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Glacier National Park, Or "Goat" National Park?

Jun 12th - 19:04pm | Sabbatis

I'm interested in your comment that "So massive is the park that it’s both a sin and a miracle that only the Sun Road slices entirely through the interior." Perhaps it is the lack of roads that helps keep Glacier so wild?

Turning the National Parks Over to Volunteers

Jun 12th - 18:57pm | Sabbatis

In fairness to Ms. Mainella, I think that supporting the budget is a mandatory requirement of her job.

Jun 11th - 12:33pm | Alan Gregory

80 percent? Hell, that's a bargain. And it would be an easy argument to make that most Park System personnel (particularly the seasonals) don't paid anywhere near what they should get. Fran focuses on photo ops at which she can smile and put on a happy face for the Bush administration while the Park System collapses for want of proper funding.

Three Dead in Grand Teton Rafting Accident

Jun 10th - 20:51pm | Pat

This 69-yr old woman who died was my childhood friend's mother. She was a delightful, beautiful, Godly woman who leaves behind a large, grieving family. She had 5 children and 13 (I think) grandchildren. She had been a widow and had re-married a retired judge, who was a widower, and they were enjoying their retirement together just traveling and enjoying their many grandchildren.

Jun 5th - 08:10am | margot zell

how did the boat flip?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Jun 8th - 10:04am | gonationalparks.com

I love the national parks, but it is true people do not respect nature. The wild animals become to many people the same as the animals found in a petting zoo. I wish people would follow the warnings given by the parks and respect the wildlife--I know the animals are cute, but safety of people and animals is much more important than taking cute photos or touching an animal on a dare.

Was Potter Using Delicate Arch As A Commercial Backdrop?

Jun 6th - 15:56pm | Alan Gregory

Bad enough that yahoos on four wheels and snow tracks find it more rewarding to drive across the countryside than hike/walk. Now a unique feature of our countryside's natural heritage has to be defaced so that another yahoo can get his jollies by climbing it? Yes, he should be fined. And yes, he ought to be banned from the National Park System.

Mr. Kempthorne and the Parks

Jun 6th - 15:50pm | Alan Gregory

Not too bad? Kempy is showing his rocket scientist background when it comes to the nation's natural heritage. The National Park System is in the financial shape it is because the Bush team wants it that way. It's the same story with the Fish and Wildlife Service's ecological services offices.

How 'Bout San Rafael National Park?

May 28th - 19:20pm | Alan Gregory

Well sure, but the cynic in me says this: Gettysburg isn't a National Park System site because of its hallowed ground. No sir. It's protected land because BIG BIDNESS likes it that way. Not to mention the chamber of commerce, a.k.a. chamber of horrors.

"Deals Can Still Be Had"

May 25th - 23:19pm | jersu

I like your list much better than the AP list. I think the experience of simple pleasures within the NPS was missed by the AP author. Priceless.

May 25th - 14:40pm | Patrick

If I could add one, snorkling and sea-kayaking off the Channel Islands is absolutely incredible. Of course, in my opinion the Channel Islands are absolutely amazing for all ten suggestions as well. A sun setting over the pacific while listening to sea lions and sea gulls sing away the day? Unbelievable.

Rocky Mountain NP's Elk Problem

May 25th - 20:53pm | Patrick

Why don't they have military folks come and do this for R&R? Keep 'em off Santa Rosa.

May 24th - 09:11am | Alan Gregory

They could be monitoring the herd for CWD (chronic wasting disease). I've only seen the RMNP elk once, wandering around the grounds of the Estes Park Holiday Inn. Things are certainly out of whack; I suspect it would all be far different if the national park enveloped all of the range, as it should.

Dinosaur National Monument: Dust to Dust?

May 24th - 09:16am | Alan Gregory

Hell, I saw similar conditions 4 years back at Everglades NP. I stood inside the visitor center at Wupatki NM in Arizona long before that and noticed cracks in the building's facade.

Yellowstone Scoping Comments Show Overwhelming Opposition to Snowmobiles

May 22nd - 21:36pm | patrick

I suspect plowing the roads all winter costs just about as much as leaving the roads open for the snowmobiles. I'm one for shutting down the park completely during the winter months but congress would have a hell of a time dealing with the West Yellowstone folks.

Yellowstone Debate: Kill Cutthroats to Save Cutthroats?

May 13th - 12:49pm | Guy

Thanks for the article.

Pesticides in the Parks

May 8th - 06:45am | Hank

You found a way to tie Frank Zappa in with national parks. Well done.

Yellowstone and Cell Phones: So Goes Solitude?

