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History Abounds in the Waters Surrounding Isle Royale National Park

Oct 25th - 18:55pm | Anonymous

PRESS RELEASE 35th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Service RIVER ROUGE, MICHIGAN — A memorial service is planned for Wednesday November 10, 2010 to remember the 29 men who died when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. The ceremony is set for 6 to 8 p.m. near the Mariners Memorial Lighthouse at Belanger Park, off Belanger Park Drive and Marion.

Campsite No. 7 in Zion National Park Gives Up Its Garbage

Oct 25th - 16:46pm | Anonymous

No cigarette butts? No plastic bags? Were they outlawed at this park?

Oct 23rd - 09:05am | Anonymous

Boy Scouts

Oct 22nd - 03:19am | Dave

Aside from the items in the previous lists, 34. Plastic bottle tamper ring 35. Another thing that you pull off the open a plastic bottle 36. A piece of tarp 37. Brass grommets 38. A rubber grommet 39. Bare mechanics wire 40. A banana sticker 41. a piece of wood 42. String 43. The top that you tear off of a plastic food bag

Oct 22nd - 01:24am | Dave O

Gee, just yesterday I lost a knife somewhere in Zion or Springdale. Let me know if you find it!

Oct 21st - 21:25pm | Anonymous

What is that little button looking disk with the smiley face on it?

How Might Fatal Attack By Mountain Goat Change Backcountry Dynamics in National Parks?

Oct 25th - 15:13pm | b

The ironic/sad thing is that the mountain goats in the Olympics aren't even "native," per se. THey were introduced there so hunters could have a new prey base to entertain themselves with. They are bad for the soil and plant communities in fragile meadows, and obviously encounters in such a popular park can be dangerous. Very sad for all. Be mindful out there!

Oct 24th - 11:23am | Rick B.

My only encounter up close with mountain goats was about 10,000' or so up a Forest Service road in Colorado. Mama goat and her kid appeared over the hilltop and slowly walked towards us and past. We were still and cautious and she was cautious. I really like the few photos I got that day.

Oct 24th - 09:38am | Kurt Repanshek

Jeff, you're right about the need for us to remember these animals are wild...and unpredictable. At Yellowstone people mill dangerously close to bison and elk, overlooking the fact that these animals are big, their antlers deadly, and they can move much quicker than humans.

Oct 24th - 09:23am | Smoky Mtn Hiker

Kurt - great post. I had an experience with a mountain goat on Quandary Peak in the White River National Forest just a couple of weeks ago. After reading the details of what transpired in the Robert Boardman incident, I couldn't help but translate some of the actions of one of the goats as a degree of aggression towards my wife and I. I wrote about this just yesterday:

Oct 24th - 09:22am | MRC

Stuff happens. From the published information I don't see this as a systematic behavior of mountain goats, not even one of specific individuals. So far this is one accident in millions of encounters between people and mountain goats.

Mennonite Women Backpacking and Bears Falling in Shenandoah National Park

Oct 25th - 12:08pm | Kurt Repanshek

Nice! There definitely are times when I wish I were that close. Of course, I could say that about a good number of national parks;-) Enjoy the colors!

Oct 25th - 12:02pm | matt Stubbs

Hey Kurt I will be there this weekend with the family. We look forward every year to this time and this will make our third trip this year alone. Of course living thirty five minutes away always helps.

Oct 25th - 09:36am | Wendy A.

Kurt - Great article! I love to go hiking and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. It is so peaceful and relaxing. I too am from Pa Dutch Country as the women you met on the hike were. Did they tell you they were Amish or did you just think that because of their attire? The two women that are in the above picture are actually Mennonite. I can tell by the way they are dressed.

Denali National Park Officials Looking At Allocation of Climbing Permits For Mount McKinley

Oct 25th - 10:32am | Alicia

The cost is relative to the the cost of a rescue operation. How many rescues are performed each year? How many hikers are in excellent shape to attempt a climb? Are climbers over-estimating their abilities?

Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service Show Citizens Can Make a Big Difference for Parks

Oct 24th - 23:50pm | Holly Marsh

It was a complete honor to receive the 2009 Hartzog Award for Youth Volunteer. Through the Volunteer-In-Parks program I have lived my dream of working alongside real park rangers to serve the public and conserve our nation's most encompassing and important river, the Mississippi.

The Tramp and the Rough Rider meet in Yosemite National Park

Oct 24th - 21:09pm | Beth Pratt

Thanks for writing this! Lee Stetson is always wonderful. I remember seeing him 20 years ago when I first visited Yosemite and his retelling of John Muir and the battle for Hetch Hetchy brought tears to my eyes. I was fortunate enough to view this play as well and it's amazing.

