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Keeping Track of What The National Park Service Is Up To In Your State

Mar 16th - 10:35am | Jeff

Kurt and Jennifer, First, thank you for replying, its nice to know that people are listening. Kurt, while I agree that that list view is available it provides no value when it comes to planning a road trip.  And I must quibble with your term "beta".  Anything that is the de facto page on NPS.gov is "in production". 

Mar 16th - 09:22am | Jennifer Mummart

Good morning,

Mar 16th - 08:22am | Kurt Repanshek

Lee, The folks in Washington -- and more than a few of the field staff -- read the Traveler regularly, so I'm sure they've already seen the response. But I'll drop them a note just the same.

Mar 16th - 08:06am | Lee Dalton

MM, it doesn't work when you enter by the traditional method.  If I zoom in on Utah, Golden Spike shows up as a blob with no label until you click on it.  Timpanogos Cave's blob is so small even at high zoom that it's still nearly invisible. Kurt, do you have some avenue by which you can get word back to WASO about this?  Can we Travelers have some influence through  you?

Mar 16th - 07:08am | Bob

Glad to hear I'm not alone. How are you finding the old maps?  No matter how I go there (type address, find parks by state, use the national map), all I get is the new map.  Argh.

Mar 16th - 06:56am | Island Paddler

They have to be kidding. Who cares about certified towns or whatever they called them. The other site was useful. This is not. This is a classic case of let's fix what isn't broken. By the way, in case you've never used it. www.publiclands.org is very useful for trip planning in the western states.

Mar 15th - 20:54pm | B. Grant

I liked the old site better. It was much easier to get to a specific park site and the map was clearer to read.

Mar 15th - 20:52pm | erik

Add me to the list of those who don't like the new maps!

Mar 15th - 18:04pm | Anonymous

sorry for the typos in the previous post - I saw them right as I hit enter...

Mar 15th - 18:04pm | Anonymous

I don't like the new design at all. In planning a trip, one of the first things I would do is click on a state and see what National Park units were in that state and then plan accordingly.

Mar 15th - 17:49pm | MM

Hello:

Mar 15th - 16:26pm | richp39

I'm in line with everyone else. This is way too difficult. I just want to go to a state and find the parks, all the parks and nothing but the parks. This app might be nice once you're there and want to find a particular site. But for trip planning it's horrendous. Put Google on your smart phone and get nps.gov back to the way it was.

Mar 15th - 14:12pm | Rick

Ditto to Jeff's comments (March 15, 11:08 am).  The new maps are a mess!  They have buried the national park units (especially the small ones) so that you can't even find them!  Go back to the way it was! 

Mar 15th - 13:49pm | Lee Dalton

I just tried entering the NPS website the traditional way.  It came up with all the boxes I had unchecked still unchecked.  All that was left was national parks.  No national monuments. But were those boxes unchecked because I'd already done that through Traveler's website? This will take some more exploring . . . .

Mar 15th - 13:34pm | Lee Dalton

Eyouch! I don't think I like it at all.  As others have said, "Too Much Information."  This will almost certainly take away much of the usefulness of the website for normal people who just want to learn what they need to know while planning a vacation or short trip.

Mar 15th - 12:08pm | Jeff

The new "map design" of the states to me is an example of trying to fix something that wasn't broken.  Where Web 2.0 developers get involved and take something easy to read and make it more complicated.  (Just for a point of reference, I am a web product developer.)

Mar 15th - 11:23am | Lawrence J. Caldwell

When I click on New Jersey and narrow the selection down to National Parks in list view I see my beloved Pinelands National Preserve.  But in map view it is not there.  So what if the Preserve covers just about the whole southern half of the state from Burlington/Ocean counties on down?  I want to see a big honkin' orange button there.

Mar 15th - 07:59am | Kurt Repanshek

Bob, true, in some states the NPS overloads one with information. But there is an option to clicking on every single dot to see what's beneath it (if you don't know in general where the site in question is located): In the upper righthand corner of the map there's a button you can click to get a listing of all the units in question in that state.

Mar 15th - 07:10am | Bob

Too much information!! Some of those overlays are clearly included to impress members of Congress, especially all the grant layers.  It's nice to have the data online, but it shouldn't dominated the page.  And do we really need to know about certified local governments?