May 5th - 11:44am | Glenn Williams

As useful as cell service may be in an emergency, the thought of people chattering incessently on their phones while on the trail sends shivers all the way to my timberline. The parks are places for solitude-gathering and for listening to the natural rhythms of things.

House Subcommittee's Parks Funding Rec Disappointing

May 5th - 09:42am | Alan Gregory

Again, no surprise here. Everyday we hear loads of bluster and pomp and PR-amplified rumbles from inside the Beltway. But when it comes time to cross the Ts and dot the Is, the bottom line always comes up short. As long as we have a president whose name is George W. Bush, we will continue to see cuts in the budgets of each natural resource agency: FWS, NPS, USGS, etc.

Watch Out for Those Recreation Fees

May 4th - 07:48am | repanshek

John, methinks you're venturing onto a slippery slope. Congress created the national park system for all Americans to enjoy and benefit from. It didn't create the system only for those who could afford the fees. You ask whether those who often or frequently visit the parks should pay more than those who don't?

May 3rd - 16:47pm | John D.

Well, we all know that the Parks need money to operate - and as you have amply demonstrated, they need a lot more money than they are getting currently. The question, then, is should all American contribute equally to the funding of the Parks? Or should Americans who use the Parks contribute some bit more to the Parks than Americans who don't use the Parks?

Apr 28th - 12:41pm | x-ranger

Kurt, one thing to consider with the fee issue is that they are not donation based, but instead fine based. For Forest Service and BLM lands, for instance, if you put off getting the proper parking permit and backcountry fee, you could get fined or even put in jail for repeat offences.

So What if the NPS Needs to Cinch Its Financial Belt?

May 4th - 07:34am | Kurt

John, you're right,of course. I shouldn't have so quickly dismissed Sen. Thomas's bid to see $150 million added to the Park Service's 2007 budget. However, when you realize that President Bush already has cut $100 million from the agency's budget, that $150 million would equate to only a $50 million increase above current funding levels.

May 3rd - 16:57pm | John D.

Its worth noting that in a below post, you described a $150 million increase in the Park Service's operating budget a "drop in the bucket." If that's so, then when wonders what the $5 million in earmarks you listed above amount to.

Conservation Groups Sue to Get Yellowstone Trout Protection

May 3rd - 23:50pm | yellowstoner

Good for you, again! This story needs wider circulation and continued attention

Lawsuit Focuses on Two Everglades Bird Species

May 3rd - 16:15pm | brandon nowell...

i 'm 9 year looking to a stoery on snail kite bird can you help me please

Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam

Apr 17th - 15:24pm | Alan Gregory

Woah there pardner. Y2Y is not about "removing people from the landscape." You've leaped to a conclusion that's not borne out by the language in the Y2Y proposal. In brief, Y2Y (and all the other conservation network proposals I'm aware of) is about restoring corridors linking core wild areas. People are very much a part of these proposals.

Apr 15th - 11:32am | repanshek

Val, I hear where you're coming from. My wife is a second-generation Wyoming native, and her dad was a rancher for a long time.

Apr 14th - 22:39pm | Val Jones

Although the idea of an unrestricted corridor from Wyoming to the Yukon is inspiring, it is in reality, a pipedream. As much as some of us would like to remove human beings from the Mid-American landscape this is just not practical.

Talking Points...and Points of Concern

Apr 17th - 15:19pm | Alan Gregory

We used to hear this in the Air Force (I was on active duty for 10 years and in the Air Force Reserve for another 16 years). It's called do more with less. And it is a pernicious trend. Here again, the problem is only likely to worsen pending a great waking up by the mass confused public.

Apr 14th - 06:08am | John D.

I think that they are greatly misrepresenting that "96% satisfaction" statistic. Of course it would be hard to go to some place as amazing as Yellowstone and "not be satisfied" - but they shouldn't kid themselves that people don't notice outdated exhibits, or that it is harder than ever to spend time with an experienced Park Ranger while in the Park.

Of Pigs and Parks

Apr 17th - 15:16pm | Alan Gregory

So goes the tale of conservation in the United States today; one step forward for every two backward.

Park Visitation Trends: Is There a Problem?

Apr 16th - 15:44pm | JLongstreet

There's another factor that doesn't get reported when discussing NPS visitor statistics. In my own park, where there is no entrance gate and there are many different places and ways that visitors enter, we rely on NPS staff and volunteers to count visitors.

Apr 14th - 05:52am | John D.

Kurt - Thanks for posting these additional numbers. One thing that jumps out at me from them is that with visitation bottoming-out in 1990, and visitation peaking in 1990, its clear that economic conditions affect visitation. I think you're right that fees can also affect visitation.

