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

Theodore Roosevelt National Park has proposed eliminating feral horses and domestic livestock from the park. Unlike the fiasco at Point Reyes National Seashore, where the National Park Service appears to support maintaining domestic livestock within the park unit, the staff at Theodore Roosevelt recommends reducing the number of domestic animals to zero. Management of feral horses and domestic cattle across the West has been contentious for decades.

Op-Ed | New York Times Promotes Logging In Yosemite National Park

The New York Times recently published an article titled At Yosemite, A Preservation Plan That Calls For Chainsaws. The idea that we need to log the forest to create healthy forests in a national park is a major threat to the management policies of the National Park Service, which generally promotes natural ecological and evolutionary processes.

Op-Ed | Parking Fee In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We all know that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the United States. In 2021, the Smokies had 14.1 million visitors. Maybe it was a pandemic response and wanting to be outside or just greater appreciation of the outdoors. The bottom line is that there was a 57 percent uptick in visitation in a decade. But the park doesn’t get more money because of increased visitation; that’s not how the National Park Service works.

Op-Ed | Ranchers Dodge Reforms On Point Reyes National Seashore, Yet Still Complain

The final management plan for Point Reyes National Seashore is a win for livestock operators and a loss for native wildlife, healthy ecosystems, and public recreation. This decision continues and greatly expands commercial agriculture on a National Park Service unit, in addition to granting new uses such as farm stays, horse boarding, and on-site processing of agricultural products.

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