Art Allen


Biography

I retired After 33 yrs in the National Park Service in 1990, but never lost my affection for the "Camelot" of the federal government, the National Park Service. I served as Park Ranger, Park Naturalist, Park Planner, Interpretive Planner, Chief Curator of the National Park Service, and Assistant Superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I believe the chief threats to America's National Parks and its public lands in general are privatization and the adverse impact of motorized recreation on park resources.



Art's Most Recent Comments (view all)
  • 7/11/2008 5:49 am - Will The Superintendent's Summit Chart The Path For The National Park Service's Next Chapter? : Perhaps my comment needs a little more explanation. The situation that bothers me is that park management is overly concerned that there is not constant growth in visitation. To increase the numbers, it appears that park management is introducing many new intrusions and innovations that might attract visitors. Often, such ...
  • 2/27/2008 1:06 pm - Former Park Service Director Dickenson Passes Away : Scott - Couldn't agree more. Russ sat in the chair when everyone above him was anti-NPS mission. President Reagan was no friend of the parks... "Seen one tree.. seen them all" But you know, that is what is happening riow and since 2001. The difference is in the resistance to ...
  • 1/30/2008 6:35 am - Strange Bedfellows: The National Park Service and the American Recreation Coalition : NPT has opened a serious theme for discussion. The NPS has undertaken a commendable process of seeking out and rounding up partners, cooperators, friends, foundations, local governing bodies, in a noble effort to secure support for park fiscal needs and activities. The problem is that when one casts such a ...
  • 10/27/2007 5:10 am - Museum of the National Park Service Will be Built in West Virginia : Thanks Kurt, for picking up this story. The National Park Service is the first Agency in the world to attempt to preserve a Nation's legacy of natural and cultural resources. This project will be an attempt to communicate that 100 year long story. We are convinced that this project ...
  • 9/09/2007 11:11 am - Judge Orders Cross Removed from Mojave National Preserve : Pardon me for sustaining this rather heated and emotional debate.... I don't understand the responses.. How can you relate to the cross on the missions to my argument? The crosses, and star of david and crescents on the gravestones aren't at issue either. Those arguments are just silly. Would you ...
  • 9/09/2007 9:07 am - Judge Orders Cross Removed from Mojave National Preserve : What if the erection on this hilltop were a Swastika, put there in 1939, well before the NPS was on the scene. What if some person in the dark of night decided that the Al Queda symbol should dominate the hilltop. What would the reaction be? The cross was not ...
  • 8/02/2007 7:26 pm - Setting Precedents in the Parks : Continuing the thread... The discontent in this country is humongous. Never before in my 75 years have I witnessed anger, disgust, and disdain for just about everything. What Frank and Beamis are suggesting is on the minds of many of the taxpayers: "the answer is Private Enterprise". Judging from the ...
  • 8/02/2007 6:27 am - Setting Precedents in the Parks : I have read several references to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) with the idea that somehow they could do better than the National Park Service. Do you compare their possible success with the abundance of NGO's operating in Iraq? OK, let's get specific.... Who are these NGO's that could move into the ...
  • 8/01/2007 1:14 pm - Setting Precedents in the Parks : Kurt: Excellent article. I can think of one other major example of just what you are talking about. Rocky Mountain NP and Theodore Roosevelt NP both have an overpopulations of elk. Both are trying to survive public comment on how best to cutback on the overpopulation which is damaging the ...
  • 7/27/2007 11:10 am - NPT: Blog or Webzine? : What's in a Name? "A Blogzine by any other name would read so sweet" Whatever you call it, NPT is hot. You have a lot of readers contributing their views on matters pertaining to parks and other public land management issues. Keep on Trucking. Art