| Page 1158 | National Parks Traveler

The tribes were only a part of reason it wasn't built. Defenders of Wildlife and FDOT made a nice back room deal to transfer millions of dollars to the oversight of a non-governmental organization. They were arrogant enough to even put in in print. Once the local media and state reps found out the party was over.

Interior Secretary Sets Aside 17 Fee-Free Days Across the National Park System

Jan 9th - 14:58pm | Ron Saunders

Kurt, Yours and "For Hatteras Open Access" are both basically accurate information depending on what and when NPS policy measures are initiated which is a little up in the air right now as you know. The glaring fact that these posts bring out is that a place, liki Cape Hatteras, that has been loved for its simplicity is being so drastically changed.

Jan 9th - 09:51am | Kurt Repanshek

Fisherman, whether closures will be in effect, and where, during mid-April is difficult to say at this point.

Jan 9th - 08:51am | For Hatteras Op...

Sorry Fisherman. April is a wonderful time to visit Cape Hatteras National Seashore and RECREATION Area. (CHNSRA) and since it's inception it has had FREE access to the beaches. ORV use, contrary to all the hype, has been extremely respectful of the environment. But this year the NPS will be enacting their favorite "PLAN".

Jan 8th - 22:58pm | Fisherman

Getting folks out to our parklands should not be as expensive as it is. Many get tax breaks, but I pay no income taxes and yet I pay park fees. What is the difference? I am looking at April 2011 and the prospects of four FREE days as a draw to get me to North Carolina Hatteras Island and do some surf fishing.

Jan 8th - 00:10am | Megaera

I have to agree with sabattis and anonymousD. The parks need the revenue. And with that in mind, something needs to be done to get fees for the Great Smoky Mountains. It's been free 365 days a year for far too long, and it's a drag on the rest of the park system.

Yellowstone National Park’s ‘Psychedelic’ Wolves: Using Thermal Imagery To Study Disease

Jan 9th - 14:41pm | Judith Reese-Deyoe

Hello - I have been doing thermal imaging on wildlife for sometime and would love to help or work with a field team at any point in the future. I am also a medical thermographer and we actually use this technology on human to pick up internal injuries; inflammation; infections and diseases. It works faily well even with furred animals...elephants are awesome too.

Summering at Cape Lookout National Seashore: The Logistics

Jan 9th - 14:00pm | Kurt Repanshek

I try, Ron, I really do try....

Jan 9th - 13:48pm | Ron Saunders

This is why we like you so much Kurt. You're OK bud.

Jan 9th - 09:17am | Kurt Repanshek

Jan is absolutely right, said the editor with the sheepish grin on his face. The initial lighthouse photo accompanying this story was of the Highland Light at Cape Cod. We had posted a story on Cape Cod's 50th anniversary just the other day, and I used that photo to help illustrate that.

Jan 9th - 08:30am | NCresident

The Cape Lookout has one of the more interesting daysmarks. The lighthouse appears to change colors depending on the side you see. From the www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/upload/Lighthouse2006.pdf brochure:

Jan 9th - 08:05am | NCresident

Pretty lighthouse picture, but which lighthouse is it? It's not Cape Lookout nor even Ocracoke.

Jan 9th - 07:58am | Jan

The info on this page is excellent for first-time visitors to Cape Lookout, one of my favorite places in the world! However, they might be surprised to see a lighthouse that looks nothing like the photo at the top. Cape Lookout Light is painted with black and white diamond shapes... see picture at http://www.nps.gov/calo/index.htm.

Should Congress Direct the National Park Service to Rebuild the Upper Stehekin Valley Road in North Cascades National Park?

Jan 8th - 15:01pm | James

I believe Blitzer is on to something. Since the Sierra Club and others have realized the income that can be realized by verbalizing the word"environment," it's hard to decipher the difference in motivation between them and the reputation that open pit coal mine executives have.

Jan 8th - 12:20pm | Jim Stevens

I support the preservation of Pacific Northwest rivers, including the Stehekin River in North Cascades National Park. For decades, the National Park Service (NPS) has managed the Stehekin River in order to protect the public from the DEVELOPER MINDSET such as those of Doc Hastings who failed in his attempts to develop the Hanford Reach.

Piping Plover Production Up At Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jan 8th - 13:59pm | anonymous

Kurt, Your numbers would have been the same if the Point was open last year. No piping plovers or chicks ever came near Cape Point according to National Park data. Again, it's the outrageous buffers that has everyone divided. Most of my birding books call Cape Hatteras the southern most nesting area for piping plovers. I serious doubt ideal conditions will prevail two years in a row.

