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Reader Participation Day: A Fee Too Far?

Mar 1st - 10:17am | Loui

The NPS doing an end around the intent of the enabling legislation to impose a non-entrance fee "parking" fee is a further example of the unelected bureacratic state (AKA The Swamp) making our government less democratic and unaccountable.  Don't forget that Mount Rushmore pulled a similar stunt with it's parking garage.  This will not be the last park to do this.

Mar 1st - 09:59am | J Ryan

I don't agree with the parking fee. Having a senior pass, and paying for a campsite, this seems like an unnecessary cost. Not to mention the diversion of Ranger resources to parking enforcement. 

Mar 1st - 08:37am | JerryC

No. I don't think a pass holder should have to purchase a parking ticket.  There's too many fees being assessed for visits to our great outdoors by rec.gov and the parks, now.  Even a fee to get a "chance" to pay another fee for a campsite or permit in many parks now.  The way things are going, soon, there will be a fee just to access rec.gov.  

Mar 1st - 07:51am | coleman craig

You should not have to pay an additional fee

Mar 1st - 07:11am | Danny Bernstein

I have my parking tag for the Smokies on my windshield. Because of historic reasons that are too complicated to explain here - refer to the original article - Great Smoky Mountains National Park cannot charge an *entrance fee*. A parking tag is a innovative way to get much needed revenues to the most visited national park in the country.

Tom Iandimarino Selected As Chief Ranger Of Everglades National Park

Mar 1st - 07:41am | Anonymous

He's retiring for a county job after only a year on the job.

Frogs Are A Sure Sign of Spring, But That Doesn't Mean You Won't Hear Them Now

Feb 28th - 00:09am | Joyce Ann

The spring peepers in Clarksburg WV started this week, I am up now because they are singing there song. Ie in the woods I love it thank you for sharing this with us, I knew I had small frogs in my pond but this is the first Time I've heard them like this! 

RVing In The Parks | Ford Offers A DIY Camper Van

Feb 27th - 09:39am | joanne

Try looking at RV trade-inns and many repos for a good price and good basic bones.get a plan and a budget.  Do it in stages of budget won't allow $50-60,000.  Doable for a lot less. price out your must haves first and who supplies it.  Also look at the thousands of auctions.   Happy glamping. Jo

UPDATE | Lawsuit Alleges Recreation.Gov Is Cluttered With "Junk Fees," Seeks Refunds

Feb 25th - 09:23am | Al K

I get tired of seeing the dozens of sites with reservations that go unused on a regular basis. Campers simply make plans and avoid the cancellation fees by not showing up. Prime sites go unused until usually 7:00 or 8:00 at night when most campers have finished eating and are sitting by the fire.

Feb 22nd - 13:06pm | Will

This is becoming the new norm for public lands. Our local Federal Recreation hotspots (campgrounds and swimming holes) have been contracted out to a company in Utah, which means any money I pay for my Federal Pass doesn't give me access to some places anymore and the new fees I have to pay go stright to that company.

Feb 22nd - 12:49pm | John Malcolm

The permit that was cancelled due to the fire in Yosemite didn't get a refund because that's the policy of the Yosemite Conservancy, which is the park's partner non-profit which runs the permitting reservations locally.

Feb 21st - 21:08pm | Carey

Recreation.gov started off as a profiteering gimmick and remains so today. I bet dollars to donuts, the guy who could not use his permit due to a fire, not only has to wait nine months for Booze-Allen to hear the complaint, but will deny the refund along with the reason they don't have control over nature either, but still had to process the permit request.

Feb 21st - 20:54pm | Mike Painter

Last summer I made a reservation for a campsite at a Forest Servicec campground in Utah. Not only was I charged for the site, but there was a separate, additional "reservation fee" tacked on. I wonder to whom that went ...

Feb 21st - 17:27pm | Raygan

I was under the assumption that whatever time I did not use for my registration was benefitting the park or cambround I was using. After reading this article I am enraged that most of my registration dollars are being used to line the pockets of the Booz Hamilton CEOs or whatever.

Feb 21st - 15:48pm | Doug

Recreation.com IS both a scam AND a horible website. It's frustrating to use, full of surprise fees, misinformation and poor descriptions of what you are reserving. I have had so many bad experiences I now avoid using Federal campsites whenever possible.

Feb 20th - 15:39pm | jessica howell-...

Great news! And great coverage. Thank you!

Rush To The Outdoors Has Challenged Recreation.Gov

Feb 24th - 13:09pm | Jill

My experiences with recreation.gov have been nightmarish.  If the feds would just give individual parks more money, each park could hire staff to manage their own facility reservation systems. They're closer to the action and understand what's on the ground better than any website could, anyway. 