Is The Florida Panther Up Next For Extinction?

Mar 16th - 10:19am | RangerLady

As much as I would love to have every animal and plant species saved from extinction, I don't think there is much hope for the Florida panther. Despite all the efforts, there is still too much development and the panther is running out of room. Without room to expand, the numbers can't increase.

Mar 16th - 09:40am | Rick Smith

One of the biggest thrills of my career in the Park Service was seeing a Florida panther on the powerline right-of-way near Flamingo.  At the time we were debating whether all panthers should be collared--an option favored by some park scientists--or whether some should remain uncollared, unhandled and wild.  I left the park for another assignment before the debate was settled, but this one had

Mar 16th - 08:37am | MRC

The news about the "eastern cougar" and the biological data is a big mess. I read the FWS press release as a confirmation that the eastern cougar did never exist at all, not now, not before. The headline thus seems to be missleading. The five year review of scientific data and reports of sightings concluded that there is no eastern subspiecies of the cougar.

National Park Mystery Photo 33: It Definitely Says "Parkitecture," But Where Is It?

Mar 16th - 07:19am | Fred

I hate bring a nit-picker, but the folks who said "Old Faithful Lodge" were wrong.  The Lodge and Inn are two different places.  The Lodge is at the opposite end of the Old Faithful area from the Inn.

By the Numbers: Kenai Fjords National Park

Mar 15th - 20:26pm | Kimberly Narveson

I love this part of Alaska!  Exit Glacier is beautiful and Kenai Fjord's is breathtaking!  Can't wait to get back there.

Grand Canyon "State" Park? A Look Back At The 1995 Government Shutdown And The Battle Over the Grand Canyon

Mar 15th - 18:27pm | Ron Saunders

Just an observation. Pertaining to this as well as other similar articles herein. May not be the best place for this, but here goes.  Government of the people, for the people and BY THE PEOPLE.

Mar 15th - 17:59pm | Bubba

Perhaps if the government shuts down again, all of the law enforcement rangers at Grand Canyon will have to transition back to what an LE ranger is suppose to do, and that is protect the park and it's resources, instead of being traffic cops that issue equipment failure tickets to the local community. 

Mar 14th - 19:38pm | Eric

Mr. Arnberger, Please consider making the Canyon Closure Incident document available to NPT for upload so we can all read it.  It sounds fascinating. Kurt, Thanks for the very interesting article.   

Mar 14th - 15:56pm | Making the Hard...

Re: plet39It is frightening to some when someone else is actually dealing with reality i.e. border war zone, budget and reality in general.  How many states are following in Arizona's footsteps (many) making the tough decisions attempting to correct disturbing policy that IS SUPREMELY disturbing.  These "teachable moments" are serious and can only get worse if the direction doesn't change.

Mar 14th - 15:32pm | Kurt Repanshek

Anonymous, Not sure if the park has one you could look at it or not. Mr. Arnberger graciously allowed the Traveler to read his copy.

Mar 14th - 15:17pm | Anonymous

The irony is that when California was threatening to close its state parks, the National Park Service sent Gov. Schwarzenegger a letter stating that if that happened it would reclaim the land for six state parks which had originally been federal land, including Angel Island in SF Bay.

Mar 14th - 14:12pm | Anonymous

Any idea where I could locate or read a copy of Canyon Closure Incident? Is it available as text or a PDF online?

Mar 14th - 13:14pm | plet39

Considering how it runs everything else lately, I find the idea of the State of Arizona taking over control of a national park extremely frightening. The comments allegedly made by Arizona park personnel are disgusting, but unfortunately not surprising.

Mar 14th - 11:37am | Rick Smith

I am glad that cool, experienced people like Arnberger and Cummins were there.  This could have been a disaster. Rick

PEER Claims National Park Service Director's Order On Wilderness Management Is Off-Base

Mar 15th - 15:04pm | Kurt Repanshek

Sorry about that, Rick. Slight oversight. Just assumed folks read EVERY story on the Traveler and so saw the DO 41 attached to the article about fixed climbing anchors in wilderness areas;-) Seriously, though, we did intend to attach the DO to this story as well.

Mar 15th - 14:07pm | Richard Smith

Hey it would be nice to have a link to the Director's orders so we can see for ourselves.

