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National Park Service Mum On Shutdown Plans

Sep 28th - 18:23pm | AndrewBL

I agree. We've planned for six months to go to Yosemite and still no news. We're heading there in Sunday and still no NPS news, e.g., Plan A, stay open if no shutdown, or Plan B what?

Sep 28th - 16:28pm | Thomas Reuter

It is outrageous that 2 days prior to the possible closure of parks, there is no information from NPS on what will be closed.  Those of us with reservations need to know.

Old Faithful Inn At $424: Who Can Still Afford A Yellowstone Road Trip?

Sep 28th - 16:11pm | A. Johnson

They are no different than any other seasonal tourist-dependent business. It's not that complicated.    Actually, it is. Other "tourist dependent businesses" do not operate at the mercy and whims of a federal agency.    They should not be making obscene profits off the public who pays for the park.    

Sep 27th - 16:12pm | Terri

I can almost guarantee you that Xanterra and the NPS are well aware what their annual operating expenses for the inn are. Their room rates should be based on that and a modest profit. They should not be making obscene profits off the public who pays for the park.   They are no different than any other seasonal tourist-dependent business. It's not that complicated. 

Sep 27th - 13:38pm | A. Johnson

"In my mind, the rate for a room in a national park should cover the overhead (again including the fee/profit for the vendor) only."  

Sep 27th - 00:54am | Terrri

Weare fortunate to have visited many national parks over the last couple of years. They really are a national treasure. My husband turned 62 last year and of course we purchased the lifetime pass. We just visited Yellowstone two weeks ago, for the 3rd time in 6 years. This trip we stayed in the park in our 5th wheel.   

Sep 26th - 19:26pm | Loui

Supply and demand.  NPS funding has nothing to do with this. Fixed supply + skyrocketing demand = increased price.  The increase is not necessarily proportional in that a small increase over a threshold amount can (and has) had a dramatic effect on price.  Large lodging companies have software that can predict prices for the market given demand and occupancy.

Sep 26th - 15:06pm | Susan S

Xanterra has raised Glacer National Park prices by 100% since they took over that contract in 2014 and changed it from a hikers paradise to an over crowded the "selfie experience". Their employee headcount was cut in half after COVID and they have had record profits since. It contradicts the mission of national parks. But, it is all about money now.

Sep 26th - 12:56pm | Kay K

Agreed. Blue collar worker here also and most of the NPs are off my plate due to costs. We camped for most of our trip to and in Death Valley, but food and were so pricey that this is our only trip. Many of what I see at the parks I've been able to visit are clearly very wealthy travlers from abroad. Good for them, but it would be nice to be able to see my own country's parks. 

Sep 26th - 11:37am | A. Johnson

Good article.

NPS Debating Whether To Remove Horses, Cattle From Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Sep 28th - 16:04pm | A. Johnson

Any studies to support a claim that folks visit TR NP to view feral horses?

Sep 28th - 11:57am | Snochasr

Where else can you see "wild horses"?  To me they are wildlife and a delight when you get to see them.  If there are too many, yes, they interfere with other native grazers, but too few and they will lack the necessary genetic diversity to survive.  I say find the right number and otherwise leave them alone.  As for longhorn cattle, really?  I see no reason for them to be there, and they can be

Sep 28th - 08:05am | Margaret Schattilly

With just 200 horse's on park land that haven't been managed since 78 I say leave them. The herd is small and hasn't changed the environment  drastically.  What they do bring are the visitors who support the.park. 

Sullivan’s Island Was the African-American Ellis Island

Sep 28th - 10:53am | gummy bear3000

agree

By the Numbers: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Sep 28th - 10:31am | Perry Robinson

The White Man has cheated the Native American ever since we met them. We always did treaties before we knew what treasures the land held. Once we knew, we ignored the treaty. The idea of owning property came from Europe. The Native Americans did not own property. I'd anyone is repatriated, it should be the Native Americans.

PEER: NPS Remains Plagued By Low Morale, Rising Attrition

Sep 27th - 19:22pm | Rw

One of the biggest problems at the Smokies that I have seen is being overrun by 14 million tourists! This park is staffed for maybe 7 million! Everyday you are asked to go out and do your best but you can't because of time constraints you have due to traffic! Management is not willing to close picnic areas or campgrounds down because of local and political pressure.