Jan 8th - 11:01am | Kurt Repanshek

Jeff, when you start citing Fox news I can only scratch my head. This issue isn't so cut-and-dried that it can be summarized entirely fairly or accurately in sound bites, and Fox doesn't exactly have a reputation for being unbiased.

Jan 8th - 09:45am | Dave

You are right about the animals, sadly it happens everyday at the Cape Hatteras National Recreational Seashore. However, within the next few months the killings will really pick. So will the non-science buffers and zero access to historic places like Cape Point. Don't ever think it's just a ORV issue....it means for CLOSED EVERYONE PERIOD!

Jan 8th - 08:44am | Jeff Johnston

Kurt, you're obviously an intelligent guy. It must be difficult to be in your position and have to spread this propaganda. These posts are dead on...no pun intended. Even the NPS has documented over 1400 animal "kills" to protect what, 8 pairs of birds, who are nesting out of their range anyway. And the human cost because of it is outrageous.

111th Congress Did Well When it Comes to National Park Wilderness, But It Could Have Done Better

Jan 8th - 09:51am | Dave Crowl

Kurt, I was just wondering if the newly added wilderness in the 4 places you site, were run by the NPS before, or will there be new costs in it's management. And if there are new costs, does the legislation come with a boost to the budget. As I have said before, I am all for our parks growing...I just see it a problem when they want to shrink the budget.

Jan 7th - 17:34pm | Anonymous

Actually Craters of the Moon has had designated wilderness since 1970 - it was one of the first wilderness areas administered by the NPS. http://www.nps.gov/archive/crmo/wildpurpose.htm

Jan 7th - 17:22pm | y_p_w

Kurt Repanshek: Has the senator's rider fundamentally changed things? It doesn't direct the Interior Department to extend the lease, but only gives it the authority to do so.

Jan 7th - 16:40pm | Kurt Repanshek

Has the senator's rider fundamentally changed things? It doesn't direct the Interior Department to extend the lease, but only gives it the authority to do so.

Jan 7th - 15:43pm | y_p_w

Kurt Repanshek: y_p_w, I cut-and-pasted the docs in their entirety, and linked back to them, to avoid charges that I selectively edited them.

Jan 7th - 13:30pm | Kurt Repanshek

y_p_w, I cut-and-pasted the docs in their entirety, and linked back to them, to avoid charges that I selectively edited them. As to whether there was a renewal clause out there, that seems pointless in light of the Solicitor's Office position that any violation of the conditional use provisions allows the Park Service to sever the contract before it runs its course.

Jan 7th - 13:06pm | y_p_w

I would note that the 1972 RUO with Johnson's did include a renewal clause which either wasn't mentioned in the docs you cite or that could have been edited by Kurt. Whether that would have been overridden by the 1976 Point Reyes Wilderness Act is subject to debate, although some Interior Dept opinions are that it is. In any case, Sen Feinstein's legislation changes everything.

Jan 7th - 09:38am | Kurt Repanshek

Sarah,

Jan 7th - 07:05am | Sarah Rolph

Kurt, the record shows that Congress expected the oyster farm would continue as a pre-existing non conforming use within wilderness. I am certainly not the only one who holds this opinion. This fact is found in the congressional record, and was provided to you by Jeffrey Creque.

American Indians in the Civil War? Petersburg National Battlefield is Part of the Story

Jan 7th - 17:11pm | Artfd

There is no one document that gives adequate coverage to Co. K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. I have created a QuickTopic page to put links I have found most useful, here: http://www.quicktopic.com/45/H/kWBSkXrMZycKa Anyone who subscribes to it will be notified by email of new postings.

Jan 7th - 10:15am | jlkitch

My Great, Great Grandfather (of Cherokee & Shawnee descent) fought in Lee's army for the duration of the Civil War. The story is that he was no great fan of the US probably due to the family's forced removal to Indian Territory in the 1830s. I don't know whether he was born in what is now Oklahoma or was born after they returned to Georgia.

Jan 7th - 08:10am | Karen

Good day. Thank you for the article. I am a genealogist and it has been shared with me that I have American Indians that served in the Civil War (on both sides). I am still searching for them and the article has been informative in my research strategy. Thank you for sharing!

