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Zion National Park Officials To Examine Needs of Canyon Shuttle System

Nov 8th - 21:04pm | Marylander

The shuttle system is NOT good if you have a baby, which is really the only downfall of the shuttle system I've found. When my first was as old as 2 and a half, it was ok because a toddler requires a lot less baggage compared to a baby. Well... we have another baby -she is just a month old- and we scratched Zion off of our travel plans for next summer because of the shuttle.

Nov 8th - 19:59pm | Stephen Bucci

I have used the shuttle and found it great. Keep it running. There is no need for cars in the park on a wholesale basis.

Nov 8th - 19:01pm | Anonymous

We visited Zion a year ago and I, too, was distressed to not have my car with me. It is so convenient and it is what we were used to. But, the shuttles were very user friendly and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We didn't have to spend time looking for a parking spot. the shuttles run quite frequently and there plenty of stops.

Nov 8th - 14:53pm | Park Fan

Our family of four visited Zion and 4-5 other parks a few summers back. When we found out we would need to take a shuttle bus I thought they were kidding. I love my car. BUT - it worked out just fine - the buses ran just about on time and when they were a little late getting to the stop to pick us up, no problem - you

Nov 8th - 14:37pm | Random Walker

I have found the flexibility of shuttle services at various National Parks to be a great way to explore, much easier than driving my own rig. And the Zion shuttle looks to be about just right!

Nov 8th - 14:02pm | Kurt Repanshek

The only way to get into Zion Canyon proper, unless you're staying at the lodge, is by shuttle. That said, the shuttle is seasonal. It usually operates from mid-to-late March into October.

Nov 8th - 13:30pm | Anonymous

Is the shuttle the only way one can get around now? Have they completely eliminated vehicles? I hope not! I would rather have my own vehicle and the flexibility it offers.

Bison Might be Allowed to Range Further Beyond Yellowstone National Park Borders

Nov 8th - 10:15am | jsmacdonald

In bison circles, this plan is being met with a "so what" because of what Amy says in the article. If bison are still being pushed back after May 15, de facto this changes almost nothing and creates just a different set of headaches. This remains a bison control plan and not a wildlife management plan.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Officials to Outline Paving Options for Cades Cove

Nov 8th - 09:00am | Richie

Has anyone thought about doing a environmental safe option like using old tires grounded up and laid out in a safe way?

Nov 7th - 11:48am | Craig W.

/2008/10/shuttles-make-visiting-cades-cove-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-bit-easier

Nov 7th - 10:10am | Smoky Mtn Hiker

Kurt - don't know if you receive Smokies Life Magazine (excellent publication from the Great Smoky Mountains Association) or not, but there's an extensive interview with Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson in the current issue. Ditmanson stated that he's looking for ways to solve some of the heavy traffic problems in Cades Cove.

Nov 7th - 09:54am | Kurt Repanshek

Answering my own question. Here's what Bob Miller at Great Smoky tells me:

Nov 7th - 08:47am | Kurt Repanshek

Does anyone know if there are any alternatives that mention mass transit? Perhaps some sort of shuttle system for the masses, with hiking and biking trails on the side?

Nov 7th - 08:13am | Smoky Mtn Hiker

It will be interesting to see if there will be any "outside-the-box" alternatives offered at this meeting for helping to ease the traffic problems that plague the loop.

Nov 7th - 06:53am | Marylander

It's past time to pave the cove. That road has been crumbling for a very, very long time.

Upon Further Review - How Wet Is a Rain Forest?

Nov 8th - 08:41am | JimB

Random Walker - thanks for an excellent comment. Tahoma - a good reminder that the Hoh is a rain forest, and that on a lot of days, the lady in this story wouldn't have been "disappointed." Like a lot of things in life, timing plays a big role in how a visit to a park turns out.

Nov 7th - 22:55pm | tahoma

Just don't forget to check the forecast. For any doubters, here's a bit of tonite's NWS Seattle: The flood watch continues for portions of western Washington, including the following counties: Grays Harbor...Clallam...Jefferson...Skagit... Whatcom.....