Sep 27th - 11:10am | J. Sequoia

NPS employee morale in Sequoia NP is frankly horrible from what i've seen and heard, and not mentioned is the AirBnB factor in entrance towns such as Three Rivers, where there aren't any longer term rentals available, and instead NPS employees have to live in Visalia, 40 miles from the action, and fern feeler types don't want to live in cities, so just filling in jobs here has been toug

Sep 20th - 14:47pm | W

the park service is the most abusive hostile workplace I have ever seen  I can understand why people leave mostly me and other employees wonder how emissions so good has been distorted so bad by those in power.

Things You Just Don't Do In The National Park System

Sep 27th - 09:46am | Tim Bear

Don't try to pose your kid(s) on the back of an elk for a photo (saw this attempted numerous times while working @ Grand Canyon one summer). Crazy people! 

Sep 26th - 17:20pm | Teresa

Don't climb Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park in flip-flops

Sep 21st - 16:32pm | A. Johnson

I once "led" some friends on a camping trip to Utah parks in March about 5 years ago.  I emailed them information and news stories on the parks including the death & dangers up on Angel's Landing.  

Following Nine-Year Closure, Look Rock Campground Reopens At Great Smoky Mountains

Sep 24th - 22:22pm | Climb4

Foot Hills Speedway is more like it! The CG is right next to the Foot Hills Parkway but since there is no law enforcement on the parkway it has constant motorcycle traffic and most with modified, very loud pipes. Sleeping in DT New York would be more peaceful. 

Rare Letters Stolen From Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace By Historian Recovered

Sep 24th - 18:51pm | Kathleen Layton

Ed writes that he turned himself into the authorities and I am investigating if that's true. i have my suspicions.

Traveler's View | Baffling Management At Cumberland Island National Seashore

Sep 22nd - 13:13pm | Will De Man

It's hard for me to believe that the whole reason why the DOJ wouldn't order the horses to be taken care of is because they "fear the horse-loving public." Would it not cost a lot of money for an already understaffed agency facing budget cuts? I think the argument that the feral horses are being left alone is pretty thing as described in this article. 

Sep 22nd - 02:30am | Mike B.

My entire career was in endangered species conservation.  I often wondered:  Why do resource management agencies (state as well as federal) constantly have to be sued into doing the right thing?

Sep 21st - 16:24pm | A. Johnson

"Are Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Park Service Director Chuck Sams on board with DOJ's rationale?"   Likely not.  They're bureaucrats appointed and confirmed because of their affiliations, not expertise or knowledge of NPS assets. Why not place the blame where it lies:  AG Garland.     Impeach Garland now.  

UPDATE | IG Report: National Park Service Can't Effectively Manage Maintenance Backlog

Sep 22nd - 08:22am | Loui

I don't understand the "blanket 35 percent markup".  

Sep 21st - 16:19pm | A. Johnson

Love the parks--HATE the NPS.   It's time to dismantle the NPS, and dream it up anew.

Sep 20th - 14:43pm | Mike Gaylord

The NPS will never have enough money, no matter what is allocated...Y

Big Spring Lodge, Cabins Rehabilitation Lags At Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Sep 21st - 20:44pm | Gloria Flottmann

It appears a robust crew is hard at work in the restoration process.  And estimate on the completion date??

Court Battle Being Waged Over Cumberland Island National Seashore's Horses

Sep 21st - 09:27am | Janice Dickhaus

A lot of those horses look bad. The young stallions fight and get injured. There is NO vetinary care. The land is limited where these horses are, so forage is very limited and no hay is not provided Over the winter. I am a horse owner for many years and I would never treat a horse like this.

Little Round Top At Gettysburg National Military Park Closed Until September '23

Sep 21st - 09:11am | Ron LYONS

I am very interested as to when Little Round Top work will be completed. It will be closed to 9/2023 today is 9/21/23  Any help would be greatly appreciated.             Ron

New Topgallant Masts Raised On 1886 Square-Rigger Balclutha

Sep 20th - 11:17am | Kurt Repanshek

Many thanks for the nautical explanation, Will. We dropped the ball on that one.

Sep 19th - 07:49am | Will

For those as unfamiliar with nomenclature as I, a topgallant mast is a section of a mast. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_(sailing), "From the 16th century, vessels were often built of a size requiring masts taller and thicker than from single tree trunks.

Reader Participation Day: Best National Park Campgrounds

Sep 19th - 09:40am | steve reed

Hands down Slough Creek campground in Yellowstone.  Cruising trout, grazing bison, prowling grizzlies, and denning wolves.  The bonus is 3 bars of cell coverage because there is a direct line-of-sight to a Mt Washburn communication complex miles away. G.O.A.T.