Jan 7th - 08:05am | Karen

Good morning, This is a great article. I am a genealogist and have been told that my American Indian Ancestors served in the Civil War (on both sides). The information was most informative. Thank you!

What Are The Top Issues Confronting The National Park System?

Jan 7th - 14:25pm | Grizz

Anti-federal government rhetoric is higher than I can recall. It ramped up starting when Reagan declared that the federal government is the problem. Current rhetoric from the tea party types is that the federal government can't do ANYTHING right. Joe Miller, the tea party candidate from Alaska thought Denali should go to the state.

Jan 7th - 09:20am | Chief Ranger

From the inside looking out I'd say recruitment is a significant problem, we recruit for the wrong reasons and then scratch our heads and wonder why we have a retention problem. 2-3 year funding authorities would save the NPS billions.

Jan 6th - 19:55pm | Ron Saunders

Not sure I follow that, Grizz.

Jan 6th - 17:45pm | Grizz

Over the years park attendance has been increasing. A large part of that has been possible because the number of people in the middle class was also increasing, including an increase of minorities in the middle class. But the trend now is for a massive movement of wealth toward the rich, corporations moving more and more jobs overseas.

Jan 6th - 17:34pm | Ron Saunders

Strange isn't it, when you are not personally responsible for repaying, sure makes it easier to spend. Our Government has been notorious for unnecessary spending. They study things to death, review it when its dead, hire consultants to investigate why it died, have overlapping agencies, Assistants to assistants who then have assistants, You know where I'm going with this.

Jan 6th - 14:45pm | George Orwell

No comment but Tim Geitner just announced that $14 Trillion in DEBT isn't enough.

Jan 6th - 13:37pm | Bman

Bureaucratic and regulatory overload that has lead to inertia. Even the simplest things seem to be in the too hard to do category. Leaders, decision-makers and managers that are far too risk averse and afraid to make even the simplest decision without having consensus. Too much CYA.

Jan 6th - 12:23pm | George Orwell

Just hire the best and allow those that got the positions realize they got it because of their own achievement and not diversity quotas. There's much evidence that opportunity is available for everyone given that one realizes that it's not a right but determined by their own efforts. That's a cultivation method I could embrace.

Jan 6th - 11:37am | Kurt Repanshek

Another Ranger and George, the reference to diversity in the workforce was not to imply rules or standards should be weakened in hiring, but rather that the NPS somehow find a way to cultivate a more diverse pool of qualified candidates system-wide in all fields within the NPS.

Snow-capped Mountains Offer a Different Look at Death Valley National Park

Jan 7th - 12:51pm | George Orwell

There are photos of snow at Furnace Creek during the same period. I'll try and post one.

Snowcoach Traffic Up, Snowmobiles Down, As Yellowstone National Park's Winter Season Gets Under Way

Jan 7th - 06:18am | YNP4everyone

I'm glad people are getting out to see Yellowstone. While your comment about snowcoach versus snowmobile costs to see the park may be true per person, the Yellowstone Vacations website shows it to be cheaper for a couple to ride double on a snowmobile to see the park.

Traveler's Checklist: Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Jan 6th - 21:06pm | BChuck

Great info - I've got to get in better shape - at 51 yrs old, this cabin has fasinated me since the first time I saw it in 1975 (during a 375 mile bike ride on the BRP at age 17). I was planning on a June trek - is that a good time of year? Wanted to avoid too many bugs, and too many chances of falling in a stream. Thanks.

National Park Quiz 90: Cold

Jan 6th - 16:57pm | Lee Dalton

Well, even without a heart, he, she, or it does produce some fun stuff. I always thought I was pretty well informed on park issues and trivia and everything else, but some of your quizzes and other challenges keep proving me wrong. So that had something to do with my being so touchy. On the other hand, I keep learning new things. I guess maybe even I'm not too old.

Jan 6th - 12:23pm | Bob Janiskee

Gosh, Lee. Your story has touched my heart. Whoops; I forgot. The quizmeister does not have a heart.

Reader Participation Day: What is the Greatest Threat To Our National Parks?

Jan 6th - 15:30pm | lyndel meikle

Greetings Kurt I've been reading the comments about the greatest threat and although there have been many valid concerns brought up, each tends to exclude another. Since I'm in the NPS, I'd like to address this as a greatest challenge. Perhaps it is to hold on to who we are. That means making our Organic Act an organic part of ourselves. "Preserve, protect, provide."

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