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Do You Care About Energy Exploration Near Our National Parks?

Jul 5th - 09:15am | Barky

I want to point out that solar energy farms are not viable for electricity generation and pose real hazards of their own to the environment. The electrical output per acre of solar panels is surprisingly small, so to meet the energy needs of a city like New York you'd need a tremendous amount of land surface, greater than the size of the city itself.

Jul 5th - 00:32am | Mark111

We need to become energy independent and need to do it soon. The reason we are in this predicament is due to the people who yelled to stop exploration in this country over the past 10-20 years and yelled about the building of additional nuclear plants. I like the national parks as much as the next person does, but what if nobody can afford to go to them because energy is too expensive?

Jul 4th - 13:49pm | BLJ

So more drilling in the US bu US companies will stop THEM from taking over OUR land?!?! How does that make any sense? We will never be energy self-sufficient as the simple fact is as a country we use more energy than we could ever find within our national borders. The only solution is alternative energy. I think the recent increase in oil is exactly what we need and deserve.

Jul 4th - 12:48pm | Fred Miller

We need to preserve our beautiful Parks, but we've got to be smart about it. If we don't become energy self-sufficient soon, we are going to become slaves to all of of our current energy suppliers. Once we're in THEIR control, you can be sure THEY will drill wherever they want (including IN our Parks) and we won't be able to do anything about it.

Jul 4th - 11:26am | Marylander

I read an interesting proposal not too long ago for solar farms out in Nevada... I am all for exploring the potential of the solar farms that Germany seems to making such great strides with before I am for drilling and mining. If Germany can do it with great success... why can't we?

Jul 4th - 10:46am | rscottjones

Alternative energies ARE ALREADY HERE AND VIABLE. I keep hearing about the cost, which is certainly more than the cost of traditionally subsidized energy sources. But if you remove those old subsidies, or add on similar subsidies to alternative energy production, then the cost different disappears and depending on who you talk to, may in fact reverse itself.

Jul 4th - 10:33am | Anonymous

Isn't ironic when the Bush & Cheney regime is due to leave office the gas prices go up...how convenient! Now, it's all out massive attempt and assault by this corrupt administration to explore some of the worlds most pristine and sacred places called our National Parks...for what...more oil?

Jul 4th - 09:46am | Barky

The harsh fact is it will take decades to develop truly reliable alternative energy solutions that meet our needs, even with conservation. The goal should be to reduce fossil fuel use, for sure, but there are no clear-cut solutions.

Jul 4th - 07:51am | B Howell

With our energy usage, it is impossible to drill our way out of the energy crunch. Facts are facts and I do not want to destroy what makes our natural world so wonderful to get the costs down a few pennies at the pump ! I do not want to live in a world devoid of beautiful natural settings with its wildlife.

Jul 4th - 05:36am | Anonymous

more drilling won't completely solve the problem but I am in favor of responsible exploration.

Comment Period for Proposed Gun Rule Change in National Parks Extended 30 Days

Jul 5th - 08:53am | Kurt Repanshek

Fred, totaling the votes doesn't matter when the government considers public comments. If that were the case, there wouldn't be any recreational snowmobiling in Yellowstone, where there were tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of more votes against snowmobiling than for snowmobiling.

Jul 5th - 08:33am | Bill R.

I really do not care what the final event is, I packing. I will not shoot an animal that is not on top of me! I will not shoot a person who is not trying to abuse my civil rights to enjoy myself in the great outdoors! Simple. Know there are idiots who would fire into the dark and that is what scares me though.

Jul 4th - 23:29pm | Fred Miller

Had a little time on my hands and I was curious so I did another unscientific sampling. I selected pages at random: 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 25, 26, 39, 44, and 57. I read the comments on each of those pages. There should have been 100 comments but I might have counted one twice. Guess what the results were. You're RIGHT!!

Jul 4th - 22:20pm | Fred Miller

Thanks for the information, I'll pass it on.

Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road Open End to End

Jul 4th - 20:32pm | Boo Boo

This is an obvious sign of global warming and we should all be scared out of our shamies. And, beware of the global warming in Antarctica. Not only did the continent record it's greatest ice coverage on record last year but are about 60% above that level this year. be afraid, be very afraid of global warming!!!

Prescribed Fire in Grand Canyon National Park Now Out of Control

Jul 4th - 16:17pm | Rangertoo

What. again? A prescribed fire in 2004 on the south rim quickly burned out of control and all the way to the rim. It killed trees over many acres at the south entrance road/Desert View junction and will not recover in our lifetime. The man in charge of prescribed fires for Grand Canyon was given award earlier this year for the quality of his work.

Jul 3rd - 14:58pm | Lone Hiker

Evidently a bit of sarcasm can be lost on some folks.

