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

Jan 4th - 12:09pm | Kurt Repanshek

Thanks for your note, Ranger. I think more than a few of us are learning about the nuances every day as we follow life in the parks. As for the Point Reyes oyster debate, we've had a few stories on it: /2009/05/national-research-council-report-blasts-park-service-report-oyster-farming-point-reyes-natio

Jan 4th - 11:46am | Ranger

Well, this is a nice, thought-provoking article to start off the new year. Thanks.

Jan 4th - 11:46am | Jeffrey Creque

Mr. Buono has it wrong with respect to Senator Diane Feinstein’s provision to allow a ten-year extension of a two acre on-shore facility associated with a State of California aquaculture lease in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Jan 4th - 10:31am | George Orwell

The historic dairy farms still operating at Point Reyes seem to be working but to purists (?). How do purist's make a living, anyway? I'm glad there are a few decisions that actually include us in the food chain. :) Boy, does it ever storm at Point Reyes. The pines I saw grow horizontally :).

Jan 4th - 09:14am | Sarah Rolph

The information here about Drake's Bay Oyster is inaccurate and misleading. This statement is not true: "The authorization for the oyster farm in the Drakes Bay Estero was due to expire in 2012. At that point the nonconforming use would have ceased, enabling the NPS to convert the potential wilderness into full wilderness by publication of a Federal Register notice."

Jan 4th - 08:35am | George

Wilderness is valuable to discourage development in the back country. In 1966 the superintendent at Zion showed me a map indicating a proposed development of visitor facilities in the wild lands east of Zion Canyon, to be accessed by a spur road off the Mount Carmel highway.

Jan 4th - 07:13am | George Orwell

Is there a correlation between the 111th doing well and the country being in the tank with disaster looming?

Political Lineup For House Natural Resources Committee Sure to Produce Fireworks Over Public Lands

Jan 4th - 11:26am | George Orwell

There is hope:):)

Jan 4th - 09:02am | Ryan

J.Q., I appreciate your willingness to have a real conversation about this!!!! OK, answers, well, if I had some really good ones, I would be a rich and famous individual.

Jan 3rd - 18:44pm | J. Q. Public

Good argument, Ryan. I agree for the most part but if you would solve the problem of lack of energy self sufficiency and what that means on the world stage, it would be helpful. I'll skip the extremes of these arguments as they are hurtful in the long run. There is a need for REAL problem solving.

Jan 3rd - 16:40pm | Ryan

I am plenty serious and designating something as wilderness does not "lock things up." This "locking up" argument is tired and ill informed. Does wilderness designation not allow resource extraction (i.e. a boom/bust economy for areas surrounding these protected lands), yes. Does wilderness designation not allow people to do whatever they please (i.e. motorized recreation), yes.

Jan 3rd - 15:47pm | J. Q. Public

So, Ryan, which action is reasonable. Which action is something that gives people jobs while protecting the environment and which just locks things up. At some point, people without jobs(at some point) don't give a rip about the environment.

Jan 3rd - 14:24pm | Ryan

funny...Hastings talking about back door deals...Salazar was simply overturning a Bush era back room deal.

Parking Just Got More Expensive at Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Jan 4th - 11:24am | LArry Smith

Why be upset about parking? Mt Rushmore is nothing more than a well-planned tourist trap devised by politicians. It has no historical value other than the artist's skills...(or perhaps the mt. goats that wander around). In fact the entire Black Hills area is a gigantic "DisneyUniverse" built to encourage tourism to the area...and it works!

Jan 3rd - 11:45am | Bob

I think that parking garage raises my blood pressure more than any other thing in the national park system. Given my guess as to the average length of stay, the hourly rate is comparable to expensive urban centers, for no good reason. There is a very low-capacity alternative (though I'm not telling where), so it's essentially a license for the concessioner to print money.

Lease For Airport Inside Grand Teton National Park Extended

Jan 4th - 10:50am | jersu

I traveled through the Jackson airport last summer. Because of its relationship with the park, I expected it to be a tiny place with tiny airplanes. I was wrong. There were some smaller jets, but I watched at least two 737s and a 767 come through within an hour mid-day.

Group Claims Big Cypress National Preserve Going Too Far With ORV Access, Panther Impacts

Jan 4th - 06:49am | Jon Merryman

BICY was a wasteland back in the 80s when I worked in the area. In the places where ORVs were allowed access, it literally looked like a construction zone -- like they were in the process of building a shopping mall. The only vegetation that hadn't totally been trampled to death were the trees. Anything shorter than an SUV had been mowed down and beat into a muddy pulp.

Jan 3rd - 15:05pm | plet39

If you're too lazy to walk, don't hunt!

