it. Congress did. Also - I recommend you look at Indiana Dunes NL, an urban park older than Golden Gate or Gateway if you really want to see the face of urban/industrial/residential and park interface in a challenging area.

Jun 6th - 09:52am | Anonymous

One of my favorite National Parks. It has all the amenities that blesses the human soul. You can gaze at the open sea all day and never tire. Once the coastal fog recedes and you can see the great expanse of open sea...your inner soul begins to feel renewed.

Jun 6th - 06:06am | MRC

Point Reyes National Seashore is an amazing place. Unique geology, amazing nature, cultural heritage and superb recreation all comes together. I loved it, and even saw a gray whale and her young from the shore near the light house. But the problems to combine all those different assets and claims are hardly unique.

National Park Service Director Bomar Scheduled to Meet With Mountain Bike Community

Jun 7th - 07:25am | Sabattis

I'd like to make two points on this:

Jun 7th - 07:23am | Sabattis

MRC - you make some good points. I hadn't thought of actually considering National Wildlife Refuge to be a higher level of protection than a Naitonal Park. I had ordered them the way that I did because the National Wildlife Refuge rather famously can allow oil drilling under at least some circumstance - something that seems almost unthinkable in a National Park.

Jun 6th - 02:31am | MRC

@Sabattis: "I have a general sense of a descending order of protection from National Park Service to Fish & Wildlife Service to US Forest Service to Bureau of Land Management".

Jun 5th - 10:05am | Kurt Repanshek

"Superlative opportunities for recreation for public use and enjoyment..." Where do you draw the line for what's appropriate in a national park, for which the National Park Service has considerably different management mandates and responsibilities than does the U.S. Forest Service for national forests or the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for its empire?

Jun 4th - 22:46pm | Sabattis

Of course, if you can ask how many mountain biking trails are enough, one can also ask how many hiking trails are enough? Some people would happily do away with maintained hiking trails - be they boardwalks or maintained trails into the backcountry.

Jun 4th - 13:42pm | Kurt Repanshek

Once you head down this slippery slope, how do you reverse course? How many single-track trails are enough? How many are too many?

Jun 4th - 13:10pm | RockyMTNs

If you read IMBA's materials you'll find that they do not espouse adding new singletrack to "all national parks." Mountain bikers and National Parks are working together cooperatively to add shared-use trails only in places where park officials see good opportunities for them.

Traveler's View: Concealed Weapons Have No Place In Our National Park System

Jun 6th - 15:50pm | Random Walker

Why does the gun issue extract such incredible outpourings of vitriol and personal attacks? LOL! Do you really have to ask?

Jun 6th - 14:47pm | Kurt Repanshek

Sorry anonymous, but am I to understand that raising one's voice to question management decisions is political? So if one were to question ESA decisions, or fee decisions, or trail-building decisions, one would be immersing themselves in politics?

Jun 6th - 14:13pm | Kevin

It's funny that folks keep using the term "Allow Weapons" What many do not understand is that a Criminal is a criminal. Regardless of what laws are in place. If they choose to carry and gun and to commit a crime, they are going to do it whether they are not allowed to or not. Placing a law to not allow a lawful person to protect themselves is absolutley ridiculous.

Jun 6th - 14:01pm | Anonymous

Excuse me, I thought you could read. I said YOU were being political! The NRA has always been political. I hoped you were above that. I was obviously mistaken. I have always supported the parks for non-political reasons, I thought you might also. Again, my error! Every thing is not political to every one.

Jun 6th - 13:52pm | Kurt Repanshek

Hmmmm, not political. That's why the NRA -- one of the most powerful lobbies in the country -- admittedly scripted the letters that were sent by senators to Interior Secretary Kempthorne, and that's why the NRA worked with Sen. Coburn to introduce his amendment to open the parks to concealed weapons.

Jun 6th - 13:36pm | Anonymous

Kurt, You protest too much! I've never been an NRA member or backer, but you need to be truthful: 1, this topic has been discussed at governmental levels for 5 years; 2, to imply this is a political issue in an election year is to make yourself political ( not a good or smart idea): 3, this is really a states rights issue, not an NRA issue once you get down to it.