Feb 13th - 09:27am | R. Lerner

Reservations at campsites at all of the popular places, like Many Glacier and hundreds of other federal campgrounds, are impossible to secure by the average person, EVEN IF you're okay with the 6 motnh advance window.  I have tried many times, and as one user noted, all of the available sites (available fore 10 am Eastern) are always 100% booked nd gone within ONE SECOND of 10 am -- trust me, I

Jan 21st - 09:32am | Jmr

I totally agree! How about half and half! 

Surveys Of Western Voters Show Strong Desire For Conservation

Feb 20th - 18:23pm | ecbuck

Its all in how the questions are asked.  Any link to the actual survey?

Mammoth Cave Testing New Route to "Snowball Room"

Feb 19th - 07:07am | **Gene C Hershberger

I remember as a kid in the early 60's going on a long hike through the cave, with a half-way stop in the Snowball Room for lunch. Seems like it was 7 miles.

Op-Ed | Feral Horses Should Be Removed From Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Feb 18th - 01:00am | Mike B.

The article is spot on.  The horses and cattle have no business there and are degrading the habitat for native wildlife.

Feb 16th - 18:21pm | Jkm

Great Story. We should not let nostalgia get in the way of consse 

Feb 16th - 10:37am | Michelle

You're totally right. The BLM out west does round up and pay people a thousand dollars to adopt a mustan.  Over half of which are then resold and put in kill pens.      There are so many rescues now that deal with mustangs and donkeys that have been sent to the kill pens.  

Feb 15th - 21:00pm | Linda Uptegrove

OF COURSE THEY WOULD CALL THE HORSES LIVESTOCK ......THST GIVES THEN CONTROL OF HAVING KILL BUYERS TAKE THEM .....TAXES PAY FIR THIS PARK, "" NO ANIMAL THERE IS VETTED "" ...... NO GIVEN HAY, OR GRAIN. NO DENTIST NO SHOER ....SO HOW MUCH RIGHT DO THEY HAVE IVER ANYONE ELSE ..??? IF THESE HORSES, AND CATTLE REMOVED THEY WILL GO TO SLAUGHTER ....

Alligator Gar Spotted Along Florida’s Gulf Islands National Seashore

Feb 16th - 20:59pm | Richard S.

Saw someone catch a long nose gar off the pier in Cedar Key today. It was huge. about 4 foot long. Never seen one of those in salt water before

National Parks Traveler Episode 95: Canada's Glorious Parks

Feb 15th - 06:35am | Cara

I had to laugh when you asked if Lake O'hara was only selling for one day. We went to the Canadian Rock NPs in 2018. I called at 10 am on the day tickets open and the whole year was already sold out within 2 hours. Next time I know not to be relaxed and sleep in. 

Interior Officials To Seek Land Swap With U.S. Virgin Islands For School On St. John

Feb 9th - 09:01am | Myrtle

Is the Virgin Islands (VI) truly gaining 11 acres if 3 acres contain National Park (NP) restrictions?  The U. S. Government as stewards of the National Park (NP) should give the 11 acres in #6 Catherineberg, St. John to the people of the VI.  Our K-12 school is urgently needed.   

End of a Curious Era at Mount Rainier National Park

Feb 7th - 16:41pm | Wyman Duane

Yes, I too miss the oddly, but stark structure as it had so much space for exhibits, gift shop, dining and areas where families could picnic and briefly escape the often harsh mountain weather.  Worked for 10 seasons with Guest Services, the sight of the DUB or PVC was always a welcome landmark.

Human Resource Problems Straining Workforce In Some National Parks

Feb 4th - 17:44pm | KM

I wonder what your response is in 2023 to the crisis we now have on our hands under this administration. Having been with the Park Service almost 10 years, I have never seen such desperation and suffering among my employees as I did last year. We were only able to fill 50% of our vacancies.

The Challenges Of Recreation.gov

Jan 31st - 14:26pm | AdamK

I see people complaing that the see an open day the night before, but when they check before 7am the next morning they find it is no longer available. I think that can happen when a person has the previous days reserved and then get's onto the system and changes their reservation. You are allowed to make changes after a waiting period.

Jan 24th - 19:22pm | SAM

I get really steamed at the folks who reserve sites a day or two before they intend to arrive. The sites sit empty a day or two then they show up just about the time the ranger is pulling down the reserved signs. I understand that folks sometimes have problems on the road, but if one does not occupy the site by morning it should be freed up.

Off The Well-Trod Path: The Mayna Avent Cabin In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jan 30th - 20:31pm | Jon

My great grandfather Humphrey Ownby built the cabin and lived in it nearly 50 years before selling it to his nephew who's father in law bought it for a wedding gift for him and his daughter. My grandfather was born in the cabin in 1910 and as great as that cabin is it doesn't come close to holding a candle to how great my grandfather was.