Jan 3rd - 15:02pm | plet39

ORVs have no place in ANY national park. They are massively destructive vehicles that mostly appeal to people who have no concern for their impact on the environment. Setting rules about where they can and cannot be driven does no good -- I've yet to meet an ORV afficianado who followed anyone else's rules.

Dec 30th - 21:57pm | Anonymous

If you'd like to see no hunting and ORV use at Big Cypress, then change the legislation that created the place. Congress required hunting to be allowed at Big Cypress and provided for ORV access as a means to get deep into the area. Denying hunting and orv access would be illegal. If you want the place to be managed differently, then get Congress to change the enabling Act.

Finding Winter Bliss in a National Park Lodge

Jan 4th - 06:21am | Connie Hopkins

Hey Anonymous nice to "meet" you as well! I have a couple on Flicker myself, they're under: EDELWEISSTEXAS Connie

Jan 3rd - 21:05pm | y_p_w

For some, backcountry or car camping in the snow is bliss. I don't necessarily feel the same, but I thought I'd put it out there. I've seen people at Camp 4 in the dead of winter in Yosemite. If they get tired of that, they can head to Yosemite Lodge or the fireplace at the Ahwahnee.

Jan 3rd - 16:27pm | Anonymous

Yep, that's me! (homeschool traveler) I only have a few wildlife pics up but plan to put more up soon. Nice to "meet" you! And I agree - Yellowstone in winter really is magical!

Jan 3rd - 13:21pm | Connie Hopkins

I KNEW you would have a wonderful time! I don't know how anyone COULDN'T have a great time in such a magical place! Are you Homeschool Traveler on the Flicker site? I was wanting to see your pictures. Connie

Jan 2nd - 15:16pm | Anonymous

Just got home from our first winter trip to Yellowstone (I appreciate the info above and your help in our planning). Ok, Connie, now I see why it is your favorite place! It was amazing! We had plenty of snow (and got 15 inches more the first night there!) and although the temps were near zero and below, it was an incredible trip.

Big Cypress National Preserve Superintendent Defends "Addition" Lands ORV Use

Jan 4th - 01:51am | Matt Schwartz

“I like to tell people it’s not just different uses, it’s a different mandate from Congress, and it’s not up to us to change the mandate from Congress to manage this place differently than national parks," Superintendent Ramos said during a telephone call. Page 10 of the Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan for the Big Cypress National Preserve responds as follows:

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve

Jan 4th - 00:25am | BCsurfer

I haven't been in griz territory for quite some time, though surprisingly I was actually charged (false) by a black bear in Wyoming this past summer! My experience: The day after highschool graduation, at the tender age of 17, I jumped on a plane and flew from my coastal homeland of southern California to the Great White North - Whitehorse, Yuon, then on to norther British Columbia.

Jan 2nd - 07:06am | catfiah

For those ignorant, uninformed, careless outdoor types----stay home. You will be safe.

Keys Ranch Tours at Joshua Tree National Park are a Hit – Reservations Needed in 2011

Jan 3rd - 22:02pm | Sharlene

I recently took a private tour of Keys Ranch and loved it. I think it should be on everyone's must do list at Joshua Tree as long as they aren't traveling with kids under 7 or so.

We'd Like to Welcome the Glacier National Park Fund to Our List of Sponsors

Jan 3rd - 10:07am | Tony Bynum

Great Partnership!

National Park Stories We'd Like To See In 2011

Jan 3rd - 07:15am | Matt Stubbs

"Yellowstone National Park Solves Winter-Use Conundrum; Snowmobilers And Conservationists Happy" Ten years later millions of Batteries are found illegally dumped poisoning the entire eco system. "Months Of Behind-the-Scenes Meetings Lead to Satisfactory Resolution of Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Use

Jan 3rd - 06:35am | Danny Bernstein

Another headline I'd like to see in 2011 Congress finally pays the full $52 million to Swain County, closing out the North Shore Road issue in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park forever.

Jan 2nd - 19:14pm | David Whisnant

Will we ever be so fortunate? Will political discourse ever turn in such a way as to even permit an intelligent, progressive discussion of such long-delayed but urgently necessary moves?

Jan 2nd - 11:55am | Laurel Rematore

Wouldn't it be nice...

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agrees Wolverines Need ESA Protection, But They'll Have to Wait

Jan 2nd - 23:00pm | toothdoctor

WOLVERINES!!!!...Red Dawn...Sorry, but couldn't resist.