Nov 7th - 18:39pm | Random Walker

It is when I close the guidebook, abandon the brochures, fold up the map and walk away from my expectations that I experience happiness exploring Our National Parks.

Fort Davis National Historic Site, Home of the Buffalo Soldiers

Nov 8th - 08:19am | Rick Smith

This is one of the most evocative sites in our National Park System. It should be on everyone's "must see" list. As Bill Roberts correctly points out, the bugle calls almost alone make the visit worthwhile. For those camping, the next-door state park has a great campground. The CCC buildings at the state park are also worth visiting. Rick Smith

Nov 7th - 20:05pm | Bill Roberts

My first visit to Fort Davis wasin 1954 and it was in sadly neglected. Been there twice since and it is inspiring what has been done. Visitors need good walking shoes, but there are only slight inclines for the most part. Be prepared to spend some time and enjoy the bugle calls that are played at the correct time for the correct activity. A real western fort. Not Hollywood.

National Park Service Signs Off on Decision Not To Allow Bombing of Avalanche Chutes in Glacier National Park

Nov 7th - 23:40pm | Anonymous

@ Albertson: This is spot on.

Nov 7th - 07:52am | albertson

You wrote: "Business has to adapt to market conditions, the government doesn't need to coddle it all the time. While the market isn't perfect, if you're somewhat against regulation and the needed bureaucracy, i suggest you google "bailout" or "savings and loans" or "sub prime mortgages."

Nov 6th - 23:28pm | Anonymous

@ Albertson-

Nov 6th - 20:52pm | JimB

When I worked at Glacier, I lived in the village of East Glacier, and drove U.S. Highway 2 that runs roughly parallel to the railroad tracks across the Continental Divide on a regular basis. As the photo with this story illustrates, the snowsheds are very effective in protecting trains from avalanches.

Nov 6th - 18:31pm | Kurt Repanshek

Albertson, there was no use of explosives. The railroad was seeking permission to use howitzers to trigger avalanches, a fairly common practice in snow country where roads or ski areas have to be protected from avalanches.

Nov 6th - 17:53pm | tahoma

Hats off to Supt. Cartwright & staff for not rolling over in response to commercial (and probably political) pressure as has too often been the case. Permitting these compromise permanent structures hardly seems "overboard".

Nov 6th - 14:35pm | albertson

Was the use of explosives that widespread? Was the railroad firing hundreds of rounds, or 1 or 2 in strategic places? How was it determined that wildlife were endangered? In today’s economy it would appear especially important not to hinder commerce on such an essential link, or is this more bureaucracy, people protecting their government jobs by being an overboard environmentalist?

Election 2008: Fearless Forecasts, Foregone Conclusions, and Prescient Prognostications

Nov 7th - 22:45pm | Dean

I think that while policies might improve, tight economic times will prevent much investment in parks or wild lands.

Nov 7th - 21:38pm | Zebulon

Net result: wild increase in wilderness designation at the request of the Sierra Club, which will result in banning mountain bikers from hundreds of miles of trails that they currently enjoy. Other than that, any new policy can't be worse than the old one.

Nov 7th - 15:24pm | Bugsyshallfall

I have hope.................................Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm not much

Nov 7th - 14:38pm | dtroutma

Iraq, the economy, and the environment(including NPS) ARE connected. It is not so much a "left vs right", but right vs wrong, intellect vs stupidity. For the past eight years(more actually) stupid has ruled.

Nov 7th - 10:43am | Elizabeth

Uh, Beamis...those "million deaths" in the Middle East are Al Qaida...the enemy.

Nov 7th - 05:33am | MRC

@ Frank C.: Come on, you point me to a paper on the New Deal by the Mises Institute to prove something? That paper is not analytic, it's not scientific, it is pure and simple ideology. The same ideology that got us into the mess back then and now.

Nov 7th - 02:06am | Roger

LOL...you are all so funni...except Frank C. Obama has ONE national park in his home state...and how many people of color visit our parks? Not many. Frank C is right...there will be NO money to give. In fact, Bush offered up more to the parks in his last budget (Centennial money) than Obama will...as I said, I don't think The One cares much for nature, being from Chicago.

