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08/11/2008 - 1:34pmSierra Club Caught Standing Atop Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National ParkNational Geographic Adventure magazine had a cover earlier this year with a woman doing yoga on top of Mesa Arch. They got a lot of criticism for that, and I remember the editors responding that while it probably wasn't the safest/smartest thing in the world to do, they didn't break ...
08/01/2008 - 6:58amDid the NRA Infiltrate Groups Opposed to Overhauling Gun Regulations for the National Parks?The topic of this post was about the supposed tactics the NRA is using to try to roll back the current NPS guidelines on carrying weapons in NPS units. Do we really need to re-hash all the same arguments again about whether the NPS has a right to have these ...
07/24/2008 - 6:52amAt Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Things are Not Always as They SeemIt reminds of the great scene from "The Naked Gun": Mayor: Now Drebin, I don't want any trouble like you had on the South Side like last year, that's my policy. Frank: Well, when I see five weirdos dressed in togas, stabbing a man in the middle of the park ...
07/21/2008 - 7:13amWhy Stop At Golden Gate National Recreation Area? What Other NRAs, Monuments, Etc., Should Be Renamed?Does the Department of the Interior, or Congress, or any government agency, have any sort of guidelines to differentiate what should be "labeled" a National Park vs. National Monument?
07/11/2008 - 7:00amMan Bitten at Saguaro National Park by Gila MonsterAnd how does being homeless equate to not being mentally fit? I know that there are many homeless people that have psychological problems and ailments, but don't paint the picture that if someone is homeless he must have something wrong him mentally.
07/11/2008 - 6:22amAnother Black Bear Put Down, This One In Yellowstone National ParkFred, the answer is in Kurt's article: "Park officials say that based on the animal’s aggressive behavior, lack of fear of people, and its success at getting human food, the decision was made to capture and kill the bear." Even relocating a bear that has no fear of people and ...
07/09/2008 - 7:15amNational Park System Quiz 10: Speak of the DevilAn early morning hike in Arches on the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop trail is one of the more special places I've been in the NPS. Early morning, as the first part of the trail gets pretty crowded with people trekking to Landscape Arch and a bunch of other arches along ...
07/03/2008 - 6:22amNational Park History: Renaming National Parks Can Show Respect for Native CulturesAnother mountain that has recently tried to have its name changed is Mt. Clay in NH. In 2003 the NH State Legislature passed a bill changing the name to Mt. Reagan; however, the USGS won't even consider any feature named after a person until they are dead for 5 years, ...
07/02/2008 - 12:28pmNational Park System Quiz 9: The American RevolutionBTW Bob, love the quizzes. Also, the Freedom Trail from the Bunker Hill Monument to the Common is an easier walk -- all downhill. [Ed.: There is a nice map of the Freedom Trail at [url=http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/maps/pdfs/boston-nps-map.pdf]this site[/url]. You can zoom to 50% for greater clarity and and still see the ...
07/02/2008 - 6:50amNational Park System Quiz 9: The American RevolutionThe Freedom Trail in Boston does not actually go to Bunker Hill. It starts (ends) at Bunker Hill Monument, but that is actually on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting of the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. [Ed: Nice catch! The Hauptquizmeister has edited the referenced item to ...
06/30/2008 - 7:29am“10 Best National Parks”? National Geographic, You Have Got to be Kidding!As a former employee of the National Geographic Society, I feel i should point out a few issues that may or may not be at work here: 1) This was a National Geographic book, and while everything NGS puts their name/brand on should really be treated the same, I can ...
06/27/2008 - 6:07amCelebrating Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun RoadI have a love-it/hate-it relationship with the GTTS Road. Love it, because it is absolutely spectacular, for all the reasons Kurt mentions above. The vistas, the easy access to hiking, and the convenience to get from St. Mary's to Lake McDonald without having to drive 2 hours out of your ...
05/16/2008 - 6:09amNational Park System Quiz 2: StraddlersHey Sabattis, you going to tell us the answer to your bonus question, or just make us all suffer?
03/04/2008 - 8:32amWould a Change in Gun Laws Be a Threat to National Park Bears?Dave, I'm just curious on something. You say that you are thinking of avoiding NPs and only visit national forests "where we can protect ourselves." Do you do that currently in your day-to-day life? What I mean is, do you only travel to cities or states where you are able ...
