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06/04/2009 - 12:39amHow Low Is the Bar For National Park System Inclusion When You Add a Gas Station?Anonymous is right, the old Magnolia Mobil gas station is part of Little Rock Central High School NHS. I assume it was acquired with the rest of the land, but if it wasn't, I believe it would have been a candidate for later inclusion. It is directly across the street ...
03/26/2009 - 2:12amCongress Passes Sweeping Public Lands Package, National Parks Will BenefitI'm very excited that the National Landscape Conservation System now has a permanent place in America's portfolio of protected public lands. The system has some real gems out there, many of them here in my home state of Arizona.
03/22/2009 - 11:35amDesignations Just One Example of Disparities Within the National Park System. Web Sites Are AnotherThis is a pretty weak argument, Kurt. I'd love for the smaller parks to have better websites, but there's no way that a smaller unknown unit like Gauley River would ever have a website like Yellowstone's. And, boy, I'd be pissed if they did because I bet the web traffic ...
03/20/2009 - 11:35amFederal Judge Issues Scathing Opinion in Blocking "Concealed Carry" In National Parks, Wildlife RefugesThis has nothing to do with 2nd Amendment rights and everything to do with the NRA's voter mobilization strategy for 2008 & 2010.
03/17/2009 - 2:41amShould Ocmulgee National Monument Be Transformed into a National Park By Stimulus Funds?In my opinion, the National Monument status is just fine for Ocmulgee. I'm not sure any place that's only 700 acres should receive the National Park status, and NM status seems particularly well-suited for an archaeology site.
02/18/2009 - 5:04pmSecretary Salazar Calls for Review Of Gun Rules in National ParksOh please, anonymous... [quote]I don't know one person that visited a park WITHOUT a concealed firearm. This was before CCW holders were allowed to. When you encounter hikers on a trail, I would place money on at least half being armed.[/quote] I would take that bet in a heartbeat. One ...
01/31/2009 - 1:24pmPruning the Parks: Papago Saguaro National MonumentGlad you highlighted Papago Saguaro, which was designated as a sister park to Saguaro National Monument near Tucson (which later became Saguaro National Park). It's a clear case of how being named a National Monument does not necessarily engender protection - it's up to the public to help make sure ...
01/06/2009 - 9:51pmHow Many National Park Rangers Does It Take to Cut Down a Tree?Sorry, you lost me on this one. I myself are more than happy that federal agencies, like the NPS, are required to go through such a thoughtful process, because the alternative often seems to result in harm to the parks and resources. This is also the only way that the ...
08/11/2008 - 11:23pmSierra Club Caught Standing Atop Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National ParkFrank, the Sierra Club is a nonprofit group, and though it's no longer a 501c3 (the club lost its charitable status during its battle to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from damning the Colorado and flooding the Grand Canyon), it still conducts many c3 activities and is supported by its ...
07/04/2008 - 9:46amDo You Care About Energy Exploration Near Our National Parks?Alternative energies ARE ALREADY HERE AND VIABLE. I keep hearing about the cost, which is certainly more than the cost of traditionally subsidized energy sources. But if you remove those old subsidies, or add on similar subsidies to alternative energy production, then the cost different disappears and depending on who ...
06/16/2008 - 10:23amWhat's In Your National Park Reading Room?A good list. I'd add a few others as well. John Wesley Powell's The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons for a unique perspective on the Grand Canyon and tribs. Searching for Yellowstone by Paul Schullery looks at Yellowstone's resources and the outside forces that affect management. Frank ...
02/06/2008 - 7:26pmModeling Mesa Verde National Park With LasersThey did some laser scanning of rock art in Agua Fria National Monument (BLM_managed) last year. I haven't seen the results, but the researcher said that it could detect depth changes up to a fraction of a millimeter. It will be great to apply this technology wherever we can - ...
12/14/2007 - 10:22amAre The National Parks Not Part of Our Federal Lands?I hear what you're saying, but it seems like the first step in rolling back all these user fees should be eliminating them in the remote, "non-destination" areas. At least in national park units you usually get at least some "added value," whether that's ranger led-hikes, a bookstore, or at ...
12/10/2007 - 4:08amPark History: Petrified Forest National ParkAmong Arizonans (including myself), Petrified Forest is often overlooked. But, it really is one of the coolest places in a state with a long list of such places. The last time I visited - it's probably been 6-8 years now - we were shocked at the $50 fine for stealing ...
11/05/2007 - 1:01pmPark History: How Volcanics Sculpted Parts of the National Park SystemYou forgot a couple in New Mexico: both Capulin Volcano National Monument and El Malpais National Monument feature volcanic landscapes.
08/30/2007 - 8:04pmShould the NPS Be Given Mount St. Helens?[quote]As I mentioned last time this came up, there is enormous pressure on the Forest Service for mining, forest and (intrusive) recreational use within the boundaries of the monument. Because the Forest Service's mission is not about protection of the resource, but best use of the resource, the Forest Service ...
08/04/2007 - 1:29pmRS2477 And the National ParksRS2477 is a joke, just an arcane tool twisted to undermine necessary protections for special places. It's hard to find a single place that those southern Utah counties believe should remain unroaded. It's amazing to me how much money travelers seeking primitive recreation deposit in those counties' local economies compared ...