Nov 6th - 20:32pm | On Da Road

I am not expecting a whole lot of change real quickly.. but am hopefully that the move to the left will result in better policies to protect our environment & endangered species. Stopping the economic slide I hope will be top on the radar. OnDaRoad http://www.unpavedroadslesstraveled.com

Nov 6th - 16:05pm | Rick Smith

I am, by nature, an optimist. I think the election means that the new administration will be represented by people who are not relentlessly anti-environment. That does not mean that I think that money will fall out of the sky and land in the budget of the NPS. It does mean, however, that superintendents will be able to count on the support of staffers in the Interior Department.

Nov 6th - 13:37pm | MRC

An obvious method to support the economy in form of small and mid-size businesses is investing in infrastructure. Highways, bridges, and the like. In this the new administration might look at the New Deal. Working on the backlog of infrastructure maintenance in the parks might become a part of a larger program.

Nov 6th - 13:18pm | Art Allen

A great question.... Here's a few of my guesses!

Grand Canyon's Star Party

Nov 7th - 18:12pm | Jim Marshall

I would like to know if there are star parties scheduled for 2009 yet. I enjoyed the article in Astronomy magazine, and would consider attending. Because of driving the Bryce Canyon would be first choice. Jim Marshall

Glory, Shame, and Remembrance at Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

Nov 7th - 16:55pm | Bugsyshallfall

No, I wish The best we have is the Boston Harbor Islands where Indians were held after the war in concenstration camps. There are many problems with this, the name of the park and its focus being the biggest. The Taughton River is another place we have and was the main reason why it was called a scenic river because of the battlefields along the river.

Nov 7th - 15:55pm | Bob Janiskee

Perhaps one of our readers can shed light on this interesting topic. I don't know very much myself about the Narragansetts, King Philip's War in 17th century New England, the Great Swamp Massacre (500+ Indian dead?), and the slaying of King Philip (Metacom). Have there been any formal proposals to establish a national park oriented to King Philip's War?

Nov 7th - 15:27pm | Bugsyshallfall

I just wish they would do something with Hope Hill in Rhode Island, where King Phillp was shot down. I think currently it is owned by Brown but closed off, I am not sure

Nov 7th - 11:16am | Anonymous

To be fair, Chivington would have gone to trial, but for the post-Civil War general amnesty. The cost of putting the Civil War in the past, and reunifying north and south, unfortunately included pardoning a few monsters like Chivington.

Don't Be Surprised to See Clinton Administration Influence In an Obama Interior Department

Nov 6th - 23:22pm | jsmacdonald

I saw on the Missoula NBC affiliate tonight that Schweitzer took himself out of the running for any Cabinet position.

Plague Kills Many Prairie Dogs and Black-Footed Ferrets in Grasslands Near Badlands National Park

Nov 6th - 15:15pm | Anonymous

what is being done to try to protect it?

Poets, Ports and Politics – The Long Battle for a New Kind of Park

Nov 6th - 14:45pm | Matthewk

Current Superintendent Costa Dillon has been giving talks throughout Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area about the park's tremendous challenges to adapt to the growing industry, increasing population base and the development that goes along with it. He's hoping to re-engage a new set of dedicated individuals to take over for the groups that helped establish the park.

Bush Administration Poised to Sell Oil and Gas Leases Around Dinosaur National Monument, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

Nov 6th - 11:33am | Lone Hiker

Jim, I wish I could share your notion that as a nation, we're smarter than that, but the evidence points dramatically to the contrary. We as a nation have been and still are consistently seeking the path of least resistance, aka, the easy way out of virtually every inconvenient truth our lifestyle "demands".

Nov 5th - 23:18pm | JimB

Wayne C. makes some excellent points.

Nov 5th - 21:18pm | WayneC

1) Why is it in our national interest to keep giving out drilling permits when ones that have already been given out are not acted on? Oil companies, you have permits now, use them! When you run out of permits come talk to us.

Nov 5th - 19:11pm | Kurt Repanshek

Pointing fingers is a poor game. Indeed, personal responsibility does play a big role in everyday society, whether it's related to energy consumption or some other issue.

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