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Rush To The Outdoors Has Challenged Recreation.Gov

Mar 12th - 21:21pm | Pat Harvey

I tried reserving one of 600 available tickets for the USS Arizona memorial and they were all gone in less than 2 seconds. 

Mar 6th - 09:15am | Marjorie C

Rec.gov should not add any more sites. There should be gems in the national park system that locals have a chance to experience without having to compete with the entire world. 

Feb 24th - 13:09pm | Jill

My experiences with recreation.gov have been nightmarish.  If the feds would just give individual parks more money, each park could hire staff to manage their own facility reservation systems. They're closer to the action and understand what's on the ground better than any website could, anyway. 

Op-Ed | Feral Horses Should Be Removed From Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Mar 12th - 20:56pm | Anonymous

If you want to play to nameblame game... Why do people use wild for fenced in FERAL horses? THERE ARE NO WILD HORSES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. THEY ARE PRODUCT OF being inbred / descendents of domesticate horses. We don't call feral cats / dogs wild... Why do people personify FERAL / wild animals?  

Mar 12th - 20:52pm | Anonymous

Well considering bison are:  1. Native to North America 2. Native to North Dakota 3. The national mammal 4. Not an invasive species like the horses are 5. Not livestock (look up CFR for definition of livestock) 6. Managed by the park just like the FERAL horses.....  your "argument" is flawed.

Mar 12th - 11:11am | Kendel cody Cornwell

How can you call these horses livestock? You do not feed them or care for them in anyway! Why is it that the name of the game in this country is too be as unkind and mean as you can when you know so many people love and enjoy these wild horses. I have no interest in looking at land devote of horses. Sending horses to kill pens is one of cruelest things you can do.

Mar 12th - 10:01am | Chelsea

There are currently 185 horses in TRNP. Inflating the numbers to try to make your case, when they are so closely monitored by volunteers, doesn't work. Get your facts straight, George. If the horses are considered "livestock," then so are the bison, especially since they have domestic cattle blood in them and are not generally pure. Guess we should get rid of them, too, huh?

Mar 8th - 10:26am | Randy McKee

The horses on Cumburland Island are sick and diseased. It is cruel and unusual punishment to keep them roaming free. The manure and flys are sickening. People can see houses every day. Horse are not unique animals or endangered. Cumburland Island would be more beautiful without these poor sickly animals. 

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

Mar 12th - 13:19pm | Paul C

  Someone on Quora said it well about someone who jumped (not sure it was at the NRG bridge):     "He was severely unhappy, and either thought it would never get better, or just couldn't handle the pain for the amount of time he thought it would take to not have the pain."       

UPDATE | Lawsuit Alleges Recreation.Gov Is Cluttered With "Junk Fees," Seeks Refunds

Mar 9th - 18:53pm | Anonymous

Glad to see this getting some press. I've been excluded from public lands for years, partly because I only use public internet and can't get to it before all the permits are taken, and also because I don't have a form of payment that B-A accepts.

Feb 25th - 09:23am | Al K

I get tired of seeing the dozens of sites with reservations that go unused on a regular basis. Campers simply make plans and avoid the cancellation fees by not showing up. Prime sites go unused until usually 7:00 or 8:00 at night when most campers have finished eating and are sitting by the fire.

Feb 22nd - 13:06pm | Will

This is becoming the new norm for public lands. Our local Federal Recreation hotspots (campgrounds and swimming holes) have been contracted out to a company in Utah, which means any money I pay for my Federal Pass doesn't give me access to some places anymore and the new fees I have to pay go stright to that company.

Feb 22nd - 12:49pm | John Malcolm

The permit that was cancelled due to the fire in Yosemite didn't get a refund because that's the policy of the Yosemite Conservancy, which is the park's partner non-profit which runs the permitting reservations locally.

Feb 21st - 21:08pm | Carey

Recreation.gov started off as a profiteering gimmick and remains so today. I bet dollars to donuts, the guy who could not use his permit due to a fire, not only has to wait nine months for Booze-Allen to hear the complaint, but will deny the refund along with the reason they don't have control over nature either, but still had to process the permit request.

Feb 21st - 20:54pm | Mike Painter

Last summer I made a reservation for a campsite at a Forest Servicec campground in Utah. Not only was I charged for the site, but there was a separate, additional "reservation fee" tacked on. I wonder to whom that went ...

