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Senators Pushing to Rollback Fees for National Parks and Other Public Lands

May 25th - 09:26am | julie s.

The people who complain about having to pay fees at National Parks, tend to be the same people who complain about the lack of facilities, staffing, amenities, etc. at the parks. All the things that require funding. How much of our tax dollars do you think the parks actually get?

May 25th - 07:29am | Gaelyn

I'd like to see access to public lands for free, however, then there needs to be an increase to these sites from Congress or they'll go broke and have to close.

May 25th - 04:47am | Volpe

The public owns the parks and fees to enter are like charging me to go into my own backyard. “The public shouldn't have to pay to access public lands” makes sense. Charge fees for camping, boat rentals etc. but make sure that 100% of that money stays in the park.

Luxury Lodging in Our National Parks

May 25th - 09:06am | stormy

Yes, the 'common folk' can walk into these wonderful places and sit down, have a drink, whatever & watch 'the rich at play'. Kinda like the peasants could enter the castle and have the privilege of watching royalty eat their dinner, but never being allowed to join them. Then after the meal, they would be able to buy the leftover scraps at the kitchen door.

May 24th - 10:38am | y_p_w

Many of these places do exist for a reason. The Ahwanee was built at a time when the NPS needed influential people to help with its survival. In many ways, anyone can enjoys these places. Anyone can walk into the Great Lounge at the Ahwahnee and sit down for a few minutes. During winter they typically have both fireplaces going. Anyone can walk in for a meal too.

May 23rd - 23:01pm | Joe Six Pack

$300 to $500+ per night for a room? I hardly call that accessble for "regular" folk! Did we really protect these wonderful places to make them playgrounds for the rich and elite?

Did Developers At Harpers Ferry Ignore NEPA?

May 25th - 08:36am | Anonymous

The Developers who bought the Hill Top Hotel in Harpers Ferry back in 2007 have allowed the property to deteriorate and partially collapse this winter 2010. The large pile of debris just sits there potentially leeching Lead and asbestos into the soil and water or air.

Republicans on House Natural Resources Committee Complain About Northern Border Problems

May 25th - 08:09am | Lee Dalton

Wow, can you imagine the size of the fence they're going to need to keep those dangerous Canadians from flying across the border!?

By the Numbers: The North Cascades National Park Service Complex

May 25th - 07:40am | Anonymous

Thanks for the stats. I've been looking at the NP site for North Cascades as we plan to visit in Sept. May have to alter plans. I had no idea there were so few roads in the park complex. That's okay. We'll enjoy day hikes.

May 25th - 04:54am | Bob Janiskee

@ QTLuong: Thanks for the information about visitation and roads, which I have incorporated into the BTN stats. As you've so aptly pointed out, North Cascades is not exactly a windshield touring park!

May 25th - 04:01am | qtluong

The visitation numbers in the National Park proper are certainly low (2nd least visited park in the continental US, second only to Isle Royale) for a park close to Seattle. That's easier to understand if you add the following number: 6 Miles of road (all unpaved) inside North Cascades National Park.

Underwater Archeology Projects in Outer Banks Parks Address Intriguing Questions

May 25th - 07:38am | WDP

I was also under the impression that the sunken ships were also the de facto tomb of the lost sailors, whatever their nationality, and should be respected as such.

May 23rd - 12:47pm | Bob Janiskee

MRC, do you mean (gasp!) that the U.S. government did not care about the dotting of i's and the crossing of t's when messing around with sunken Soviet warships? This is outrageous! Where do I file my protest?!

May 23rd - 12:39pm | Bob Janiskee

My understanding is that the underwater work is scheduled for May and June, Anon. If you want more specific information about the project, try calling the park at the number I provided at the end of the article. I must confess that I don't know much about the evolution of submarine design over the past 65 years.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Dispute Places Birds, Turtles, and Humans on Small Strip of Sand

May 25th - 07:35am | Judy Latham

"the folly of trying to control nature" - Kurt Repanshek If you truly believe this, then it seems to me you should start wielding your word hammer on the pro-access side. NPS, at the enviros whim, attempts to control nature by slaughtering hundreds of so-called predator mammals every year. Imho, it proves the bottom line for the enviros is money. SAVE THE RACCOONS!

May 24th - 19:14pm | Kurt Repanshek

As I noted in the 3rd graf, Matt:

May 24th - 18:55pm | Matt Stubbs

Kurt, I guess because of the responses to any writing you do in reference to Cape Hatteras getting more responses than the next 100 articles combined says something about the feelings about this. I will also state the looking at the letter of the law at the NPS about what constitutes a recreational area and the fact they leave this out ILLEAGALLY (per congress) from legal documentation.