Jun 5th - 01:20am | Brian M.

Kurt,

Jun 5th - 00:05am | Jurjen Smies

Kurt wrote: "I think the statistics -- no matter whose you choose to use -- speak for themselves. The more guns in circulation, the more folks get shot, whether intentionally or accidentally, whether by criminals or by guns owned by any legal gun owner, whether they hold a CCW permit or not."

Hamilton Grange National Memorial Relocation Update

Jun 6th - 10:06am | lepanto

Actually, Hamilton called the process of getting the land, designing and building Hamilton Grange: ". . . a sweet project." For some reason the NPS release spins it as ". . . he called his 'sweet project.' " Splitting hairs??

Ribbon-Cutting Planned for $70,000 "Bio Toilet" at Mount Rainier National Park

Jun 5th - 21:24pm | Fred Miller

This is very nice of them. Are there any plans to add more of these elsewhere if they work as intended?

Congressman Accuses Sec. Kempthorne of Pandering to NRA on Gun Issue

Jun 5th - 19:19pm | Fred Miller

I repeat - NO metal detectors. If you don't have ENFORCEMENT, all you have is a rule. Rule-breakers don't obey rules. That's why we call them that.

Jun 5th - 15:40pm | pkrnger

I just don't get it. We don't allow people to carry concealed weapons in our public schools, churches, museums, libraries, and courthouses. Therefore, why should people feel a special need to carry concealed weapons in our national parks? Are our national parks not special, sacred places? Or, are they just another administrative variation of open space?

Jun 5th - 15:24pm | Fred Miller

You said, "How do you decide which laws or regulations are worth obeying? If wearing a concealed weapon where they're outlawed doesn't bother you, where do you draw the line?"

Jun 5th - 12:34pm | Lone Hiker

Enough with the careless use of statistical data. PLEASE!

Jun 5th - 10:36am | Art

Shhh, don't tell the Brady Campaign, but there's big trouble in gun-control paradise. The Times of London reports: "Knife-carrying youths face automatic prosecution as street violence spirals"

Jun 5th - 09:35am | Rick

> Oh, one other thing. Can we stop comparing stats yet?;-) As promised, John Lott data. Despite their best efforts and scurrilous attempts by the brady bunch to discredit Lott's data he's honest and his data are comprehensive and well-researched. If I find additional state-level data I'll pass it along.

Jun 5th - 09:29am | Rick

> That's a lot of humble pie, Rick. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and guess that in one year there are more murders/manslaughters/negligent homicides, > and other violent crimes, involving permit holders across the nation than there are crimes of the same nature in national parks over the same period.

Jun 4th - 21:20pm | Rick Smith

Anon-- You have dona almost the impossible. You have managed to get a pro-gun comment in with an anti-Atzlan comment in the same post. Congratulations. I didn't think it was feasible. You have to watch out for those tricky Hispanics in Congress. Rick Smith

Jun 4th - 12:47pm | Kurt Repanshek

Joe, Proselytizing? The editorial is clearly marked as such, and the other comments were in response to issues raised by gun proponents.

Proposed Settlement Filed in Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Case

Jun 5th - 12:42pm | greene

As a lifelong North Carolina resident who has lived from the mountains, to the bustling modern Triad and Triangle regions and now to the Outer Banks ... I would like to point out that North Carolina has 427,823 acres in national wildlife refuges. And this does not count the Great Dismal Swamp refuge which is in NC and VA.

Park History: Lowell National Historical Park

Jun 5th - 10:25am | Bob Janiskee

There are four basic requirements for getting this particular gig. First, and most importantly, you must be willing to work for nothing. Secondly, you must love the national parks and have a sincere desire to defend them. Thirdly, you need to have some special ability, experience, or perspective to draw on.

Jun 5th - 10:15am | Phil Lupsiewicz

The New England Folklife Center no longer exists (you missed that one). It was a nice program, but unfortunately its administration passed from the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission to Middlesex Community College, which decided to discontinue it.