Apr 13th - 07:27am | repanshek

For what it's worth, after NPS visitation peaked at a record 287.2 million in 1987, it plummeted all the way down to 255.8 million in 1990, rebounded a bit to 274.7 million in 1992, and then slid again to 265.8 million in 1996 before climbing back up to 287.1 million in 1999.

Apr 12th - 19:34pm | John D.

Actually, I think that declining visitation to the National Parks is something worth being concerned about. From 1986 - 1988, National Park visitation consistently topped 280 million recreational visits, and the NPS has never topped the 287.2 million recreational visits recorded in 1987 - coming closest in 1999. In 2005, the NPS only had 273 million recreational visits.

Apr 11th - 10:53am | jersu

In light of a giant maintenance backlog, falling operational budgets, and fewer park personnel, it is surprising that the Govt would be worried about lower visitation numbers to the NPS. If anything, they should be exploring ways to restrict public access to the parks until there is a budget that can support the numbers of visitors today.

Apr 11th - 06:50am | Kris

In the last ten years, the federal recreation fee programs have increased entrance fees, some of them have doubled. This could be a key factor impacting visitation. However, 277 million Americans continue to visit parks and are willing to pay for the experience.

Are Park Inholdings Good Partnerships?

Apr 15th - 14:28pm | David Barnum

Dear Mr. Repanshak,

Park Visitation, Part Two

Apr 13th - 07:14am | repanshek

John, while you raise questions in need of answers, I didn't intend to suggest that NPS trends mirrored those at New Mexico's state parks or vice versa. Rather, it was simply to point out that just as NPS visitation goes up and down, so does that at New Mexico's state parks yet Tourism Secretary Michael Cerletti didn't seem as concerned about that in his testimony.

Apr 12th - 19:17pm | John D.

Some aspects of this post don't ring true. For example, Kurt wonders if Carlsbad's remote location has been a factor in its declining visitation - but unless Carlsbad Caverns have moved recently, its location should not have played any role in declining visitation.

Secretary Norton's Farewell

Apr 7th - 07:44am | yellowstoner

Get off the snowmobile issue. They are vile, loud, smokey, and intrusive! But more damage is done to back country features by skiers tracking through runoff chanels, or climbing to the top of geyser cones for pictures with the tips of their skis poking the fragile geyserite. We need an honest evaluation of how to use the parks that is inclusive - not exclusive.

TWS Wants Kempthorne To "Correct" Norton's Damage

Apr 7th - 06:47am | Yellowstoner

Love your Kempthorne picture.

How Long Will the Parks Last?

Apr 4th - 21:10pm | John D.

Its a shame that this amateur column is getting publicity, as this piece is pure scare-mongering. Mr.

Keeping the Night Dark in the Parks

Apr 4th - 20:55pm | John D.

Readers interested in the issue of light pollution should check out the International Dark Sky Association at http://www.darksky.org , and which is dedicated to combatting light pollution.

Gulf Islands National Seashore Still Recovering

Apr 4th - 20:48pm | John D.

I wonder, though, given all the needs of the National Park System, if a road has been destroyed by hurricanes in two consecutive years, should we really spend the money to rebuild it? The article reports that the lack of human activity on the fragile seashore - activity which used to include bustling campgrounds and commercial concessions - has produced an increasing abundance of wildlife.

Blue Ridge Head Scratcher

Apr 4th - 20:40pm | John D.

What's truly astonishing about this proposal is that the Blue Ridge Parkway already boasts 11 Visitor's Centers, not counting the facilities at Mabry Mill and the shared Oconoluftee VC with Great Smoky Mountains, which I believe makes it the Nationl Park with greatest number of Visitor's Centers in the System.

Apr 3rd - 11:52am | jersu

I agree with you. Why build a multi-million dollar centerpiece on top of a crumbling infrastructure? I think this politician is going after the "sexy" headline grabbing project for his community, rather than the more prudent but less noteworthy long term solution. I have seen the effects of funding cuts along the Parkway.

Denver Post Has Suggestion for Kempthorne

Apr 4th - 20:30pm | John D.

And of course, the ironic thing is that the so-called Revised Management Policies still do far too little to recognize the sheer diversity of sites within the National Park System.

Entrance Fees Going Up

Apr 4th - 20:26pm | John D.

The good news, however, is that I believe that Park Pass money is all sent back to the Parks. I have to believe, though, that the 2007 Parks Pass will be a bit more than $50 - which will be good for the Parks....

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