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Should a Cesar Chavez Site be Added to the National Park System?

May 10th - 10:30am | Hopefull...

Yes, let's make our Parks a testiment to the intelectual, not! Just skip the most grounded needs of our lives and live in those lofty places where we demean our predecessors (and ourselves) to assume the position of "creator." Could we add a good bit of humbling to the equation?

May 10th - 10:12am | Lone Hiker

i find that nature has done a more competent job at shaping the parks than man even could dream of, and when the influence of mankind does take hold, as in the damming of the Colorado River reshaping the topography and ecology of the Grand Canyon, then the entire system begins to rapidly deteriorate.  And due to those influences, along with the short-sightedness and generally low IQ of man when

May 10th - 10:03am | y_p_w

Lone Hiker: I find nothing or note in the terms Bryce Canyon or Grand Teton.    You do realize the origin of the name "Grand Teton", right? I'd hate for some of the names to be changed - especially Yosemite. The name was a reference to people.

May 10th - 06:21am | Leo Zia

Yes, and the perfect place?  The little village of WEED PATCH in Weed Patch CA.  There are the remains of a depression era GOVERNMENT CAMP for Oakies there and there is the NEW HOUSING for Migrant Workers during the growing season just a few miles down the road.  YES YES YES.  Thank you!!

May 10th - 05:21am | Lone Hiker

Practicality is not exactly my middle name.  People tend to enjoy wasting time debating issues without ever resolving them.  If our officials in Washingto DC should have taught us anything is that what they do best are protracted periods of nothing.  I tend toward the other end of the spectra.  Wipe the slate clean and do it over, correctly and completely.

May 9th - 22:44pm | y_p_w

Lone Hiker;

May 9th - 21:33pm | Lone Hiker

Indeed I did say, and have held fast to the position on these very airwaves for years that the national parks are not for the remembrance of mankind.  I stand against naming parks for a man, naming park features for a man, naming access roads, buildings, campsites, etc. for ANY man.

May 9th - 20:37pm | Anonymous

Yes! Please do add a Cesar Chavez historical site to the NPS. May his passion and comittment always be remembered and continue to inspire future generations. Our family would love to make a visit to such a place to honor his memory and lifelong work. School children would be offered an opportunity to visit and learn about Cesar and his monumental work of nonviolent social change. Yes! Yes!

May 9th - 19:59pm | Cornell

Lone Hiker, says,” For that matter any site designated to one person's achievements (good or bad) should be eliminated from NPS authority … this manner of "honor" has no place in the context of the national park service.”

May 9th - 18:53pm | Bill

Chavez is undoubtedly a world hero, and he deserves some sort of national recognition.  But to add yet another little-known and low-visitation unit complete with all the lifetime costs of a unit (another superintendent, another maintenance department,  etc.) is not the answer - especially in light of a huge maintenance backlog.  How much is it costing to fund this study?  I say we put up a stat

May 9th - 18:35pm | tomp2

Lone Hiker's suggestion would eliminate ~50 of the 475 named entities (not all qualify as "units") in the NPS, and that's not counting Theodore Roosevelt, De Soto, Wright Brothers, national trails, parkways, or other places with significant natural resources or honoring 2 or more individuals. 

May 9th - 17:55pm | ecbuck

@Lahat If those were the criteria for establishing a NPS unit, I would agree.  But they're not.   And I would say the same about Rosie the Riveter if that is indeed how it happened.

May 9th - 16:00pm | S. Lahat

Of course it should be added! Cesar deserves all of the recognition and honor we can bestow upon him - even posthumously.

May 9th - 15:40pm | Anonymous

Dr King, I guess is special, they want to Honor him in Washington DC.  Part of that area is National Park.

May 9th - 15:27pm | y_p_w

There are some NPS units where site selection was probably an idea looking for a home. Take for instance Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. I believe it started out as an idea, but with a question of what area would best represent the idea. I'm not sure how they settled on the former shipyards of Richmond, California.

May 9th - 14:55pm | ecbuck

The fact that you had to ask the question the way you did says  "no".  If there is a historical site worthy of  NPS status and it happens to be related to Cesar Chavez - then fine.  But to state the goal has establishing a NPS unit in Cesar Chavez's name and then going out to find a suitable site is clearly contrary to the intent of the NPS system.

May 9th - 12:59pm | Lone Hiker

In an effort to be succinct, NO.  For that matter any site designated to one person's achievements (good or bad) should  be eliminated from NPS authority.  That's what state parks are for.  Kinda.  But this manner of "honor" has no place in the context of the national park service.

Does Today's Technology Offer A Better Connection, Or A Disconnect, To Enjoying National Parks?

