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Did You Hear the One About President Obama's Trip To Yellowstone National Park?

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Judging from the president's frenetic schedule, it doesn't sound as if the First Family will have time to view the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River or enjoy a sunset over the Firehole River at the Upper Geyser Basin. Kurt Repanshek photos.

August, thanks to its hot and humid nature in the political capital of the universe, Washington, D.C., usually is the time politicians head to the hinterlands. Why else but the dreadful weather would Congress annually schedule its summer getaway not in June or July, but in August? And while most presidents see the month as their own opportunity to escape the bluster and fury of Washington, President Obama decided to take the opportunity not to flee the spotlight, but take it with him on his windshield tours of Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks.

Sadly, this is not a vacation for the First Family, not by any stretch of the political imagination. Rather, it's a shirt-sleeves photo op, an expensive one at that when you factor in all the jet fuel, motorcades, and security details. (I mean really, if you want to find a crowd in a national park, head to Old Faithful in August. I'm curious to see how they managed the crowds around the venerable geyser so the First Family could catch a glimpse.)

After appearing Friday night at a townhall meeting in Belgrade, Montana, to defend efforts to overhaul the country's health care system, President Obama and his family headed to Yellowstone today. After a whirlwind tour of the Upper Geyser Basin, the president was off again, this time to Grand Junction, Colorado, for another townhall meeting, then to Grand Canyon on Sunday for another windshield tour that will cause more congestion and security hassles for the folks who are really on vacation. Park officials say some areas of the South Rim could be closed for a couple of hours while the Obamas get a glimpse of the ruddy maw.

This click-and-dash trek to the parks by the First Family, understandably, is not being overlooked by those with grist to grind. For instance, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence took the opportunity of the Obamas' trip to argue once again against concealed weapons in national parks, a rule-change the administration wouldn't touch with a ten-foot-pole earlier this year after U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, used political sleight of hand to attach an amendment allowing such behavior to wildly popular legislation aimed at reining in credit card companies.

"Thanks to successful litigation by the Brady Campaign and major national parks organizations, the Obama family will be able to enjoy their upcoming visits to America's national parks protected, not only by Secret Service, but also by the Reagan Administration policy that keeps loaded guns in the hands of civilians out of national parklands," Paul Helmke, president of the organization, said in reference to a successful, though now meaningless, legal battle against the rule change the Bush administration pushed through back in December.

"Unfortunately, because Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation allowing weapons in national parks beginning in February (2010), other families will be unable to enjoy the same level of security next year when loaded firearms, including semi-automatics, will be permitted in most national parks across the country.

"There is still time for Congress and the President to take steps to keep loaded firearms away from the valleys of Yellowstone, the cliffs of Yosemite, and the Statue of Liberty, but they need to act quickly."

No response from the National Rifle Association. Yet.

Over at the National Parks Conservation Association, they saw the president's trip as the perfect opportunity to lobby for better funding of the National Park System.

“We are delighted that President Obama and his family, like thousands of others across the country, are taking advantage of the National Park Service’s free admission weekend to visit Yellowstone National Park. The President’s visit underscores the important role our national parks play as living classrooms, and the need for additional funding to ensure these educational opportunities remain available across the country," said Senior Vice President for Policy Ron Tipton.

“From the roaming bison at Yellowstone to the battlefields of Gettysburg, our national parks have tremendous potential for teaching and exciting children about our shared history as well as science, civics, and a variety of other topics. The upcoming centennial of the Park Service in 2016 gives us the opportunity to improve educational opportunities involving national parks to inspire and teach our future historians, educators, and scientists.

“There is an approximate $600-million annual operating shortfall and a backlog of maintenance projects that exceeds $8 billion, and more than $2 billion of private land to be acquired within park boundaries. We must ensure our national parks are well funded to address the parks’ crumbling historic buildings and trails, enhance the Park Service’s ability to protect wildlife, and provide needed public education and services. Further, as our nation becomes more diverse our national parks should fully represent our evolving history, culture, and diversifying population. By adding more park sites to the system we can make park visits more meaningful to all Americans.

“We hope Americans take this opportunity to visit a national park this weekend and reconnect with our national history, culture, and irreplaceable American treasures."

What follows guns and money when you're talking to politicians? Why, legislation of course! So, the president's trip presented Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Environment Group's U.S. public lands program, the perfect opportunity to lobby for an overhaul of the 1872 Mining Law.

Unfortunately, an obsolete 19th century law that gives the mining industry the right of way at every turn is putting the popular and enduring program in jeopardy. In fact, it recently took emergency action to halt new claim-staking around Grand Canyon National Park to respond to the threat of uranium mining. But neither this treasure nor dozens like it will be safe until Congress intervenes," she wrote.

Signed by President Ulysses S. Grant with prospectors and pack mules in mind, the 1872 Mining Law allows gold, uranium and other hardrock metals to be mined from most western public lands almost for free and with few restrictions. Today, with global corporations dominating mining, this means roughly $1 billion worth of precious metals are removed from public land without compensation, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates -- a hefty sum for a federal government facing deep deficits.