Feb 21st - 17:27pm | Raygan

I was under the assumption that whatever time I did not use for my registration was benefitting the park or cambround I was using. After reading this article I am enraged that most of my registration dollars are being used to line the pockets of the Booz Hamilton CEOs or whatever.

Feb 21st - 15:48pm | Doug

Recreation.com IS both a scam AND a horible website. It's frustrating to use, full of surprise fees, misinformation and poor descriptions of what you are reserving. I have had so many bad experiences I now avoid using Federal campsites whenever possible.

Feb 20th - 15:39pm | jessica howell-...

Great news! And great coverage. Thank you!

UPDATE | Musings About The Parks: Annual Pass With Restrictions, Glacier's Reservations, And Horses

Mar 9th - 17:30pm | Barbara Adams

All of these pay-to-use fees online are handled by recreation.gov, which utilizes an undisclosed third party vendor that charges a fee.  This is the subject of a lawsuit at this time.

Mar 7th - 11:22am | Patrick Regelbrugge

I find this article to be rather lazy journalism. Our park's are important and thier policy decisions should be steered by blog or Instgram commments. The writer applies not critical thinking to any of the comments he cites, nor does he address the fact that the Naitonnal PArk Service indeed has different resource management standards for NATIONAL PARKs vs NATIONAL SEASHORES.

Third Nevada Man Sentenced For Vandalism At Devils Hole

Mar 8th - 17:51pm | AmanitaEnby

Why did they do this??? I can't find any reasons? does anyone know?

The Trouble With Horses On Cumberland Island

Mar 7th - 15:19pm | Dianne Leider

Good article on Cumberland horses. I hate to think of animals being harmed just because tourists like them and the horses are used for profit. please print follow up articles as time goes on

Wolf Biologist Killed In Plane Crash in Denali National Park, Pilot Survived

Mar 7th - 13:03pm | Gerald Takala MD

I knew Gordon when were both grad students at Northern Michigan University.Even then he was passionate about studying the wolves on Isle Royal and in Alaska.His death was a true loss to science and understanding the place of predators in our ecosystem.

Reader Participation Day: A Fee Too Far?

Mar 5th - 16:40pm | Steve Kibbey

No argument that the park needs the additional revenue but it seems that an earier way to collect would be to charge for access to Clingsmans Dome, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, Cades Cove Auto Loop and the Pioneer Farmstead. You could even require a time entry like they are doing at Cadliac Mountain in Arcadia. You would pay a one time fee, good for 7 days to these attractions with GMSNP..

Mar 3rd - 15:44pm | E.G.

From the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965: "In the Smoky Mountains National Park, unless fees are charged for entrance into said park on main highways and thoroughfares, fees shall not be charged for entrance on other routes into said park or any part thereof." It would be illegal. Admittedly, though, the same is true of the current end run semantics scheme. 

Mar 3rd - 14:11pm | Mark Westphal

I'm not understanding why people think the most visited national park in the country should be free, essentially leeching off of every other park in the country that charges entry fees.  I'm perfectly okay with paying a $35 entrance fee for a WEEK.  Now, I understand the main road should be free, and that's fine.  But I don't understand why the NPS didn't put up entry booths for every offshoot

Mar 2nd - 22:56pm | Paula

No more extra fees please! Now it's dated entry tickets on top of paying entrance fees. 

Mar 2nd - 20:44pm | Big Momma

I appreciate the comments above.  I will answer the question by providing how this effects my family, our country and future generations.

Mar 2nd - 16:54pm | R.B.

Well said. 

Mar 2nd - 16:53pm | Michael M

All of this is concerning and made more so by the complete absence of public meetings.

Mar 2nd - 16:28pm | Charles Ledford

To charge a fee to fund the decimation or nature's wonders?  Thanks E.G. for your insight!

Mar 2nd - 01:49am | E.G.

It's interesting that a year ago GSMNP administration claimed they were unable to do anything about excessive roadside parking without the funds that parking permits would generate.

Mar 1st - 21:24pm | Allen Siegel

As a senior citizen I already have limited income. The park pass is one of the few things that allows us to travel and enjoy life with out more headaches and fees. Why after working all my life should I have to spend more money to enjoy the great outdoors. 