Jul 3rd - 02:16am | MRC

Fire Management is and will be first and foremost a matter of trial and error. There is nothing wrong with a fire going beyond what was planned - if the safety zones were set according to prior experiences. Here it seems to work. A prescribed fire became to powerful, went beyond the targeted area and now gets suppressed.

Jul 2nd - 16:17pm | One of The Old Breed

With regards to GRCA having been in "high fire danger" when the prescribed fire was ignited ...when planning prescribed fires, in order to attain the desired flame length or heat/unit area that is needed so as to achieve the desired results, it is often necessary to implement the prescription when the fire danger is high.

Jul 2nd - 16:12pm | Anonymous

Then there was the "Outlet Fire" that closed the Park for quite some time in about 2001. It eventually burned all the way from west of the Lodge to Point Imperial and onto Cape Royal and several hundred acres of National Forest lands in the Saddle Mountain area. The Bridger Fire was a lightning strike on the Park which burned about 50,000 ares of USFS lands.

Yellowstone National Park Sees Record Visitation in June

Jul 4th - 11:25am | Frank N

I talked to several locals during the month of June and almost universally they were talking about how "empty" the park was. Much less traffic than normal for June, they were saying. Personally, I only visited twice during June and my impression was that there was SLIGHTLY less traffic than normal. Certainly fewer RV's.

Jul 3rd - 10:25am | jsmacdonald

Unfortunately, we don't have a demographic breakdown of the numbers. From my recent visit, there seems to be a lot of foreign visitors taking advantage of a weak dollar. One I talked to about the price of airlines said it was nothing because the dollar was so weak.

Traveler's View: Concealed Weapons Have No Place In Our National Park System

Jul 4th - 01:11am | Scotty

Sad that so many are so vehemently against fellow citizens exercizing a Right. I pray that a day comes when gun ownership/posession is an unremarkable thing. The fear of guns and those who posess them is insanity bred by an incessant media equating guns with crime.

National Park History: Renaming National Parks Can Show Respect for Native Cultures

Jul 3rd - 14:34pm | Rangertoo

Bob - take heart. You can always visit Marys Nipples, Utah; Janies Nipples, Idaho; or Mollys Nipples, Nevada. The USGS has not changed those names yet. (And why are they all in the West?)

Jul 3rd - 13:12pm | MRC

Academics are so predictable. You can't resist intellectual temptation. You claimed, that you didn't want to know - I showed you the link - and you had to check it. With knowledge just one click away, there was no way you could have resisted.

Jul 3rd - 10:01am | Bob Janiskee

Darn it, MRC. I TOLD you I didn't want to know! :-)

Jul 3rd - 09:59am | Rangertoo

As to why the name of the mountain has not been changed to Denali: the Ohio Congressional delegation, home of McKinley, has long objected to the name change. This link provides a good synopsis of the name issue at Denali. http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/loewen-lies.html

Jul 3rd - 09:26am | MRC

Well Bob, please check this link to see if you are right. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1124605

Jul 3rd - 07:22am | Bob Janiskee

Gotta love that U.S. Board of Geographic Names. They do a great job of vetting place name changes. My favorite Board decision was the renaming of a western place called Whorehouse Flats, which is now called Naughty Lady Meadow. At least that's the story as it was told to me. I don't want to know the real story, whatever that may be. Can't let the truth get in the way of a perfectly good tale.

Jul 3rd - 07:22am | Mookie

Another mountain that has recently tried to have its name changed is Mt. Clay in NH. In 2003 the NH State Legislature passed a bill changing the name to Mt. Reagan; however, the USGS won't even consider any feature named after a person until they are dead for 5 years, and even then it is up to them to change it on their maps if they want to.

Jul 3rd - 07:00am | MRC

Wikipedia claims that the Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain with the park in 1980, only the U.S. Board of Geographic Names at the USGS kept McKinley on their maps. Congress is not involved in naming geographic features - at least not officially.

Jul 3rd - 05:59am | Bob Janiskee

You make an interesting point, MCR, but at the risk of blowing a fuse on the weaselspeak-o-meter I will point out that Denali is not celebrating a birthday this month like those two other parks are. ;-) Another thing, MCR.

Jul 3rd - 05:14am | MRC

You should of course mention Denali National Park, which was called Mount McKinley until 1980. Denali means "the high one" in the Athabascan language, while McKinley remembers William McKinley, the 25th President.

What do People Take Home from a Visit to Gettysburg National Military Park?

Jul 3rd - 12:21pm | Bob Janiskee

I can't be sure, Jim, but I strongly suspect that the trees you saw were some of those slated for clearing needed to restore the sightlines of the July 1863 battlefield. The Park Service planned to remove trees (some? all?) from nearly 600 acres (that's almost one square mile) in the park.

