You are here

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Share

    Politicians obviously don't let little facts get in the way of their tongues.
    Evidence of that came yesterday in California where First Lady Laura Bush, honorary chairwoman of the National Park Foundation, called Representative Richard Pombo "an enthusiastic steward of our country's natural resources." Never mind that he wants to dismantle the Endangered Species Act, once suggested 
that some national parks be sold off, and just recently managed to sneak language into House legislation to allow motorized access to a beach-front section of Redwood National and State Parks.
    Note to editors: Before you send that editorial to press, be sure you read it closely. Pass that note on to the editors at the Baltimore Sun, who today editorialized quite nicely about the deteriorating state of the national park system. The only problem was when they addressed the Park Service's annual operating shortfall. While the National Parks Conservation Association has tabbed that number at $800 million, the Sun dropped a few zeros, pegging the shortfall at "more than $800,000 this year."  Still, the editorial hit all the high points about why our national park system is in such peril these days.
    The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida, got the shortfall number correct in its own "parks are imperiled" editorial in today's editions. In discussing the troubling times across the park system, and the Park Service's approaching centennial in 2016, the newspaper notes that, "The only way to make sure 2016 will be an occasion for national celebration and not hand-wringing is to start right now taking the steps necessary to keep our national parks from perishing of neglect and abuse."
    Dirk seems to be taking that issue seriously. I understand the Interior secretary himself has been holding closed-door meetings with NPCA officials to help plan the celebration. Hopefully the growing "to-do" list contains more than a note to order cake and candles.
    Finally, in talking with a friend in the conservation business, I asked why not all conservation groups are concerned about the park system, focusing their efforts instead on wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, rivers, and simply wildlife. The answer surprised me: Most people think national parks are well taken care of, I was told.
    Do you agree?
   

Comments

You have to look at it from Laura Bush's perspective. Richard Pombo could be considered "an enthusiastic steward of our country's natural resources" compared to Laura's husband.

You gotta point there, Ranger Gord, you gotta point.

Aye, aye, Ranger Gord. Quite obviously some speechwriter handed her some "talking points" before she hit the stage. But then Laura probably really does know more about fish and wildlife than her hubby does.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.