Mar 1st - 19:27pm | Brooke

fees should never be a barrier to public lands access. Add the cashless requirements imposed by many parks and we should question what the definition of public means

Mar 1st - 19:16pm | Adrian

Also I feel this may be the thin end of the wedge. If one National Park can impose an entrance fee on top of what I have already paid for my Senior pass, what is to stop all the other parks doing the same? My pass may soon be worthless.

Mar 1st - 19:05pm | Adrian

Having bought a Senior pass which, at the time, was touted as being for entrance to all National parks, I feel being charged again falls into the 'bait and switch' category. I think it is fair to charge people who do not have a pass.

Mar 1st - 15:18pm | Benjamin Lord

Fees are important for the park.  The base budget for GRSM is 20-24 million dollars, with a permanent staff of 120 employees and a total of 260 employees at seasonal peak.  This cadre of people serves over 12 million people.  They are overwhelmed at times, so they need all the help they can get.

Mar 1st - 12:39pm | Jonathan Bowman

The Annual Pass should be all-encompassing. Raise it from $80 to $100 if you have to. But it should get me into every park for free. 

Mar 1st - 10:40am | David Crowl

I like the parking pass idea to collect fees for park users and no fee for those that are just using the hiway to get through the park for other reasons. It would make sense for people that buy parks pass for all parks to get it to include getting a parking pass for this park given the purpose.

Mar 1st - 10:17am | Loui

The NPS doing an end around the intent of the enabling legislation to impose a non-entrance fee "parking" fee is a further example of the unelected bureacratic state (AKA The Swamp) making our government less democratic and unaccountable.  Don't forget that Mount Rushmore pulled a similar stunt with it's parking garage.  This will not be the last park to do this.

Mar 1st - 09:59am | J Ryan

I don't agree with the parking fee. Having a senior pass, and paying for a campsite, this seems like an unnecessary cost. Not to mention the diversion of Ranger resources to parking enforcement. 

Mar 1st - 08:37am | JerryC

No. I don't think a pass holder should have to purchase a parking ticket.  There's too many fees being assessed for visits to our great outdoors by rec.gov and the parks, now.  Even a fee to get a "chance" to pay another fee for a campsite or permit in many parks now.  The way things are going, soon, there will be a fee just to access rec.gov.  

Mar 1st - 07:51am | coleman craig

You should not have to pay an additional fee

Mar 1st - 07:11am | Danny Bernstein

I have my parking tag for the Smokies on my windshield. Because of historic reasons that are too complicated to explain here - refer to the original article - Great Smoky Mountains National Park cannot charge an *entrance fee*. A parking tag is a innovative way to get much needed revenues to the most visited national park in the country.

Campfire Smoke Carries Health Risks, Aesthetic Impacts

Mar 3rd - 18:55pm | C Smith

Campfires should not be allowed, or at least they need to be limited to certain loops or 2 hours a night at most.  

Tom Iandimarino Selected As Chief Ranger Of Everglades National Park

Mar 1st - 07:41am | Anonymous

He's retiring for a county job after only a year on the job.

Frogs Are A Sure Sign of Spring, But That Doesn't Mean You Won't Hear Them Now

Feb 28th - 00:09am | Joyce Ann

The spring peepers in Clarksburg WV started this week, I am up now because they are singing there song. Ie in the woods I love it thank you for sharing this with us, I knew I had small frogs in my pond but this is the first Time I've heard them like this! 

RVing In The Parks | Ford Offers A DIY Camper Van

Feb 27th - 09:39am | joanne

Try looking at RV trade-inns and many repos for a good price and good basic bones.get a plan and a budget.  Do it in stages of budget won't allow $50-60,000.  Doable for a lot less. price out your must haves first and who supplies it.  Also look at the thousands of auctions.   Happy glamping. Jo

Surveys Of Western Voters Show Strong Desire For Conservation

Feb 20th - 18:23pm | ecbuck

Its all in how the questions are asked.  Any link to the actual survey?

Mammoth Cave Testing New Route to "Snowball Room"

Feb 19th - 07:07am | **Gene C Hershberger

I remember as a kid in the early 60's going on a long hike through the cave, with a half-way stop in the Snowball Room for lunch. Seems like it was 7 miles.

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