You are here

Home

All Recent Comments

While Bison Are Driven Back into Yellowstone National Park, Questions Over Management Continue

May 20th - 09:21am | jsmacdonald

Betty,

May 20th - 07:20am | Betty Howell

Please keep this issue in the news. As spring turns into summer, too many people are going to forget about this "crying shame" ! I hope some organization can keep the word out to visitors of the Yellowstone NP and nearby areas this summer. Intense pressure from the "tourists" will make a difference as it hits the almighty dollar factor !

NPS Retirees Oppose Carrying Guns in National Parks

May 20th - 08:56am | Rick

The anti-gun gang hysteria never ceases to amaze me. "We're afraid that people with permits might have guns and we won't know it!. Eeewwww!" Why don't you whine about all of the gun-carrying criminals you pass every day? For your information, since gun -banners never do the research, as of the 2006 FBI data, there were appx 14,000 non-suicide firearm deaths in the U.S.

National Park Quiz 2: Straddlers

May 19th - 23:13pm | Sabattis

Actually, Bob, the National Park Service only counts Klondike Gold Rush NHP once towards the total of 391 National Parks. I refer you to Page 3 of this PDF file for Reference: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/refdesk/classlst.pdf

May 19th - 06:39am | Bob Janiskee

Sabattis, I think maybe you sorta painted yourself into a corner on this one, revealing the terribly complicated nature of devising completely unambiguous quiz questions. Here is how you phrased your question:

May 19th - 06:05am | Sabattis

Sorry..... Good point - here's the answer to my "bonus" trivia question. The first Park is Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, which has two Units, one in Seattle and one in Skagway, Alaska. The Klondike Gold Rush played a major role in the development of Seattle as a major city, so the Seattle Units makes for a very interesting addition to this Park.

May 16th - 16:04pm | Bob Janiskee

Well, MRC, I wouldn't want people to use the "open book" approach to get the answers the first time through the quiz. That would take the fun out of it. But I do think it'd be great if people who missed quiz items used various sources (including the Internet) to find out why particular answers were correct.

May 16th - 14:53pm | MRC

Bob, you want us to use websites, literature and maps to answer your quizzes? I thought one had to answer them straight out of ones head, and was a bit unhappy as I got only 7 out of the 11 this time after 9 of 10 at the last.

May 16th - 07:42am | Bob Janiskee

One purpose if these little quizzies is to get you digging into the literature -- or cyberspace, if you prefer -- to find out more about the parks. The question Sabattis tossed out was a bit tough, though, so perhaps a clue is in order. Think Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast.

May 16th - 07:20am | Sabattis

Bob - I totally agree, I think that the National Park System would be a little easier to protect and defend if the System itself were properly definied in terms that people could understand.

May 16th - 07:09am | Mookie

Hey Sabattis, you going to tell us the answer to your bonus question, or just make us all suffer?

May 16th - 05:26am | Bob Janiskee

Clustering like things together or placing them in the same category is Management 101. Disregarding this basic rule invites chaos, and the National Park System offers a splendid example. It's probably impractical to straighten this mess out at this late stage of the game, but wouldn't it be nice?

Is Your Backcountry Safety Net A Personal Locator Beacon or Cell Phone?

May 19th - 21:21pm | Scott White

I just finished reading"The Last Season" , the story of Ranger Randy Morgenson's disappearance in King's Canyon N.P. If anyone would like to know just what all an SAR entails, this is a great education. Locator beacons are a great tool that can save life, time , and resources when used responsibly.

May 19th - 13:42pm | Fred Miller

Although I hope I never need it, I plan to carry something like a SPOT along with all my other backpacking stuff. There are just too many times when help is too far away and we must rely on ourselves and our preparation. To assume that we can "push the button" if we get into trouble is not very smart. "One-in-a-million" situations CAN occur; be prepared.

Park Service Retirees Urge Interior Department to Halt American Revolution Center

May 19th - 14:47pm | Rangertoo

Lest we forget, Valley Forge was a state park until the Bicentennial when the state decided it was cheaper to let the federal government have it. It's surrounded by hotels, shopping centers and houses.

May 16th - 23:21pm | Anonymous

What gets lost in the discussion is that the land in question is within the boundaries of the park, the NPS was attempting to purchase it when the ARC bought it, and that the site is archeologically-rich with evidence of the historic encampment commissary.

Would a Change in Gun Laws Be a Threat to National Park Bears?

May 19th - 14:26pm | Anonymous

Timothy Treadwell thought very much like these anti-gunner peaceniks. Now, he is dead. Bears, lions and wolves are all wild animals. Not cute cuddly, warm and fuzzy pets like your cartoons and fairy tales depict.