Jul 3rd - 11:59am | jsmacdonald

The park, like other military parks like nearby Antietam or the Battle of Little Bighorn, have an especially creepy feeling about them. You feel the death around you; that's a large part of why I like them. They are true reminders of the devastation of war.

Florine and Hirayama Regain the Nose Route Speed-Climb Record at Yosemite National Park

Jul 3rd - 10:30am | Anonymous

A remarkable feat indeed but Mark Wellman and Mike Corbett's El Capitan climb in 1989 was more stunning. Mr. Wellman being a paraplegic was being hauled up with arduous physical unionism with Mike Corbett to the top of El Capitan in phenomenal execution strength. Unmatched so far in human spirit and strength!

Senators Willing to Legislate Clean Air Over National Parks if EPA Does Protect Airsheds

Jul 3rd - 04:10am | Bob Janiskee

Pigeon Forge, TN, is a monument to bad taste. Please answer me this: If there is a God, why did He let Pigeon Forge happen?

Jul 3rd - 02:08am | Jim

I travelled from the UK last month to journey down through Shenandoah, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains, and in two weeks I don't think we saw further than 10 miles. It was a great shame, as we had gorged on images taken in better conditions before we travelled. We still enjoyed our trip very much, but the view was very much hampered by haze.

Congressman Accuses Sec. Kempthorne of Pandering to NRA on Gun Issue

Jul 2nd - 23:09pm | Scotty

Owen, In Oregon we can carry in Schools, Churches, museums and libraries but not courthouses, post offices, police departments and federal buildings. I honestly thing we should be able to carry in all places. The more places "off limits" to CHL holders, the more chance of one getting arreste for a firearms crime and the more statistics the gentlemen above have to banter about.

National Park Quiz 9: The American Revolution

Jul 2nd - 22:11pm | d-2

Dear Rangertoo: There IS an 'authenticity of place' for its own sake, and not only with a battlefield, and it is more than just the original historic structure.

Jul 2nd - 20:05pm | Bob Janiskee

Why, of course I can name them. And their spouses and children and pets, too. Don't want to spoil a good quiz item, though, so I'm not going to share that information here.

Jul 2nd - 18:37pm | Rick Smith

Bob-- Now that you have dusted off Harry Yount's name in your previous quiz. can you name the only 5 recipients of the career Harry Yount award for service to the ranger profession? PS--they are all retired save one although he works for another agency. Rick Smith

Jul 2nd - 14:30pm | Bob Janiskee

Rangertoo, your comments highlight at least two quite troubling issues. One is the need to quit perpetuating historic myth. Here at Traveler we want to avoid passing along bad information, so we really appreciate it when you help us sort fact from myth. I really mean that. Another problem is the need to somehow deal with the temporal ambiguity inherent in the concept of site.

Jul 2nd - 13:28pm | Mookie

BTW Bob, love the quizzes. Also, the Freedom Trail from the Bunker Hill Monument to the Common is an easier walk -- all downhill.

Jul 2nd - 12:53pm | Rangertoo

Bob - I was not criticizing, just clarifying. You do a great job with this site and great service to the public in promoting national park issues.

NPR on the National Parks

Jul 2nd - 18:01pm | Barky

I'm just happy they are doing the reports at all. If it increases interest & visitation, then maybe these other problems will come to light. I am still hopeful, there's still a couple more days of their coverage coming. Maybe they have a wrap-up program covering these admin issues?? ==================================

Creature Feature: The American Marten

Jul 2nd - 17:25pm | Anonymous

saw one in the tahoe area recently, it looked at me for a good 30 seconds then took off. it kind of jumped away about 10 ft at a time

Former NPS Director George Hartzog Passes

Jul 2nd - 16:20pm | Jim McDaniel

What an inspiring and charismatic leader! Director Hartzog inspired me to move from Grand Canyon to Washington, DC in 1969 to be part of a new urban initiative. This fateful move led to a most satisfying career, culminating in a lengthy assignment as Director of White House Liaison for the National Park Service.

Yellowstone National Park Bison Unhappy With Photo Shoot Tosses Pennsylvania Boy

Jul 2nd - 16:06pm | Betty H

Some of us have gotten way of topic here ! Another discussion whould be more appropriate for the "let the wildlife roam" topic, which by the way I do support !

Groups Sue Cape Hatteras National Seashore Over ORV Traffic

Jul 2nd - 14:38pm | In NOVA

I chased a plastic bag that had been picked up and carried by the wind about a half mile down the beach (the wind was quite fierce on the the shore that day) because I care so deeply about my favorite vacation spot. Chances are, I wouldn't put that much effort into it in my own apartment complex.

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