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Senators Pushing To Allow Concealed Weapons in National Parks

Apr 6th - 20:04pm | Anonymous

Your lack on understanding confounds me. You must live in a shell and never be exposed to the real world if you don't believe the necessity of self defense and firearms. Maybe you will turn up as one the the "lone hikers" found to be the victim of crime on a hiking trail with no way of defending yourself.

Violent Deaths in the National Parks

Apr 6th - 14:01pm | Fred Miller

Nicely said Hallie.

Apr 6th - 04:01am | Hallie

Citizens can always count on wisdom and swift justice from Big Brother. Right? But, oh-by-the-way, some "public land" isn't safe for law abiding citizens because criminals are permitted to reign supreme. Still, it is against the law for law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm in a National Park. Personal interest ahead of the law, you say? No. A right.

Park History: Isle Royale National Park

Apr 6th - 11:04am | dharma bum

Paul Gruchow included a beautiful essay in his collection "Boundary Waters: Grace of the Wild" about hiking Isle Royale. I would highly recommend it, whether or not you have visited or wish to visit the National Park.

Apr 4th - 16:06pm | Michelle

Find time and visit this enchanting and wild Isle. You will never see a more spectacular shade of blue than you will witness from Look- out- Louise as you view Lake Superior. Raspberry Island with its wildflowers and bogs makes one imagine that's how the earth would might have smelled on the first day of creation........clean healthy earthy!

Apr 3rd - 19:50pm | Ben

Lakeside camping sounds wonderful. I love being able to camp in the woods in the remotest of locations. Too bad it's so far away.

Apr 3rd - 19:11pm | fhasti

I have hiked this park for two weeks right after it opened for the season back in 1996. It was one of the best experience I've had yet in my 40 years. Somehow I lucked out and had perfect weather which I hear is unheard of for that time of year. I hiked the east side for one week and the west side the next.

Apr 3rd - 16:20pm | Bob Janiskee

Two of Nevada Barr’s mystery novels, “A Superior Death” and “Winter Study,” are set in Isle Royale National Park. A Superior Death (“who killed the diver?”) was the second of the 14 books in the park-based series featuring fictional ranger Anna Pigeon. Winter Study, which involves scientists studying Isle Royale’s wolves and the moose they prey on, was just released a few days ago.

Apr 3rd - 09:58am | Anonymous

I am from Michigan and I know people who have been there, but I have not. From what they tell me it is absolutely pristine, wild, rugged, FAR, but there are great opportunities to see lots of wildlife, like moose, and you will hear the wolves, but probably won't see them. There really isn't another place like it.

Apr 3rd - 09:04am | derossett r

I would love to go to this park, and one day hope to go. Living in TX means it is quite a distance even to reach the park. Has anyone been there, hiking? how was it?

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

Apr 5th - 19:56pm | Mark

Walking is beter for you, of course. It seems that you'd have to watch the trail constantly rather than lifting your head and eyes to view the sights around you on a bike trail. No? Except for those with bad knees, back, etc., why? What's the point of it?

Apr 4th - 10:30am | Anonymous

I still call it a fat man's toy. If you can't walk your dead!

Apr 4th - 07:37am | ole trailer

i been walkin trails since i could walk!!! it crazy that you would want to roll instead of useing your good ole legs leave your stuff inside and hit the trail running feet first!!

Former National Park Service Directors Urge Interior Secretary To Keep Guns Out of Parks

Apr 5th - 16:56pm | Joel

It's good to see that so many people haven't read the proposed legislation again. This "rule change" would only allow those people who YOUR STATE has already determined have passed the necessary courses in order to carry a weapon on their person.

Apr 4th - 14:44pm | Fred Miller

With permission, I quote "Anonymous" who said it much better than I can:

Apr 4th - 13:43pm | RangerJim

There is no absolute in any law. If we want to take the 2nd Amendment argument to legal extremes, we would be encouraging children to bring guns to school, and everyone else to carry weapons into government buildings, bars, etc. But this is outlandish, and the law clearly prohibits these actions, just as it prohibits loaded weapons in national parks.

Apr 4th - 12:30pm | Anonymous

Well said, Kurt. Let's hope the NRA isn't able to push guns into our treasured national parks. The NRA is trying to create a society where gun-owners' rights trump the rights of all other Americans. The gun lobby apparently doesn't care if this results in more gun violence - we are told that is not even a consideration.

Apr 4th - 11:11am | repanshek

Ranger Tyler, how is the constitutional issue being avoided? Doesn't the Constitution provide for the establishment of laws, and isn't the current regulation a law?

Apr 4th - 10:45am | RangerTyler

This site again avoids the Constitutional issue. As an anonymous commentor has already voiced, if you don't want people to carry loaded arms on federal land, work on amending the Constitution. Red herring arguments, like safety or necessity, ignore the 2nd Amendment.

Who Visits Alaska's National Parks?