Jan 30th - 20:27pm | Jon

Do you mean Ida Ownby? She was born in 1886. My grandfather was born in the cabin in 1910 David Carl Ownby.  

Should Horses And Cattle Be Removed From Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Jan 30th - 15:20pm | Vickie BIrklid

The horses should stay in the park.  There is enough range and grass to maintain the populations of animals in the park, as evidenced in the past.

Jan 28th - 16:35pm | Brian Heath

Surely the park's wildlife management people can determine the right number of wild horses to maintain a good balance.  The horses' popularity with visitors shouldn't be ignored. 

Jan 23rd - 11:23am | Fred LaVenuta

The horses of Theodore National Park belong there. Considering the size of the Park 200 horses will not overrun the eco-system. They are attractive and exciting to visitors and have a place in the Park's food chain. Please do not allow the bureaucrats to prevail.

Survey Says National Park Service Is Far from the Best Government Agency to Work For

Jan 30th - 08:04am | Josh

Rob,

Jan 30th - 07:38am | Josh

I agree with your first paragraph but disagree with your second. Good leadership is elusive but not exclusive. Just as highering a younger generation didn't change a toxic work environment, hiring more more "brown people" or more males/female wont do it either.

Jan 30th - 05:34am | Anonymous

A Couple of points,

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 206 | Wildlife Migratory Corridors

Jan 29th - 15:00pm | Kristi Brister

Our family has been trying to see all the national parks, we have been at it for the last 16 years and have been to 42. Our recent visit to some Alaska national parks really hit home how we are impacting them in a negative way, just by visiting. I'd love a podcast or list of ideas on how we can carbon offset our visits, limit our impacts, choose activities that don't damage the park, etc.

No Charges Forthcoming In Shooting of Grizzly In Denali National Park and Preserve

Jan 29th - 01:39am | Anonymous

Bear spray is good to carry it usually has a 20-30ft range depending on brand, but realisticly a bear can close a good distance in a short timespan so even with the heavy spray fog or cone of a spray is deployed it may not work on the bear given its adrenaline and rate of speed. These are predators that are no stranger to animals that are way stronger than you fighting back.

Remains of Sunken Ferryboat “Ellis Island” are Removed from Island Slip

Jan 27th - 00:55am | Larry Cohen

My Grandfather Louis Forminsky worked on the Ellis Island ferry in the engine room between service in the US Navy in WWI and WWII.   It would be great to see an exhibit dedicated to the ferry that brought so many immigrants from Ellis Island on the final leg of immigration.

Building with Notorious History in Death Valley National Park Burns in Mysterious Fire

Jan 26th - 12:27pm | I was there bef...

There was a bookshelf that actually had books on it, probably all placed there by visitors.  Things like "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich", etc.  Outside of the house on some high ground there was a chair with the legs embedded in concrete.  

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Proposes A "Parking Fee"

Jan 26th - 06:56am | M Dotson

check out South Carolina's state park system. South Carolina earns 90% of operations cost thru it's 47 parks. The Feds in National park system just raise prices and invent more ways to charge users. The parks belong to the citizens of US. The park service works to manage our property. The federal system is broken and is not providing proper management. 

Update: At Grand Canyon National Park, an Abandoned Uranium Mine Must be Cleaned Up

Jan 26th - 00:57am | Paul Kricensky

WShouldn't the mine owners cvlean it up?

In Search Of Reasonable Housing For National Park Service Employees

Jan 21st - 15:10pm | Maria C

Unfortunately, yes. Yosemite is experiencing a bit of an employee exodus due to the fact that it can't meet it's employees' basic needs. I think there are two main factors at play to cause this. 1: Housing prices were adjusted to meet the cost of local rentals, causing rent to double for some seasonals. Rundown shacks that cost you $440 in 2021 cost close to $900 in 2022.

Wanderings From Cable Mountain In Zion National Park

Jan 21st - 10:38am | David Lawrence ...

David A Flanigan was my grandfather.  He had four sons but I am his only grandson with the Flanigan name.  One son died in a fire at a young age, and just daughters were born to uncle Alma.  Don Flanigan had no children.  My father, Orville, was 41 years old when I and my twin sister were born.

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve

Jan 20th - 19:08pm | Harmon Everett

I think your first statement is false. There have been human fatalities caused by bears in Denali. I was backpacking there in 1977, and we were asked to stop hiking and camp at the campground because of a fatal bear attack the previous day. A nature photographer had been hiking by himself when a bear attacked him for apparantly no reason and tore him to shreds.

Former NPS Chief Historian Robert Utley Passes At 92

Jan 19th - 17:05pm | Castle McLaughlin

Bob Utley was a superb historian and a steller human being who steadfastly stood up for what was right. The NPS and the world at large needs more people like him. 

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