Jun 5th - 10:12am | Phil Lupsiewicz

I'll be looking forward to reading the histories of the Smokies and Biscayne. Great work your doing, how does one get such a gig??? I hope you have the opportunity to visit these sites. Your description of LNHP is extremely accurate, I take it you've been here. Maybe the national park traveler can add a video component.

Jun 5th - 09:03am | Bob Janiskee

I got it right in the third paragraph, and that should count for something, shouldn't it? OK, enough of the weaselspeak. I'll fix it, and then I'm going to delete your comment. A guy can only stand so much embarrassment each day.

Jun 5th - 08:50am | Anonymous

-enjoyable article, but BTW...Lowell is a city.

Jun 5th - 07:53am | Bob Janiskee

Thanks for the kind remarks, Phil. I like Lowell NHP a lot and have used the park as a case study for my national parks course. The timing of the post is no accident.

Jun 5th - 07:10am | Phil Lupsiewicz

Nice timing. It just so happens that today (June 5, 2008) is the park's 30th anniversary of being signed into the NPS. Our summer offerings reflect a whole bunch of programs we are offering to recogonize the creation of the park. Thanks for the wonderful writeup.

Yellowstone Officials Now Recommending that Sylvan Pass Remain Open For Snowmobiling

Jun 5th - 09:36am | jsmacdonald

Ummm...yeah, why wouldn't it be ridiculous? I think you meant the Old Faithful Inn, but either way ... is Yellowstone a museum? On what rational grounds do we put any ethical value on certain things in Yellowstone (or Glacier) and not others?

Jun 5th - 08:17am | Sabattis

Is it ridiculous that we are "shelling" Yellowstone National Park? Or just ridiculous that we are "shelling" on behalf of snowmobile users? For example, if the same techniques were use to protect the Old Faithful Lodge or Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun-Road, would it be so ridiculous?

Jun 5th - 02:14am | jsmacdonald

Sabbattis, I hope you are being sarcastic. Yellowstone already is too much of a bastion for the wealthy at any time of the year; are we to ensure that it is by charging user fees to maintain Sylvan Pass? Isn't it a little ridiculous at any cost that we are shelling Yellowstone National Park?

Jun 4th - 20:38pm | Sabattis

This policy makes an interesting case for user fees. If it costs that much to keep the road open during that time - why shouldn't the users of the Park pay for that? Of course that would come out to about $1,000 per person.

24 Trails Added to National Trails System

Jun 5th - 08:49am | Sabattis

It may be worth mentioning that while the National Recreation Trails are a program run by the National Park Service, National Recreation Trails are not considered to be part of the "National Park System" - in a way that National Scenic Trails and National Historic Trails (including the brand-new Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail) are considered to be included.

Jun 5th - 08:41am | Anonymous

Thanks Kurt for adding National Trails Day on your blog this morning. Just what I've been waiting for in regards to finding new hiking trails to explore and conquer. The American Hiking Society and the National Parks are like two peas in a pod. I saw your recent book, Frommer's "National Parks with Kids" [2nd edition, 2008] at the local bookstore. Excellent guide for the family.

National Park Quiz 5: Biggest This or That

Jun 5th - 06:31am | Bob Janiskee

This is an interesting discussion. With some quarter of a million words to choose from -- more than any other language that is or ever was -- the English language sure is a lot of fun.

Jun 4th - 22:35pm | Sabattis

According to the Zion National Park staff, Kolob is the largest natural arch in the Western Hemisphere: http://www.nps.gov/zion/naturescience/arches.htm

Jun 4th - 20:33pm | Anonymous

Biggest or largest?

Segways in the National Parks: Do We Really Need Them?

Jun 4th - 15:50pm | Anonymous

I cannot believe the number of thoughtless people out there. I have a degree in zoology and used to be an avid bird watcher and hiker, an avid lover of all things wild. Five years ago I was diagnosed with MS and have now become basically housebound. I can manage to get to work and the store, but can't even take a walk in my neighborhood.

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