Sep 14th - 15:13pm | A. Johnson

Yes ,the Needles CG at Canyonlands is great, but I think the Willow Flats CG in the Island Dist. is even better, with numerous overlooks just down the road.  It is FC, FS though.

Reopening Of Death Valley National Park Will Take Time

Sep 18th - 22:35pm | Brian Moss

We have a family reunion event at Oasis ranch hotel on November 17 for Thanksgiving week? Does it look like any possibility to get there from Vegas side?

Sea-Level Rise Threatens To Erase Park Units

Sep 18th - 17:51pm | Stan Chrzanowski

I paddle the Everglades and the 10,000 Islands regularly and video what I see because that's the only way my grandchildren will know what it looked like when they're my age.

Sep 18th - 12:54pm | ecbuck

Will - climate change has not created more "extreme" wildfires or hurricanes.  But don't let that stop you from visiting the parks.  It is well worth it.   

Sep 18th - 12:38pm | Will De Man

Reports like this make me feel a sense of urgency to visit these parks before they're gone. I know 2100 is a long way off, but even the near-term effects of climate change, such as extreme wildfires and hurricane seasons, create an imperative to see these places sooner rather than later. 

Sep 17th - 23:40pm | Loui

The article is grammatically well-written, pointing out that over the next 94 years what "could" "may" and "might" happen.  Just as soon as these computer models accurately predict next weekend's weather I'll take these sort of Nostradamus-esq end of world predictions a little more seriously.

Sep 17th - 19:30pm | ecbuck

Climate changes.  Also has, always will.  Nothing we can do about it.  As Snochasr says planning to adapt if necessary is the best call for today   

Sep 17th - 08:32am | Snochasr

 SSP 8.5 is the "Impossible worst case scenario" so any projections made from it are equally unlikely, tales told to frighten children.  Just do the math on Statue of Liberty, and it comes out to about 3mm/year, and that is indeed the historic global average.  That average has persisted over the last 20, 30 or 50 years and is not accelerating.  By that measure, Dry Tortugas (one of my f

Sep 17th - 06:42am | Kate B

You make these simple comments about individuals doing "their part" by becoming vegans when in reality its big corporations who have the politicians in their pockets who are the biggest offenders of climate change & they never get fined because they are lining the pockets of politicians. STOP blaming individual people like it's OUR fault.

The Presidio's Historic Public Health Service Hospital has Been Recycled into Luxury Apartments

Sep 17th - 17:36pm | Jennie Budge Garner

We lived on the station from 1964-1968. My dad was a radiologist. I have been back to see it twice - both times in the 90's. They had painted those cute pastel stucco duplexes brown. So ugly. They were tearing out the asbestos one time when we visited, and the other time, the houses were fenced off. The grounds seemed smaller than I remember. You can never go back. 

How North Cascades National Park Manages 400+ Miles Of Trails

Sep 17th - 16:43pm | Richard Bannerman

Glad to see the editorial respect shown the pack train, the horses and mules who as it sayhs, are friends and coworkers.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 240 | Grand Teton State of the Park

Sep 17th - 10:37am | Joshua Israel

Kurt, great podcast on Grand Teton Park but I have two questions for you! 1.  What is current situation with the Kelly Parcel?  Will it be bought out by the park? 2.  Are there any design plans to put a fish ladder on Jackson Lake Dam for cutthroat trout migratio?

Marker Pinpoints 1943 Shootout At Joshua Tree National Park

Sep 16th - 11:09am | Chuck Ellsworth

The story is told in every detail in the book entitled AMBUSH, which I purchased at the smll gift center near the south entrance of the park.    In short, Bill Keys was ambushed by another rancher named Worth Bagley.   He was tried for murder and convicted in a sham trial, details of how it was a sham are fully disclosed in the book.    After being pardoned, Keys returned to his ranch, now a yo

Unplugged: National Park Service Struggling To Meet EV Challenges

Sep 15th - 12:15pm | EV-er

This article is undated but based on the comments it appears to be from early 2022. The EV charging situation in our National Parks doesn't seem to have improved much since. I tried to plan an EV drive to Sequoia NP but this proved to be impractical due to the complete absense of destination charging at the park's lodges or anywhere else in the park.

The Most Remote Outhouse In The Lower 48

Sep 15th - 10:09am | Bob Pahre

Thanks for the link Rob - I'd love to get to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

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