May 24th - 17:42pm | Kurt Repanshek

Wheat, The 2.2 million number does not include those other units you mentioned. You can find it at the National Park Service's public statistics web site: http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/ Once there you can find the stats for Cape Hatteras, Fort Raleigh, etc.

May 24th - 17:12pm | Bob Janiskee

A point of clarification is in order here. The article did not say that Cape Natteras National Seashore -- or any other Outer Banks locale -- has jetties, groins, rip-rap, or seawalls. These were cited as examples of beach hardening tactics on coastal barriers that work against natural processes and are self-defeating.

May 24th - 16:52pm | Wheat

Kurt, I want to thank you for the article as it is perhaps the most moderate piece you’ve written on this exhausting subject. Many are the issues that make up the fight for access to this amazing place.

May 24th - 11:48am | dapster

"Your implication of being inconvenienced for a scenic photo is ridiculous and disingenuous in this situation. It makes you less creditable." Did you perhaps mean "Credible"? No matter, for I am only lessened in your eyes, and by your measure, both of which mean little to me, frankly.

May 24th - 09:13am | Opposed to DEIS...

to Anonymous on may 24 5:32am It is funny you would say ANYTHING regarding that vantage point "Your implication of being inconvenienced for a scenic photo is ridiculous and disingenuous in this situation. It makes you less creditable."

May 24th - 08:40am | Dave Vachet

Anonyous, your accusation to dapster of being disingenuous must be to shift the light away from you. To continue to portray this as strictly an ORV issue is actually disingenuous and makes YOU less credible.

May 24th - 06:32am | Anonymous

Dapster let me explain to other readers about your Lighthouse picture. That is a turtle nest on the most used pedestrian beach in the Seashore. The closure never impeded access. If you had moved your vantage point over 100 feet either way you would have had a perfectly good picture of the Lighthouse without the closure signs.

May 24th - 06:13am | Anonymous

Dapster Do you think you can ever stop human error? What do you think would happen if one Jack Russell terrier got loose at Cape Point in the tern colony?

May 23rd - 15:08pm | dapster

Kurt, I knew my last sentence would draw fire, but it's simply the way I and many other feel about this. This was a complete blindside, as nothing of the sort was ever mentioned through the course of Reg-Neg, nor was anything even remotely close to it requested by any of the stakeholder groups.

May 23rd - 12:51pm | Opposed to DEIS...

The issues are much boarder and further reaching than most may think. The ESA requires no scientific evidence for listing (just best evidence available which can be anyone’s observations). Anyone with a little clout (aka money) can initiate actions that can, and has, put animals at the top of the chain at the expense of their livelihood or land.

Heavy Snows Delaying Opening of Cedar Breaks National Monument

May 25th - 07:25am | Gaelyn

Thanks for the update. I've had visitors asking about Cedar Breaks. We had an inch of snow fall Sunday night at Grand Canyon's North Rim so suspect they got more too.

90 Years On, Dr. Michael Frome Continues To Lament The State of the National Parks

May 25th - 07:18am | Gaelyn

I am so glad to know that Michael is still around to carry on the fight for environmental conservation on public lands. He was my adviser at WWU Huxley College of Environmental Studies and taught me to be honest in my writings.

May 24th - 19:58pm | Lee Dalton

Barky, exactly WHO are you suggesting run our parks? I'm not questioning the idea that our government has failed in many ways, but I'd like very much to hear more details on just what this Public Trust might be.

May 24th - 19:37pm | Barky

We need to get our parks out of the hands of government and into the hands of a public trust. Now. Our elected officials, and subsequently our government, has failed us and has failed the parks. We need to prune back their power and take the NPS away from them. Congress and the Dept. of Interior just don't get it.

May 24th - 17:34pm | Rick Smith

Kurt-- For many in my generation of NPS rangers, Mike was a true hero, one who spoke on behalf of the parks and programs of the National Park Service, not on behalf of the agency itself. He was the one who made us realize that we owed our allegiance to the parks, not to the Park Service.

May 24th - 16:38pm | Don Castleberry

Re: Mike Frome: I appreciated your coverage of this milestone for our friend, who cares as much for the parks as any of us who spent our working lives in their behalf, inside the NPS. I first knew Mike around 1977, when, as Superintendent of GW Parkway, I would frequently stop by his home for coffee and intense discussion of our common interests.