May 17th - 10:10am | Constitution

This shouldn't be an issue. The 2nd Amendment doesn't make any exceptions to the right to self-defense, including on national parks. The gun restrictions are illeagal to begin with and need repealed or challenged in court. Do you realy want to do the stupid thing and play dead with a grizzly or fight back? You anti-gun folks are just clueless about nature and the real world.

Kings Canyon National Park

May 19th - 13:33pm | MRC

Ahhh - King's Canyon is great, but this picture is just Kitsch.

NPCA: Health of Everglades National Park Requires a Longer Bridge Along the Tamiami Trail

May 19th - 12:58pm | Lara

The Miccosukee Tribe does not support the Skyway project as it will have adverse impacts on their life, businesses, traditional camps, and cultural resources. This is an environmetal justice issue as well as an environmental one. Please see their website for more information: http://www.miccosukeetours.com/

Book Review: Let's Go See:All 50! -- Visiting the 50 States Journal

May 19th - 06:43am | Stephen L Martin

Dorothy, Thank you for your kind words about the journal. It is feedback like yours that make it a truly humbling yet fulfilling experience. The journal is currently being carried by 133 retail outlets spanning 33 states, and it has only been available since November 2007. If interested, I can provide you with a location nearest to you so that you can inspect it in person.

May 19th - 06:40am | Stephen L Martin

Dear Bob,

May 18th - 06:02am | Dorothy

um yeah, now I found the note at the end... I really am a little slow in the morning. Thanks!

May 18th - 06:01am | Dorothy

I would love to get this for my husband for father's day - but where? I did a search online this morning and came up with nothing other than a few announcements about it. Do you know where I can purchase one? Is it just too soon? Thank you, Dorothy

National Park Search and Rescue: Should the Rescued Help Pay the Bills?

May 18th - 20:17pm | Anonymous

First, I believe that I have received good information at/from all the national parks I have visited on the subject of safety and preparation for the areas I travel. Perhaps this is why the vast majority of the people in the story sustained no injuries.

May 16th - 21:22pm | Anonymous

Rescues caused by stupid and uninformed actions are not unique to wilderness activities. If we are to start charging for such rescues in the wilderness, what about people who try to drive across flooded streets? People who drive standard cars into snowstorms? People who swim into noticed red tides? The list is long.

Explosives, Possibly Dating to 1930s, Found in Sequoia National Park's Crystal Cave--Updated

May 18th - 20:14pm | Anonymous

EOD Gad has a point. Why think this this thing to death like all other government jobs just take care of it and move on. financially, our parks are stretched to the limits and under funded.

May 17th - 06:32am | EOD Graduate

Once again our government has thought up a way to spend a lot of money to solve a very simple problem. Today you can run a fiber optic scope down the hole and see what is in there. Back in the Vietnam era we just blew it up! Still the simple solution for Master Blaster. How many educational degrees does it take to figure that one out? That hole was blasted there in the first place.

May 16th - 18:39pm | Kurt Repanshek

That is, I'm told, indeed his official title, and it is definitely a cool one. However, "Master Blaster" would be better, no?;-)

May 16th - 18:29pm | Anonymous

Is this guy's title actually Chief Blaster?? If it is, that is a seriously awesome job title :)

Coal-Fired Plants Obscuring National Park Vistas

May 18th - 15:47pm | Anonymous

Lone Hiker:Good input and I find your arguments most informative. Although, I don't have your expertise in the field or specialty (was it physics?) in some aspect of hard science but I do remember the scientific community complaining back in the 1980's how difficult it was to drum up money for research and development towards alternative energy projects.

May 18th - 13:24pm | Lone Hiker

I'm really getting tired of Liberals blaming the current doofus administration for all of the nation's energy woes when all past administrations dating back to the 50's are just a culpable, and when the real evidence suggests that this lame-brained nation has been comfortable and content with utilization of oil for decades.

May 18th - 10:41am | Kurt Repanshek

Unfortunately, not all coal-fired power plants emit nothing more than water vapor and CO2. Among the contaminants still released by many are mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, not too mention particulate matter.

May 18th - 10:24am | Anonymous

For years we have had some of the greatest minds exploring all avenues of green energy and alternative energy resources outside of Big Coal and Big Oil. It's a known fact, the government (especially with this present administration) has not injected much needed money into these programs or projects for research and development...just on a small token bases.