Apr 5th - 07:49am | Josie

I'm trying to hit all of the national parks. I'm a big passport buff. Been at it for 10 years now and for Christmas upgraded to the new large passport. For information on Alaska National Parks see: http://www.ouramericanparks.com/Alaska-National-Parks.html

Apr 4th - 11:37am | Dean

I'm going to Denali to go backpacking this summer. It will be my third consecutive annual visit to Alaska, and I hope to keep that trend up. Last year I didn't visit a national park, but a state park. The year before was Wrangell/St Elias. I'd like to visit the more remote parks, and Gates of the Arctic is my goal for next year. But the costs are a challenge.

Apr 2nd - 22:31pm | Barky

I certainly hope to head back to AK this summer. I hope to visit the remoter parks (Krusenstern, Kobuk Valley, Noatak), even though getting there is a tad more difficult (and expensive). ========================= My travels through the National Park System: americaincontext.com

Battle Mounts Over Off-Road Vehicles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Apr 4th - 21:00pm | Anonymous

I couldn't agree more with Jimmy, my wife and I have been visiting Hatteras for the last couple years and it is now a mandatory vacationing spot. To close the beaches to all ORV traffic is just ridiculous not to mention the economic impact on all the local business. One more point before I go, these people that are saying that the ORV's are leaking oil on the beach..

Apr 2nd - 13:58pm | Anonymous

Those of you posting pictures of that fox have NO IDEA what you are talking about. The Superintendent Mike Murray set the record straight at the last negotiated rulemaking meeting as was reported in the local press. The SUPERINTENDENT gave the order to shoot the fox because it was acting erratically and in his professional judgment could have been rabid.

GAO Finds Fault With Management Plan For Yellowstone National Park Bison

Apr 4th - 18:55pm | Pronghorn

Marylander, making the park larger would likely never fly in these here parts--the guvmint is already an unwelcomed intruder. Parks are more restrictive than other public lands (no huntin' or trappin' or rippin' it up on ATVs & snowmobiles in national parks).

Apr 4th - 07:02am | Marylander

We know where the bison go when they leave the park boundaries, this isn't a mystery. It would have been better to use that 16 million to buy up land on their usual path to protect the bison! 16 million would have made a nice start in purchasing more land for the park, at least. For those of us in D.C. however, we just roll our eyes at the mess the government created...

Apr 3rd - 10:52am | jsmacdonald

The Park Service has continued to slaughter bison; the totals are by far the highest ever. A lot more are being held in the Stephens Creek. Montana hasn't really amped up its slaughter yet. By the math I've done, another 500 or more buffalo have died from the winter. This is not just any other year; this is the worst year ever.

Appellate Court Rules Against Yosemite National Park

Apr 4th - 17:27pm | Mark

There is a blind faith sentiment from many of the public and media to believe the National Park Service when they make eloquent and lofty environmental statements. When such statements come from Yosemite's Park Spokesman, Scott Gediman, the public wants to trust that they mean well that that there is no hidden agenda.

Apr 2nd - 15:11pm | Anonymous

I would like to see a mandatory park shuttle system like at Denali/Zion implemented in the Valley. This would be very easy to do do, especially since people already bus into the park via YARTS and Amtrak from Merced...make Merced the place for park visitors to park their cars.

Apr 2nd - 14:47pm | Frank n

I've been to Yosemite many times and the crowds in the valley are very bad, plus it is WAY overdeveloped already. National Parks are for THE PEOPLE, not just the rich, so raising fees to the point that the average person cannot afford it is not the answer.

Groups Sue Cape Hatteras National Seashore Over ORV Traffic

Apr 4th - 12:56pm | Mr Bovine Ordure

I've been coming down to the Outer Banks every year save one since 1965. Hatteras Island for the last 15 years. We always got a house very close to the southern edge of Avon. To date, I've never seen anyone doing donuts, or driving recklessly (On the beach.... highway 12 might be another matter).

Benefit Planned for Joshua Tree National Park

Apr 4th - 12:17pm | Kelly Fuller

Thank you, National Parks Traveler folks, for posting this.

Decommissioning National Parks: Some History, And Some Ominous Clouds

Apr 4th - 11:55am | Michael Kellett

This is a terrble, incredibly short-sighted idea. The "we can't even afford to take care of the parks we have" argument is totally bogus.

Acreage Donated to Expand Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

Apr 4th - 10:57am | Anonymous

the headline is misleading - donating is giving - he did not give he sold.

Apr 3rd - 10:31am | Anonymous

Why shouldn't the Hensley family be fairly compensated for their land? It's ludicrous to assume that they should just donate the land to the government. The problem is the title of the article not the content. The land was not donated by the Hensley family, it was bought by the preservation groups and donated by them.

Apr 2nd - 17:41pm | Texas gal

Perhaps if Anonymous had elderly parents in need of expensive medical care or other personal needs, understanding why the Hensley family needed to recoup the true value of their investment might be easier.