Groups Announce Intent To Sue Over Big Cypress National Preserve ORV Plan

Mar 14th - 11:21am | Ron Saunders

OBXer I expect we will get an idea this summer when we see what the closurer results are. Remember, the conservation groups did in effect set the criteria for the restrictions. They could get what they expected. Why would they not have signed the Decree. We will see. Ron (obxguys)

Mar 14th - 09:24am | OBXer

Ron,  If the environmental groups had really wanted to close CAHA beaches to vehicles all they had to do was not sign the Consent Decree.  What more proof do you need?

Mar 14th - 08:16am | Southern Shores 1

Ron it makes more sense for you to contact one of these organizations and ask them point blank their feelings about ORV use in CHNS. From my experience they are sincere and will give you honest answers.

Mar 13th - 18:42pm | Ron Saunders

To SS1

Mar 12th - 23:18pm | matt stubbs

"The two sides have differing views about protecting the resource. I think it would be difficult for conservation groups to ever say this is the only way (final way) to manage any resource." When refering to the furture of this island this indeed is a great quote about the future...

Study Says Loss of Wolves Damaging Olympic National Park's Forest Ecosystem

Mar 14th - 08:26am | anoy

Reintroducing wolves to the ecosystem would be best but it is expensive and has politically implications.  Let biologist decide a number of elk to cull from the heard each year and sell permits to hunters.

Mar 13th - 10:37am | Anonymous

What we need if I'm following Jennifer's line of reasoning is, with modern science, reintroduce all dinosaurs where they once roamed.  We just need to experience the feeling that we aren't at the top of the food chain, we aren't by the way.  I grew up in the same neighborhood as Jennifer and relate, some.

Mar 13th - 05:03am | Jennifer Blomgren

I have lived on the Olympic Peninsula virtually all my life and seen the horrific effects of logging and hunting over the years.  With virtually no regard for the lives and rights of the forest inhabitants hunters and loggers have forever altered the ecosystem and the losses are beyond calculation.

Watching Whales at Redwood National And State Parks

Mar 14th - 01:34am | John Cameron

This is my stomping grounds and is well worth the rather off the beaten path trip.  The photo shows the spit of sand that closes of most of the mouth of the Klamath River. Coincidentally it is where the one fatality (that I know of) occurred during the very recent tsunami when a sightseer/photographer was swept away by the second big surge.  Tragic!

Mar 13th - 11:54am | Catherine Dold

This brings back memories! I used to live near there, in Trinidad and McKinleyville. Gorgeous area, but too wet for this Colorado girl. The marine life is incredible. I routinely saw sea lions all over the place, and whales on occassion. I even spent one semester volunteering on a marine mammal census project. Cathy Dold

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

Mar 14th - 01:20am | Anonymous

The bear bear was found 100 feet from the shell casings. The hikers walked/ran to a ranger and told him about it. Why did it take 2 days and several overflights before the rangers, who were better armed than the hiker, simply walked back to where the hikers had just come from? What a waste of resources.

Mar 14th - 01:06am | Anonymous

   I worked in the federal government of this country for nearly 30 years. Alot of that time in national parks.  I can tell you for sure that this is not the first shooting of a bear in Denali. This is the 47th case that I know about. (Yes I have the list.)

A Highway Project in Congaree National Park Sparks Legal Challenges

Mar 13th - 14:00pm | pig gitr

It seems the fed has been vigorously acquiring bottom land for years. They use tax dollars to purchase it and limit our access to it. We have been hunting the area for years and I would like to be hunting on it for many more. Federal trespassing charges are a big deterant. We control the feral hog population and put food on the table at the same time.

Trickle of Documents Highlights National Park Service's Mistakes In Hubbell Trading Post Investigation

Mar 12th - 21:33pm | Liz Ross

Since Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site has it's records stored at a university it would be easy to verify why when jewelry was marked up 300% there was only a 10% net profit.  Hmmm

What's Real And What's Not Behind Reality TV's Nature Shows?

Mar 12th - 16:18pm | Bekah

I'm still a fan of Steve Irwin and think that his shows were the best.  The purpose of his shows were to educate, not to kill creatures for entertainment.  The wildlife shows (especially ones with snake or gator encounters) that unnecessarily kill animals are just plain ridiculous.  Yes, most (if not all) of his encounters were obviously fake, but he didn't kill the animals.

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