02/20/2008 - 12:40pmWolf Advocates Plan to Sue Rocky Mountain Park Officials Over Elk PlanFollowing up on wolf deaths, there is a (partial, I'm sure) list of confirmed deaths by wolves on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans If this is correct, there has been 1 death in all of North America in the past 10 years. By comparison, in 2006 there were 174 deaths in the United ...
02/20/2008 - 12:12pmWolf Advocates Plan to Sue Rocky Mountain Park Officials Over Elk PlanI don't understand the problem with bringing back the natural order of things and having the wolves come back? The elk need to be culled because their natural predators have been decimated. Are wolves threatening to humans? How many deaths have wolves caused since they've been reintroduced? I haven't heard ...
02/20/2008 - 12:07pmGlen Canyon NRA Releases EA on Castle Rock Cut DeepeningMarylander -- I personally think that Glen Canyon should be on the list of everyone's list of 100 places to see before you die. Oh that's right, no one can see Glen Canyon because it's under hundreds of feet of water. I say make Glen Canyon as accessible as possible ...
02/15/2008 - 8:20amWhere Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on America's National Parks?One other question I would love to hear answered by the candidates is where they stand on corporate sponsorship for the parks. Most politicians, the higher they rise the more indebted they are to big business and the corporations that line their pockets. It's no coincidence that current President Bush ...
02/10/2008 - 10:48amNational Park Service Claims to Have Added New Map Feature to Web SitesI have to say that the NPS has upgraded their website in the past 20 months or so, from horrendous to almost mediocre. There's still lots of improvement they could do, but they are trying. Adding the maps is a huge help, even if they aren't topos.
02/10/2008 - 10:46amU.S. Sen. Coburn Runs Poll On Whether "Concealed Carry" Should be Allowed in ParksI've always said Senators can't add correctly...no wonder they can never find enough money for the NPS.
02/05/2008 - 12:56pmWhat Are Your Priorities For the National Parks?I'm right there with you Kurt. I know you have an obligation to report all issues relating to the National Park System, but I can't help but roll my eyes every time another issue concerning carrying guns in the National Parks gets posted on this site. You know the old ...
01/10/2008 - 8:39amPark History: Wind Cave National ParkI also think there are elk in Wind Cave NP. When my wife and I were there in 2006, we climbed to the top of a fire tower atop Rankin Ridge. A ranger was in the tower with one of those radio/antenna jobs, trying to figure out where some radio-collared ...
01/10/2008 - 8:35amDo Professional Hockey And Yosemite National Park Belong Together?Merryland, I'm guessing the Blue Hen never put skates on during your time in Newark.
12/29/2007 - 10:03pmChicamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Studying Interpretive Options for Moccasin BendThere's not one actual trail, but generally the Native Americans were pushed from their lands in northern Georgia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northern Alabama, through Tennessee and Arkansas, into Oklahoma.
12/27/2007 - 8:54amGroups Sue Park Service Over ORV Use in Big Cypress National PreserveSnowmobiles in Florida? What's next, swamp buggies in Alaska?
12/27/2007 - 8:50amPark History: Shenandoah National ParkHoover's requirement that it be above 2,500 feet was due to the fact that (at that time) mosquitoes could not live above that altitude. Having spent many nights in Shenandoah above 2,500 feet, I can tell you that is no longer the case, and I'd guess you have to get ...
10/29/2007 - 1:11pmMuseum of the National Park Service Will be Built in West VirginiaA million visitors does seem a bit optimistic, but I don't fault anyone for optimism. Harpers Ferry currently gets about 250,000 annual visitors a year, and Gettysburg, only about 60 miles away, gets over 1.5 million.
10/09/2007 - 11:29amYellowstone Snowmobiles: Has Apathy Arrived?For the record, I'm against having anything greater than 0 snowmobiles in the parks. However: Kurt, I don't understand your reasoning that bringing the max allowed from 720 to 540 is really an increase, since only an average of 250/day go in now. If the max now is 720 but ...
09/28/2007 - 1:30pmFall's Brightest Colors Descending on National ParksJeremy, I think you might have flunked geography in school. Asheville is about 60 miles from Great Smokey NP, but over 320 miles from Shenandoah NP.
09/20/2007 - 7:15amArches and Canyonlands In the Fall: Rock Architecture and Dwindling CrowdsCouldn't agree with you more Kurt. Ed Abbey knew what he was talking about when he said, "This is the most beautiful place on Earth." Another high-end option outside Moab is the Red Cliffs Lodge, about 14 miles up the Colorado River. Rooms/cabins right on the Colorado, and they have ...
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