May 10th - 10:04am | y_p_w

Dave Crowl: Great discussion! I think the NPS needs to adopt a rule that they use some sot of Parkitecture that cell towers need to blend in to their surroundings. I have seen places in Colorado where the cell phone towers looked like Pine Trees. If they adopt a policy that reviewed placement and style of each tower, they could minimalize most unsightly views.

May 9th - 21:36pm | Reality Check

It could be that information is over rated!  REAL experiences are under rated ...and even to be avoided, it would seem.  Let's give both the attention they deserve and let humbling be a part of the experience:).  I'm with REAL INTERACTIVE on this.

May 9th - 19:26pm | Tom Vaughan

I'm with those who point out that this is not an either/or issue ... use technology appropriately, use personal services appropriately. I have to smile at the comment somewhere above about leaving technology out of the park but preserving visitor centers ... visitor centers are already a mediation of the park experience, with exhibits, books, videos, etc.

May 9th - 16:51pm | Loisb

I love all the new technology despite the fact that I don't have a cell phone for personal reasons ( I worked on developing the stuff and got quite sick of it).  However, I download podcasts, videos, audio tours and whatever I can find for the parks I am interested in.  I visit many parks via their webcams and love it.  Most of my bookmarks are for parks and associated information.

May 9th - 16:22pm | AnonymousD

About that Grand Canyon audio tour sign: it's along the South Rim in the area where most of the nonhiking tourists take their photos before tracking down lunch, not on the hiking trails below the rim.

May 9th - 15:29pm | Dave Crowl

Great discussion! I think the NPS needs to adopt a rule that they use some sot of Parkitecture that cell towers need to blend in to their surroundings. I have seen places in Colorado where the cell phone towers looked like Pine Trees. If they adopt a policy that reviewed placement and style of each tower, they could minimalize most unsightly views.

May 9th - 14:03pm | Meghan Hicks

This is a national park topic about which I get pretty excited. Thanks for covering it, Kurt!

May 9th - 13:33pm | Kurt Repanshek

Question, Ranger 01101011100: For some of that data to be viewed -- weather reports, trail and stream conditions -- wouldn't a cellphone signal be required? And if so, will the NPS soon be permitting more cell towers throughout parks to ensure signals are available in areas currently off the grid?

May 9th - 13:27pm | Ranger 01101011100

These devices augment the NPS experience for many visitors, especially those who are considered part of the digital native generation (those born after 1996 who do not know a world without the Internet). Just as you can choose to skip the park film and go for a hike, you can choose to turn off your cell phone.

May 9th - 13:23pm | Real Interactive

This sign popped up on the South Rim of Grand Canyon NP about the same time the most "interactive and meaningful " experience to visitors of the Park was diminished by 75%. Like so many things today, we're headed in the wrong direction and a correction is needed, I believe.

May 9th - 13:02pm | Danny Bernstein

Nothing beats a live NPS ranger giving a live talk outside in the National Park. They are the best most lively talks - professors (and I was one of them) could learn from them. Rangers should be teaching education courses.

May 9th - 12:55pm | Lone Hiker

Planning your trip is one thing, executing it safely and successfully is a completely differrent animal.  If people get even the slightest notion that their techno-prowess is going to save them once "on the trail" and removed from the relative safety of the immediate vicinity of the visitor's center you had better start expanding the number of SAR units across the system.  That's why I'm still

May 9th - 10:59am | Anon

As someone working with the NPS' websites and social media, I still would rather talk to a person at the visitor center then sit in the parking lot watching a podcast. I totally agree wih the earlier statements that the internet is a great resource for research ahead of time. When I reach the park or historic site, talking to a human and seeing a program is a much more personal connection.

May 9th - 10:49am | Bruce

Well said, Lee.

May 9th - 10:41am | AnonymousD

I don't accept the either/or construct but prefer a mix. Pre-trip research is an obvious use, but I'd love to see a few in-park applications. Up-to-the-minute weather updates are crucial for those of us going on lengthy hikes, for example, especially when we use secondary or tertiary trails. And when taking off on a desert hike at 7 a.m.

May 9th - 10:38am | Lonesome Traveler

Gotta say the internet is a tremendous help in planning a trip. Just got a reply to a question about Rocky Mtn Park's Trail Ridge Road conditions; took a virtual tour of the fiery furnace at Arches; checked out HI/LO forecasts at several CO/UT locations; etc. etc. etc.  Also can't say enough good things about the NPS website. Clean-looking, informative, and no popups. 