Hopefully, Ms. Danowitz added, when the president and Congress return from their summer vacations they'll take the time to rewrite this law.

Many in Congress also believe it's time to act. The House of Representatives has previously passed a strong bipartisan reform bill, while a balanced package proposed by Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, is now gaining momentum. Perhaps the president will return from his vacation with a new resolve to protect what he and his family have enjoyed. If national parks are indeed America's best idea, we shouldn't let them be harmed by an outdated mining law.

Not to be overlooked in this political climate is the actual climate. Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, saw an opening to urge President Obama to take note of the red and grey pine trees in Yellowstone, victims of bark beetles and evidence of climate change.

After anchoring the Rocky Mountain high country for thousands of years, the whitebark pine is threatened with extinction by a modern ill. The greenhouse gases that are heating our planet have warmed the northern Rockies just enough to allow the native mountain pine beetles to flourish at high elevations where few could thrive before now.

As a result, whitebark pine trees are under siege by these ravenous beetles. Right now as much as 70 percent of these ancient trees are already dead in parts of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

The First Family will see this ongoing disaster in the form of lifeless trunks gone grey where green and healthy spires once reached for the skies.

With such an issue-laden laundry list, this trip to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon will not be relaxing for the First Family. Which is a shame. Doesn't sound like they'll have time to stroll down to Lone Star Geyser or stand nearby on the bridge over the Firehole River, to walk up to Observation Point for a panoramic view of the Upper Geyser Basin, or visit West Thumb. They won't spend a night in the grandest log cabin in the world (that'd be the Old Faithful Inn), or have a chance to catch the baleful howling of wolves hanging in the cool night air. And when they reach the Grand Canyon on Sunday, will there be time to hike a short distance down the South Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge, or to climb to the top of the Watchtower at Desert View, or visit Hermit's Rest?

We cherish our national parks -- much hoopla surrounds Ken Burns' upcoming documentary on the history of the parks, the Obamas are visiting on an entrance-fee-free weekend designated by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar with hopes of luring more visitors to the parks -- and yet we rush the First Family through them. What Barack, Michelle, and the kids really need is a month to explore and enjoy the parks. Give them time away from photographers, correspondents, lobbyists, and angry Americans to reflect on the beauty of the country and deepen their appreciation for the national parks, to recharge their souls and start anew.

After all, all those other issues will be waiting when their vacation is over.

Comments

Obama spent less than three hours in Yellowstone. He and his family spent it at the Black Sand Geyser Basin, watching an eruption of Old Faithful (Obama said it was "cool"), eating at the Snow Lodge, and getting ice cream at one of the general stores. He was accompanied by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, as well as Yellowstone superintendent Suzanne Lewis.

On my newspaper site, there is a blog from a chef who works at the Old Faithful Inn, a blog from an employee of Xanterra who works on environmental sustainability issues (talking about the menu - including of all things, Montana beef, which is a travesty if you know anything about their role in bison mismanagement), and some accounts from people on the road (either stuck in traffic because roads were closed) or who happened to see the motorcade go by.

I generally agree with Kurt; this cost a lot of money for almost no time or introduction to the park or its issues. For something that was supposed to be a photo op, there are a lot of pictures floating around (Obama did in fact allow a small pool of reporters access). Given that policy is more or less the same as it was at the end of the Bush Administration (there was an attempt to cut snowmobile numbers by the park even at the end of the Bush Administration; bison policy hasn't changed - there's just more money for road and sewage projects, but not real policy shifts), given that Yellowstone in particular is impossible to appreciate at all in under 3 hours, I'm not sure the trip was worth it. The spotlight on the press on parks issues as a result of the trip hasn't been terribly informative, generally couching stories in terms of economics and the parks (visitation being a common story; a couple others scattered - it did draw an editorial from The New York Times, which is a fierce critic of Superintendent Lewis - calling for her dismissal in the past - and Yellowstone policy).

Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World


There is more to this visit than meets the eye. A note about an off the record dinner with the President from the Washington Post:

Another Presidential Walk in the Park

Douglas Brinkley (David G. Spielman)

The Obama family heads to Yellowstone National Park on Saturday -- thanks, in part, to Douglas Brinkley.

The author was among nine historians -- including Garry Wills, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Michael Beschloss -- invited to a private White House dinner with the president June 30. Each talked about the legacy of a past president; Brinkley discussed Theodore Roosevelt and his role in preserving America's natural resources -- the subject of Brinkley's new book, "The Wilderness Warrior."

The off-the-record dinner, reported Thursday by Vanity Fair, must have made an impression on the president. A few days later, Brinkley got a call from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar inviting him to drop by. The men spent two hours talking about conservation history, wildlife protection and where Obama should visit if he went to a national park.

"He was keenly interested in everything Roosevelt did," Brinkley told us. Salazar was especially intrigued by the 26th president's expansion of the national park system: In 1903, Roosevelt famously made a trip to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Yosemite that resulted in sweeping protection of the land from commercial interests. Brinkley recommended Obama create a caribou reserve in Alaska, something like the one
Roosevelt mandated in Oklahoma to save bison.