May 24th - 14:17pm | Scott Silver

At the 75th Anniversary of the National Park System (Vail Colorado, 1991) Michael Frome stated:

May 24th - 13:03pm | john glaza

I was fortunate to live in St. Mary Montana next to the east entrance to Glacier. We traveled the park extensively that year before the snows returned. Glacier at that time was still somewhat remote on the whole and there were many very remote areas accessible within a half day hike. Returning 10 years later and again 30 years later I noticed a remarkable transformation.

May 24th - 09:55am | pkrnger

My first memory of Michael Frome was in 1968. He was the conservation editor for Field and Stream magazine. He had just included a marvelous article in F&S entitled "How to Save Our National Parks" by a rather obscure writer at the time, Edward Abbey. The article was so interesting and entertaining, it was being passed around the entire Dept.

May 24th - 07:43am | Lee Dalton

Thank you, Kurt, for a great article! I was delighted to hear that Dr. Frome is still with us, and even more delighted to hear that he is still active. But it's frightening to look ahead to think of the ever-increasing political pressures on our parks without voices like his.

Tracing The Postage Stamp-Sized History of the National Park System

May 24th - 20:09pm | christopher K

Rather interesting research. I'm curious though, were the images photographs and if so who took them?

Summering in Yellowstone National Park: The Logistics

May 24th - 17:36pm | Kurt Repanshek

Debbie, If you encountered no problems -- traffic, wildlife, etc, you could probably make it in two hours. I'd budget two-and-a-half to be on the safe side. Enjoy!

May 24th - 16:11pm | Debbie

How much time should we allow to drive from Old Faithful Inn to Jackson Hole Airport?

Traveler's Gear Box: What's Covering Your Feet?

May 24th - 16:22pm | Ranger

Now that I've discovered Injinji toe socks, you will never see me hiking long distances in anything else. I have covered many thousands of backpacking miles in my lifetime, using a wide variety of footwear (sandals included). I frequently battled blisters between the toes until I met these socks.

"If You Enter the River, You Will Die."

May 24th - 15:56pm | powski

Putting a sign that says "If you enter the river, you will die" would be like putting a sign that says "If you enter the Beltway, you will die" at each entrance to the Beltway, except I am much more afraid of the beltway than I am of any section of the Potomac (and yes, I have paddled every inch of the river from Riley's Locke through Little Falls).

May 24th - 10:55am | Anonymous

Is there no limit to how many public resources will be wasted to protect people from their own stupidity?

May 24th - 10:53am | RangerKT

I used to climb regularly at Great Falls (the VA side) and they have a lot of signage that say "If You Enter the River, You Will Die," along with drowning stick figures. The way the message was presented seemed more humorous than serious. Hopefully these new efforts work for upcoming seasons.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument Turns 100 on Sunday

May 24th - 11:18am | Kurt Repanshek

MRC, for what it's worth, an Australian expert on dating has placed a tentative age of 7,000-9,000 years on the Great Gallery petroglyphs in Canyonlands National Park and they're on sandstone, as well. Of course, they don't have as much gravity working against them as the bridge does.

Reader Participation Day: Has Arizona's Approach To Controlling Illegal Immigrants Led You To Cancel a Grand Canyon Trip?

May 24th - 11:03am | Anonymous

I planned a trip to AZ & UT several months ago and my trip is for personal pleasure, not political reasons. The hotel owner and shop owners I will support along the way will be looking forward to my influx of out of state cash. I have no plans to cancel it.

Civil War Flag, Dress Coat, and Sash To Go On Display at Gettysburg National Military Park

May 24th - 05:43am | DD-393

The battle flags are properly known as colors. Regiments were issued two colors, national and regimental. The American flag pattern is the national colors. The state flag pattern is the regimental colors.

The Ghosts Of Yellowstone National Park

May 24th - 03:54am | Anonymous

It has been many years since I've been to Yellowstone but I found this site and wanted to share an actual story that by no means is made up. When I was younger I decided to take the trip with a church group. One of the stops we visted was old faithful and we had alot of time on our hands before the gieser went off, so me and a friend decided to check out the inn.

The World's Top Ten National Parks

May 24th - 02:53am | Boo Pumfrett

Can I introduce you to another great national park for your list? Kafue National Park is the 2nd largest national park in Africa, the 5th largest in the world and is Zambia's oldest and biggest.

Reader Participation Day: Which Is Your Favorite National Park Gateway Town?

May 23rd - 14:26pm | B.Grant

Bar Harbor, ME outside Acadia National Park

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