Apr 2nd - 15:08pm | Anonymous

I find it very ironic that Mr. Hensley, Jr said that “Our parents never let us forget that we stand on hallowed ground..." but still made the groups shell out big bucks for it to be protected. If he truly wanted it protected, he would have just given it to the park.

Death Valley May Be On Lookout For Steve Fosset

Apr 4th - 04:08am | Teren proiect i...

This unique national park is open all year, but winter is the best time to visit the points of interest in the valley. The long, hot summer - from May through October - is only for the hardy and venturesome. Many of the side roads from the valley are closed during this season, but you will find the higher and cooler Panamint Mountains quite comfortable.

Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West

Apr 3rd - 16:21pm | Bob Janiskee

Two items: 1) John Brian is quite right about the feral horses in eastern parks. I should have pointed out that they are habituated and intensely managed. Even though they may be free-roaming, and may technically be considered wild, they are certainly not wild in the true sense that the western mustangs are.

Apr 3rd - 11:45am | Donna Charpied

Deanne Stillman is an important author of our times. Her passion, knowledge, and research skills ceate some of the best reading a person could ask for. I cannot wait to read Mustang. The ill-treatment of wild horses and burros sheds light on what kind of mean-spirited society we have turned into.

Apr 3rd - 10:14am | Deanne Stillman

Actually, I mention the wild horses of the east coast in my book (and of course read "Misty of Chincoteague" in my childhood), some of which are descended from the horses that came with conquistadors, just like many mustangs of the West. Speaking of the east coast, did you know that Paul Revere's horse - a steed commandeered from a Massachusetts deacon - had Spanish bloodlines?

Apr 2nd - 13:32pm | Bob Janiskee

We tend to think of wild horses as an icon of the West, but we've got feral horses here in the eastern U.S. as well. In fact, at least three national parks in the eastern half of this country have free-roaming wild horse herds. At Cape Lookout National Seashore, regulating the size of the horse herd became such a managerial headache that drastic measures have been taken.

Apr 2nd - 12:18pm | Burke Mortimer

Having read Ms. Stillman's earlier works, 29 Palms and some of her other works, and having read the galleys of Mustang, Ms. Stillman's latest work. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who has an interest in the importance of the horse in the settling of the American West and the vitalness of saving the Mustang. Burke Mortimer Senior Librarian NYPL

Electric Map Going Away at Gettysburg National Military Park

Apr 3rd - 12:26pm | Save The Electr...

It is never to late. Go to www.SaveTheElectricMap.com and take action. Email a friend.

National Parks Conservation Association: Interior Buckled to NRA Over Park Gun Laws

Apr 3rd - 11:39am | Anonymous

I have been a regular visitor at Organ Pipe National Monument for 45 years. I hike a lot, and regularly see illegal activities, mostly groups of illegal immigrants. Although the area roads are heavily patrolled, it is extremely rare to see a park service enforcement officer in the backcountry.

Should Uranium Mining Be Allowed Outside Grand Canyon National Park?

Apr 3rd - 00:36am | Gregory

First I have to comment on Amy's post. Amy makes it sound like nuclear is somewhere in the middle of CO2 producing compared to renewables and fossile fuels. Which renewables, which fossile fuels? I agree that nuclear is not zero CO2, but it is at the very low end of the scale. Any Bio-fuel is a CO2 emmiter and largely so. Solar Power is a CO2 emmiter for the same reason AMY says about nuclear.

NPS Director Bomar Not Inclined to Overturn Yellowstone's Snowmobile Backing

Apr 2nd - 15:15pm | Frank N

I had an interesting experience this winter in Yellowstone. I took a walk from Mammoth Hot Springs to Swan Lake Flats along the road. The snow was packed down from all the snowmobile and snowcoach traffic, so I didn't even need skies or snowshoes. I was passed by skiers, snowmobiles, and coaches.

Flood Through Grand Canyon National Park Creates Sandbars

Apr 2nd - 13:39pm | Lone Hiker

Before we all start patting ourselves on the back, let's remember that this same strategy was applied previously, with the same initial results. Within just a few short months however, the newly created islands of sediment were rapidly eroded to the tune of some 85% of the initial buildup being washed downstream and into the Gulf of California.

Arches and Canyonlands In the Fall: Rock Architecture and Dwindling Crowds

Apr 2nd - 11:13am | Rock

Just unreal cosmic place

Paper Calls For Park Service To Protect Wildlife From ORVs on Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Apr 2nd - 09:22am | VCHawk

Snowbird,you still casting stones from the left coast?C'mon over,let's take a ride.We can show you the "fire and fury" that's encompassing the outer banks secondary to the human devastation that will be caused by the loss of revenue from the recreating public.These people do not deserve to be broken by off island special interest groups who wish to dictate how they live...or don't...for the sak

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