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Plight of the Parks

Death Valley Looking to Electronic Rangers to Raise Money, Lure Younger Generations

Did you hear about the "electronic rangers" you can now rent in Death Valley National Park? For $15 a day these gadgets, which you place on your rig's dashboard, will give you a guided tour of the park. Park officials hope these devices, among other things, will generate a new revenue stream for Death Valley.

NPS Snowmobile Plan for Yellowstone, Grand Teton Bucks Science, the Public, and Itself

Yellowstone National Park planners seem to have shunted aside science, the public, even their own management guidelines, in their desire to see more snowmobiles in the park by backing a final Environmental Impact Statement on snowmobile use that favors more of the machines in the park than have been in use in recent years. Yet to be seen is whether Park Service Director Mary Bomar will override Yellowstone officials.

Centennial Projects: Mountain Biking in Big Bend National Park

Among the 201 projects "certified" to meet the criteria for celebrating the National Park Service's centennial in 2016 is one to establish a dual-use, hiking and mountain biking trail in Big Bend National Park in Texas. What seems odd, though, is that this project made the list at a time when the Park Service is in the middle of a five-year study examining mountain bike use in the park system.

GAO: Interior Failed to Provide Park Service With Tools To Cope With Climate Change

Folks for some time have realized that there's something going on with the climate, and whether you believe it's human-caused or cyclical is besides the point. What's key is how we react to it. And the federal government's Government Accountability Office says the Interior Department has failed to adequately help the National Park Service react to those changes.

Centennial Projects: Do They All Prepare the National Parks for the Next 100 Years?

A $12 million jazz museum. Marketing the parks for a specific industry. Installing composting toilets. These are some of the centennial projects that the National Park Service believes will "add sparkle to America's 'Crown Jewels.'" Am I the only one wondering how?
Image icon Summary-of-Park-Centennial-Strategies-1.pdf

The Park Service's Historic Buildings Can Be Saved Without Resorting to Leases

It's no secret that I've been troubled by the National Park Service's seemingly quick reliance on the private sector to preserve historic buildings on its properties. The agency's ongoing efforts to allow a private developer to lease three dozen buildings at Fort Hancock in Gateway National Recreation Area are being done in the name of preservation. Yet there are parks that are managing restoration without resorting to privatization.

Are Car Campers An Endangered Species in National Parks?

Generations of Americans got their first taste of national parks via car camping, that venerable tradition of driving to a park and setting up a tent or two in a roadside campground. That genre of park visitation seems to be slipping these days, though, and at least one car camping veteran blames it on economics -- there's more money to be made in lodgings than campgrounds.

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