Lost to Hurricanes, the Flamingo Lodge at Everglades National Park Will be Hard to Replace

Jan 2nd - 21:53pm | Birdie_on_the_fence

My husband and I worked at Flamingo for a little less than a year after we married. Throughout the years I have off an on been struck with little bits of homesickness and memories. I am happy to run across this article; up til now I had not been able to find out any info about the possibility of lodging replacement.

Researchers To Embark on Three-Year Study of Bison Grazing Habits in Yellowstone National Park

Jan 2nd - 10:00am | Spence Benoit

The park service has apparently chosen not to listen to Dr. Frank in the past, the Northern Yellowstone elk herd has shrunk from about 19,000 head in 2000, to about 4,000 in this Winter of 2011. The Park service seems to agree with these numbers, with most of the decrease of elk to wolf predation.

Former Glacier, Waterton Lakes Superintendents Call For Better Protection of Both Parks

Jan 1st - 17:42pm | Rick

The comments of these former Park Superintendants were bitterly amusing to me as a transplanted Canadian who has not only hunted, fished, and backpacked in this area for the last 45 years, but also worked as a National Park employee.

Reader Participation Day: Has Arizona's Approach To Controlling Illegal Immigrants Led You To Cancel a Grand Canyon Trip?

Jan 1st - 14:26pm | Anonymous

I'd like to continue to visit Arizona as often as possible for the rest of my life. If they need to protect their borders, I hope they use their laws wisely and don't misuse them. I carry a driver's license or other I.D. wherever I am and don't consider it an imposition.

End of a Curious Era at Mount Rainier National Park

Jan 1st - 14:19pm | y_p_w

The old visitor center had an amenity that will be sorely missed. It had two pay showers that served campground visitors.

Dec 31st - 16:03pm | Uncle Brill

I visited Paradise and its new Visitor Center yesterday on a beautiful snowy day. The VC is small, has few indoor tables for picnics , and looks just like the interior of the REI store in Seattle. It's pretty, but I miss the huge flying saucer.

Ask A Ranger. Violence Is Nothing New To The Blue Ridge Parkway.

Jan 1st - 12:17pm | David Codrea

Revisiting this thread after a long absence--I just ran across it again while researching something else. Mr. Fifer, unless there is a legal "special relationship," no LEO ANYWHERE has an obligation to protect individuals, with attendant liability should they fail. Suggest you read "Dial 911 and Die" by Richard W. Stevens.

Looking Back On 2010 Across the National Park System

Jan 1st - 11:45am | Danny Bernstein

I am delighted that you chose the end of the North Shore Road saga in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as one of the top stories of the year. However it is not truly over until Swain County gets all of its $52 million. Right now, it only has about $13 million and each additional dollar needs to be part of a Congressional appropriation.

Much Thanks To All Our Writers and Contributors in 2010

Jan 1st - 10:17am | Bob Janiskee

Rick, I was the one who put the list of contributors together (well, at least the first draft), so I'm to blame for the oversight. Know that your contribution is greatly appreciated, and please accept my sincere apologies. Bob

Jan 1st - 10:10am | Kurt Repanshek

Our most sincere apologies, Rick! Between growing long in tooth and general ineptness we managed to overlook you. That's why we often go with great trepidation into these "thank yous." We certainly hope our oversight won't stop you from contributing in the coming year from your new coordinates!

Jan 1st - 09:46am | Rick B.

Hey, list, wait for me! I turned a wonderful trip to Pago Pago into a NPT article, with the courteous editing help from Kurt.

Dec 31st - 08:46am | Anonymous

Thanks to all of you!! The Traveler has become such an important part of my daily reading. I've learned so much this year and appreciate all of your efforts in providing such a great site for all of us. Thank you and keep up the GREAT work!

Is It Quixotic To Work Towards Restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park?

Jan 1st - 09:18am | Doug Harnsberger

For those interested in participating in "Muir's March 2011", the epic six day backpacking trek across Yosemite, culminating with the Restore Hetch Hetchy Rally at the O'Shaughnessy Dam, the scheduled week for the event has been revised to July 24 to July 30, 2011.

Piping Plover Production Up At Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Dec 31st - 13:29pm | Anonymous

I think what's really sad is how many Audubon members are not told the truth. Their newsletters and articles have been full of outright lies! It is not fair to the loyal members. Audubon has made good people down right mad and lost many fans in the process. I know several friends that have quit. I hope your happy Walker.....you need to resign now!

Christmas Gift Tryout Almost Ends in Tragedy for Amistad Kayaker

Dec 30th - 16:19pm | the Bat

If you can stand one more comment, I would like to say that one of the reasons I keep coming back to NPT is because I can actually join the conversation. Sure, I've been chastised on occasion, from people who know lots more than I and from people who just think they do. I find the forum just as valuable as the features.

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