Bridge Day 2010 is in the Books at New River Gorge National River

Oct 24th - 19:58pm | linda

Bridge Day was great. We go every year for the last 5 years and can't wait till next year. Fall colors are beautiful this year. Love West Virginia!

Oct 24th - 08:32am | Anonymous

We attended this event this year and it was fantastic! It was incredible to watch the jumpers. Our only complaint was the "crowd control" issues at the line to get in before the bridge opened. We were about the 50th person in line (got there very early) and by the time the bridge opened we were about the 600th person in line.

Oct 24th - 08:18am | Bridge Day

It was a great day to be on the Bridge!

Studies Show Bear Spray More Effective Than Guns Against Grizzlies

Oct 24th - 12:46pm | Anonymous

Carry both spray and a gun, plus a knife. Use spray first, and if the bear isn't stopped, then shoot. You should always carry all three in your sleeping bag or on your person while in bear country. To not do so is to risk your own life and limb and those of others.

Oct 24th - 12:42pm | Anonymous

Was that gun stolen? I don't think anyone in their right mind would have left such an important thing behind, unless they were somehow maybe running to save a child?, a fire was approaching?, or something that would make a person completely lose their faculties (like a person who maybe got the drop on her who was armed with a gun themselves).

Oct 24th - 12:25pm | Anonymous

Lady, you're a female. And that's fine. I love women. I plan to marry one and I love her. But most women are taught to be afraid of firearms and to stay away from them, much less know how to use them. A skilled marksman as well as a park ranger at that with the right training would know when to shoot a dangerous bear and shoot him dead, quickly and efficiently.

Fatal Fall from Angels Landing in Zion National Park

Oct 23rd - 22:02pm | John from Bever...

The comments about the hike up Angels Landing were very helpful to me. I visited Zion and was intrigued by the hike. I am afraid of heights, thus, even making it through Walters Wiggles would be a huge success for me. Trying to hike beyond Scouts would be unwise, and more accurately, impossible for me, but that's OK.

Survey of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitors Points to Need For More Rangers, More Funding, Better Access

Oct 23rd - 21:36pm | Anonymous

Mentioned above, "When we reached the top of Mt. Baldy, a large dune with little vegetation, the Nuclear Reactor next door was unsettling." It is NOT a Nuclear Reactor, it is a cooling tower for the electrical plant. That is a fact. All that is coming out is steam. The next issue mentioned is the lack of little vegetation.

DNA Tests Indicate Yellowstone National Park Elk, Not Bison, Most Likely To Spread Brucellosis

Oct 23rd - 12:20pm | Stephany

Excellent dialogue, story. Thank you. One aspect of this issue that should consistently be discussed are the elk feeding grounds within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, in Wyoming and Idaho. These artificial feeding stations are a huge culprit in the spread of disease. Shut down, phase out the feed grounds, and brucellosis becomes even more of a non-issue. What a no-brainer!

Piping Plover Production Up At Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Oct 23rd - 10:52am | Anonymous

I find it comical that the Audubon Society wants to protect birds when they're named after a man who was well known for his killing of birds so that he could draw them. Not exactly a conservationist...

Portions of Skyline Drive In Shenandoah National Park To Be Closed At Night During Hunting Season

Oct 23rd - 10:12am | Anonymous

What is the poaching activity during none hunting season? The article and the closer is due to hunter illegally hunting.

Century-Old Building at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Yields Some Surprises

Oct 23rd - 03:00am | Jill

The walls would say "If we keep this gun hidden, no one will find the murder weapon......"

How Much Garbage Can You Identify From Zion National Park?

Oct 22nd - 12:46pm | Anonymous

I believe the silver bottle caps with yellow logo are smirnoff ice bottle caps

Oct 21st - 11:34am | Sheila

If you're picking up trash you might as well pick all of it up!

Kids Find the Darnedest Things: 7-Year-old Spots Saber-toothed Cat Skull At Badlands National Park

Oct 22nd - 11:57am | justinh

Anonymous, I like your thought experiment about preserving the "American Sabertooth." But it certainly wouldn't have been a waste of money to do this, any more than it is to use taxpayer dollars to keep the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument from eroding.

Oct 22nd - 11:24am | justinh

What a great story! When I backpacked the Sage Creek Wilderness Loop in June, I didn't see any fossils, but it's great to know they're preserved out there.