Brinkley walked away impressed: "I think Salazar is going to be one of the great secretaries of the interior, in the tradition of Harold Ickes and Stewart Udall."

Brinkley didn't discuss specific details of Obama's trip, but hoped the president would visit Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Yellowstone and Grand Canyon are national parks, but ANWR is not protected." He also lobbied for park status for Maine's North Woods, "where T.R. first fell in love with the raw wilderness of America."

But Brinkley said he's thrilled the first family is setting an example. "It sends the right message, that we need to treasure America's heirlooms. Yellowstone is our Louvre, the Grand Canyon our Westminster Abbey.


Nice pictures, Kurt.

I do wish fewer people were as cynical as some of those who left these posts. Even you, Kurt, have a hip tone of cynicism about how genuine the President's trip is.

Perhaps there is someone out there who understands that for ANY President of the United States, every thing is about symbolism. He did not need to come to a National Park, and surely there was little in his campaign that dealt with the core issues critical to the life support needed by our national parklands.

I am heartened because I understood from an earlier newspaper account of a meeting in June with 6 historians how impressed the President was with what Douglas Brinkley said about Theodore Roosevelt's conservation record. I think the President is now thinking about parks in ways he was not before. As a result, I think Sec. Salazar is now finally interested in parks as something special; up to recently, it appeared the Secretary thought he would extend the 2016 NPS Centennial to celebrate ALL Salazar's Department of Interior Agencies.

Also, by bringing the Pew Charitable Trust with him the President is also sending an important message, at least to anyone savvy enough to know how influential and effective Pew is, both with other Foundations and with political agenda setting.

It should also impress people that the President is taking on Mining Law reform. If there was one politically thankless task, reforming the mining law is it, when you think of how many times over the last 40 years some of America's most respected Members of Congress have tried and failed.

On George Bush II, when motivated by First Lady Laura Bush, some good things were done for the parks, and some positive attention happened. Mr. Bush generally did not oppose a congressional initiative to support parks, but he usually allowed his henchmen in his Adminstration to do whatever was in their radical agenda. Laura Bush seemed to be smarter than the President about parks, except for her selection of Mary Bomar as Director. But even then, you can see how Mrs. Bush was trying to help by getting Fran Mainella out of there, when the President tended to leave incompetent appointees in place. But Mr. Bush, like Mr. Obama and all Presidents, always and only act symbolically, and it is astonishing so few of these comments seem to have a clue about how things MUST work with all Chief Executives of major countries, especially the USA.

Me, I thank God Mr. Obama choose to give this spotlight to the National Parks, and took the opportunity while he was at it to appear in some pretty conservative parts of America to discuss other issues on the agenda.

Americans were not always as rude and small minded as these comments indicate some Americans may be today.

If America can heal itself, it won't be through all the venom and cynicism.


People who truly love the parks, vacation in the parks. I know that Laura Bush did the Yosemite High Sierra Camp loop trip with her girlfriends. John McCain hiked down the Bright Angel Trail and up the Kaibab (?) trail to the North Rim. They did not take a phalanx of photographers with them. The trips weren't political. What's that expression. You are what you are when no one is looking.


Kurt
Great article. Although I could never imagine seeing Yellowstone in such a brief visit and would wish anyone could experience all the wonders I have enjoyed there. I must respect Obama for bringing notoriety to the parks and only messing up someones vacation for a short time. It must suck being president and knowing the effect you have on other peoples trips. The congestion, the presidents safety, logistics, etc... Imagine if the president spent a day or two touring the park. I do not think there are enough secret service men to place all over the park. This would ruin a lot of vacations. It is sad to say he may not be able to enjoy it like we do and we need to hope the funding follows.
Dave Crowl


Kathy, I'm sure President Obama would love to do it alone with his family and visit ALL the national parks. But, with all the hate climate in this country...I dare not!


Even more angry posts from people blogging posted today ... apparently, the entire trip cost over $400,000 ... which ticked off one blogger. I wonder how far Obama could have gone to appease it by at leastt acknowledging the problems he caused and perhaps thinking of ways in the future to deal with it ... you don't have to close down the road to Old Faithful; you don't even have to close off the area ... there are certainly other ways something like this can be handled. When Obama goes to Ben's Chili Bowl in the U Street area of DC, they don't shut the city down. So, it's a little silly. It would have helped if NPS had been honest about the disruption - I saw one article where Al Nash, the park spokesman, hoped to minimize the impact, but that said nothing to the traveler.

These things can be better handled by everyone involved.

I think people rightfully resent the undemocratic reality that we have a kind of aristocracy in this country, like every other. However, at the very least, these things can be mitigated tremendously.

Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World


I don't think Obama was much of a national parks visitor BEFORE he became president either. Michelle takes the kids to Paris and London and Rome but not to any of the national parks. They just don't like the outdoors or the national parks and this trip was purely a photo op.


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