May 9th - 09:48am | Ryan

"While we don’t have a new federal highway system, we do have the Internet, which may bring us closer together than our father’s Chevy ever

May 9th - 08:45am | Owen Hoffman

I just spent a week away from computers, cell phones, and the internet.  For entertainment, I had views of the Eastern Deciduous Biome covering the Snowbird Mountains and other ranges of North Carolina.  In the mornings, I enjoyed attending guided wildflower walks into the Cherokee National Forest and Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  In the evenings, I enjoyed reading nature and adventure books i

May 9th - 08:17am | Lee Dalton

If gasoline prices keep climbing, it may soon be that the only way Americans can afford to see their parks is via Internet. Unless, of course, you are a CEO of one of our health insurance companies, or a bank, or an oil company, or . . . . .

May 9th - 08:01am | samsdad1

Embrace technology or be left behind. If we truly leave it like it should be then Old Faithfull would not have a deck built around it. "Leave only footprints" is only the beginning of the NPS motto.

May 9th - 08:00am | Jan

Not everybody has mobile devices, whatever they are called. Not everybody wants cell towers ruining all of those wonderful sights. Sure, it would be cheaper than having a body there, but  the days of "using dad's Chevy" was far superior than modern technology.

May 9th - 06:32am | Lawrence J. Caldwell

Unless the NPS opens a unit in Steve Jobs' garage, keep the technology out of visitor centers.  Keep the experience pure and unadulterated, as if every visitor were the first to ever lay eyes on the landscape before them.  Keep up the great work with the ranger-led experiences.  They are the best.

May 9th - 05:35am | MRC

I'm a fan of the nps.gov website. Not just the obvious "plan your visit" parts but also the photo and multimedia galleries, the digitized background publications, the nature and science section and more. Some parks have "virtual tours" online, that could certainly be expanded into location based information to be accessed with a smartphone or similar device on the spot.

Pruning the Parks: Mackinac National Park (1875-1895)

May 10th - 09:45am | Bob Janiskee

Nice catch, Steven. That info should have been part of the article.  Here is the complete citation for the Mackinac National Park portions of this rather short (48 pages) report. Keith R. Widder, Mackinac National Park, 1875-1895, Reports in Mackinac History and Archaeology no. 4 (Mackinac Island State Park Commission, 1975), 6, 41-46.

May 10th - 09:05am | Steven Mullen

The full story is in Mackinac National Park 1875-1895 (Reports in Mackinac HIstory and Archaeology Number 4) by Keith R. Widder.

May 10th - 06:47am | Bob Janiskee

Samsad1, I heartily agree that Mackinac Island is a delightful place. The Grand Hotel experience can be a tad expensive, though. I haven't checked the hotel's rate schedule lately, but back in 1989 we paid nearly $400 for a one-night stay in a not-so-special room.

May 10th - 06:16am | samsdad1

One of the most beutiful places I have ever been. I have stayed at the Grand Hotel in Summer and in a bed n breakfast in the winter. for all those who think I live and breathe ORV then let me tell you this place is in my top five of places to visit and it allows no motorized equipment at all on the island...

National Park Road Trip 2011: Fort Davis National Historic Site

May 10th - 08:26am | Merle

This was very interesting to me, I heard about that fire on the news, but they didn't say much about the amount of buildings that burnt.  Aslo I am sure I talked to you folks in the visiter center in Deming NM.  Good luck on your travels.Merle  

National Park Foundation Launches Disaster Recovery Fund Drive For Gulf of Mexico Parks

May 10th - 00:28am | Ranthambore Nat...

We also have support the National Park Service’s and we also have to  create lasting capacity to help national parks recover from future natural and man-made disasters.

Wouldn't It Be Nice If the National Park Service Resumed the Distribution of Park Window Stickers?

May 9th - 21:45pm | Lone Hiker

I trust the lame excuse about people misinterpreting the sticker for a paid admission wasn't the real reason the stickers were discontinued.  But it does seem strange that a harmless, wonderful "novelty" such as this would go the way of the dinosaur when so many people actually supported the idea and still seek them out.

May 9th - 19:13pm | Pscansetzer

Great Idea,  even though it is a small act of nostalgia - going back is - comforting.

"State of Birds" Report Points To Value of National Parks, Other Public Lands For Birds

May 9th - 16:05pm | Ron Saunders

Very interesting report. Sounds like we are on the right track. Particularly concerning Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. Get the people off the beaches, have NPS trap and kill hundreds of animals (even some other birds and turtles have been incidentally killed) and they will come. The Plovers, That Is. Just thought a little elaboration was appropriate here.

Traveler's View: Rethink National Park Pass Fees

May 9th - 00:59am | y_p_w

Yeah - I understand the idea that perhaps those who are younger might not necessarily have as much means to pay. However - it really does depend on individual circumstances.

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