Oct 22nd - 09:58am | Anonymous

Too bad the endangered species act wasn't around 32 million years ago. We could have wasted billions of dollars of tax-payer money and blamed humans for every animal that went extinct.

Oct 22nd - 05:44am | Connie Hopkins

Go Kylie this is wonderful! Hats off to her parents who have exposed her to not only the National Parks but the field of science too!

Opening Events for The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Held in Two States

Oct 22nd - 11:53am | Anonymous

You can also read Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson, published in 1882. She wrote this scathing documentary about the attrocities on Native Americans at the hand of the US Government in the 1860s -1870s, and sent a copy of it to each member of Congress.

Climber Rescued From Perilous Perch In Grand Teton National Park

Oct 22nd - 09:26am | Connie Hopkins

I tend to agree. Fortunately this story had a happy ending. When these stories have a sad ending and people comment on the foolhardiness of hiking solo, how the outcome might be different had better judgment been exercised, we get slammed for being insensitive!

Oct 22nd - 07:48am | Anonymously-Yours

... making a climb like that alone. What were the odds that this would happen?

Contract Issued For "Missing Link" on Foothills Parkway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Oct 22nd - 01:43am | MRC

Is that really inside the park? According to my maps it looks like the route will be north of the park borders.

Oct 21st - 15:57pm | Ash McDaniel

Leave it alone. We don't need another highway through the mountains. Let Mother Nature gradually reclaim the road and in the meantime, let the hiking and biking continue.

Reader Participation Day: Does Hunting Season Move You Out of National Forests and Into National Parks?

Oct 22nd - 01:32am | Dave O

Bob, I spent this past Saturday night in the Super 8 in Mitchell, SD. I didn't think there were that many pheasants to attract that many hunters! Pheasant hunting apparently is a religion there.

Climate Change Continues To Melt Glacier National Park's Icons

Oct 22nd - 00:59am | Nick

I'm not that smart but it seems reasonable to believe that climate change is natural and we are currently on a warming phase.

The Role of Partnerships in the National Park System

Oct 21st - 19:48pm | Judy Bischoff

Another, perhaps less well know to the public, nationwide program is the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units or CESU. The CESU is a consortium of and collaboration between and among Federal (13 agencies/bureaus) and non-Federal partners (around 300) that is facilitated by cooperative agreements between the two entities.

Kings Canyon National Park Officials Seeking Input on Park Concessions

Oct 21st - 19:43pm | Volunteer Fidel...

raze or not to raze I think that you guys already have the figured out my main concern would be that the new building be built in a maner that complements the National Park that it's in and be a center where all visitors feel at home and want to return and stay for a while , as for the cabins more will cause a great deal of stress on the ecology of the area and should be your first concern but

More Calls For "National Park" Designations Across The National Park System

Oct 21st - 18:59pm | anonymous

Putting it to the highly self-involved and selfish dog owners in San Francisco who continue to plague Chrissy Field and the rest of the Recreation area with their off-leash dog antics, and who wield incredibly inappropriate power in proportion to their constituency, is reason enough for a redesignation.

Oct 21st - 11:41am | grace w.

The folks behind the "name change" from the GGNRA to the Golden Gate National Parks is directly coming from the GGNRA's non-profit arm, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and Congresswoman Pelosi.

Appellate Court Says National Park Service Violated First Amendent By Requiring Permits for Free Speech

Oct 21st - 18:31pm | anonymous

My understanding is that the permits are used so the park knows when this is going to be occurring so they can place extra rangers in the area in case something goes wrong. I've never known a 1st admendment permit to be denied. A lot of towns require permits as well for the same reason.

Oct 21st - 15:38pm | Random Walker

Restrictions eased for groups gathering at national parks By Ed O'Keefe Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, October 15, 2010 Small groups wishing to gather at national parks, including the Mall in Washington, no longer need to obtain a permit from the National Park Service, it was announced Thursday.

Great Gray Owls in Yosemite National Park Deemed to be Distinct Subspecies

Oct 21st - 12:18pm | GGO

What is sad is the fact that the Evergreen Lodge located just outside Yosemite's border is hosting live music events every few weeks. These outdoor music events are loud and can be heard up to 5 air miles away and further and last well past midnight, sometimes until 5-6AM. This type of noise pollution can only hurt the Great Gray Owl's population in and near Yosemite's northern border.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Needs Packers To Help With Elk Culling

Oct 21st - 12:18pm | Eric

Here in Nebraska when the Game and Parks Commission needs whitetails culled they issue permits, and charge a nominal fee for these special permits. They don't spend money on contractors and employees, they let people do the hunting.

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