May 18th - 07:55am | Anonymous

The "smoke" you see emanating from the stacks of coal fired power plants is carbon dioxide and water vapor. NOx, SUx, and particulate is eliminated by equipment specifically designed to do so, and these hazards are NOT released into the atmosphere. Go to the plants....ask for the data. They have to keep it public record, and the record originates from a 3rd party testing company.

May 16th - 23:09pm | J Longstreet

This isn't just about the NPS and NPCA not wanting to be impacted by coal burning power plants -- it's the law. The 1977 Clean Air Act requires that all national parks larger than 6000 acres that existed when the law was passed have the highest degree of protection from air pollution impacts of any lands in the US.

May 16th - 18:52pm | jr_ranger

OK, so I could go on a massive anti-coal rant the points out the many ills of said nasty, foul energy, and the merits and truth behind how we can power America on renewable energy, but I won't. No, I'll keep my mouth shut (mostly) and be brief...

May 16th - 14:46pm | MRC

North Texas has Lake Meredith NRA and Alibates Flint Quarries NM. But maybe better filter systems might help? The Germans use amazing electric particle filters on their plants and use the cooling water to "wash" the exhaust fumes additionally. I'm not really sure, if the US standard is as high as theirs.

May 16th - 07:07am | Sabattis

Of course, the problem with NPCA's report is this - is it possible to build a coal-fired power plant in the United States that is *not* within the viewshed of one of the 391 National Parks? Maybe you could put a coal-fired power plant in north-central Texas that wouldn't impact the viewshed of a National Park, but I'm not even sure about that.

Violent Deaths in the National Parks

May 18th - 14:39pm | Kurt Repanshek

Tim, If you could cite the sources of your statistics that'd be helpful. Here's a blurb from a story that ran last year in the Observer newspaper in Great Britain. It's a disturbing portrait of how others see us:

May 18th - 14:19pm | tim

Brad, Russia and Mexico are both countries that limit possession so severely that "normal" citizens are really not allowed to own them (much less carry concealed). Yet the murder rate for both of those countries is much higher that that of the US. Almost no Russian civilians own firearms, but the number of homicides is three to four times as high as in the US.

May 18th - 14:03pm | Tim

Frank - you indicated that you were puzzled why you didn't hear more stories about people legitimately using their firearms to defend themselves. Yet, when you were pointed to a reference for those stories you discount it.

Ken Burns' National Parks Documentary: Where Does it Stand?

May 17th - 04:54am | Anonymous

Yaaaaawwwwwnnnnn...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...hope it's more interesting than his lame series on "The War."

Montana Governor Asked to "Provide Leadership" In Yellowstone Bison Controversy

May 16th - 17:32pm | jsmacdonald

In this case, the agencies involved in the IBMP are the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Montana Department of Livestock, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

May 16th - 12:21pm | Betty Howell

6 years and 16 million dollars for nothing.........and to think, we sent a man to the moon within a single decade. This problem needs to be solved NOW. The wild bison and other animals who have to follow the forage to survive deserve our help. This situation is a disgrace to America, the state of Montana, the US Fish & Wildlife and the National Park Service.

Wolf Killed Illegally Near Grand Teton National Park, $3,000 Reward Offered

May 16th - 17:07pm | Anonymous

Kurt, I am not going let this tragic and sad article pass me by without venting my anger at this despicable sick coward that shot this beautiful animal.

Protest Against American Revolution Center at Valley Forge National Historical Park Planned for May 15

May 16th - 11:15am | Anonymous

Jerry Lenfest is the owner of this property, not the National Park Service. The proposed ARC museum is absolutely beautiful and is giving over 100 acres of open space while only developing on 19.5 acres. What other developer would give you that? This land will be resold to a housing developer for top dollar if the ARC project is thwarted.

Park History: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

May 16th - 08:38am | Rangertoo

I cannot agree that there is any objective criteria whatsoever for the designation as National Park. Congaree and Cuyahoga Valley were renamed because the Congressman wanted them renamed to increase tourism. Petrified Forest was renamed at the urging of the local communities in an effort to increase tourism.

May 16th - 07:35am | Bob Janiskee

This is absolutely fascinating subject matter, Sabattis. Sport hunting arrangements in the National Park System are all over the map, figuratively and literally. And it isn't just the Preserves that permit sport hunting, either. At Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore you've got hunters pursuing deer with rifles and using shotguns to bag ruffed grouse, rabbits, and other small game.

May 16th - 06:49am | Sabattis

Yes Bob, that's it - at least some National Preserves allow sport hunting, although I am not sure that this is true for any other Unit in the National Park System. I'm not sure if there are other differences as well.

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.