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Grand Canyon National Park Officials Want To Keep Mule Rides in the Canyon

Mar 19th - 09:19am | Cliffrose

Yea to NPS for their commitment to culture and tradition - and keeping the inner canyon accessible to those who cannot hike.

Mar 17th - 20:23pm | Meg

The trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the mules was one of the highlights of my childhood (it was my twelfth birthday present, after begging my parents for years I was finally old enough). It was 123 degrees at Phantom Ranch when we arrived there, and Bright Angel Creek was *so* cool and wonderful.

Mar 17th - 13:23pm | y_p_w

I have no problem with the mule rides per se, but it has to be noted that being at ground level smelling that stuff is rather unpleasant. There were some areas where it was a veritable minefield of partially digested mule waste and the only way to step around it was to fall off the trail.

Updated: Alaska 'Gunners' Wipe Out Wolf Pack From Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Mar 19th - 03:05am | ontheYukon

DK -- like Kurt I didn't see much difference in the stories either. The point is, they had an agreement, a lot of time and work went into putting those two collars on, a lot of work has gone into radio monitoring over the years .... and two days after the predator control kicks in, they do this? Sounds pretty testy to me, and pretty intentionally purposeful.

Mar 19th - 00:52am | Arctos

Mr. Hardy, I hope you let state officials know about your decision, too. This screw-up is just the very tip of how bad wildlife management has become in Alaska recently. I'm a lifelong Alaskan and I can't tell you how frustrating is it to deal with the Board of Game up here. Hard as it is to believe, Sarah Palin turned out to be even worse than former Gov. Frank Murkowski on wildlife issues.

Mar 18th - 20:16pm | Kurt Repanshek

DK, perhaps you could point out the differences in the stories?

Mar 18th - 20:06pm | DKWells

Sounds like someone is not telling the truth. Go to Fairbanks Daily News Minor for the true story. Most Alaskans will be glad to know Mr. Hardy and his bleeding heart, tree hugging kind won't be coming.

Mar 18th - 19:59pm | MB

I applaud the State of Alaska, let them manage their own wildlife.

Mar 18th - 19:46pm | Mike Painter

Mr. Hardy: I hope you let the governor and the tourism board know why.

Mar 18th - 19:24pm | C.C.

This is terrible news~how long will we continue to hear these reports of senseless killing of wildlife!

Mar 18th - 18:30pm | William E Hardy

EXACTLY the results expected, & the reason that our month-long trip to Alaska this summer was C-A-N-C-E-L-L-E-D after the earlier policy announcement by the State of Alaska. NEVER again will we return to where such mentality exists. Our tourist dollars will be spent elsewhere.

Mar 18th - 17:18pm | Anonymous

UNBELIEVEABLE, but then not really considering the subjects involved.

A New Exhibit at Ellis Island Tells the Story of the Lenape, the People Who Were There First

Mar 18th - 17:13pm | Cathy ChaDWICK

I sure will, Bob...but it will be awhile. Grants, policy, diplomacy...yadda, yadda.

Mar 18th - 17:10pm | Cathy ChaDWICK

"Wawulamallesssil" has been translated as, "fare thee well, continuously...so Ed's translation of "may you always live well" is a very good one!

Reader Participation Day: If Cost Were No Object, Which National Park Would You Visit?

Mar 18th - 14:00pm | Jason

Christopher,

Mar 18th - 01:36am | Ray Bane

I have been to every national park unit in Alaska and a lesser number in the Lower 48 and Hawaii. All have something special that makes them memorable. However, if I had to choose one it would be Katmai National Park and Preserve in southwestern Alaska.

Mar 17th - 21:09pm | Christopher™

I'll have to go with the majority here and throw my vote in for Gates of the Arctic. American Samoa would be my second choice, but the costs could be defrayed by the Home Stay program, which is to me the best reason for visiting. Third choice would be Theodore Roosevelt National Park, only because it's so far removed from anything else in the National Park system.

Mar 17th - 20:43pm | Kurt Repanshek

I like your style, ranger!

Mar 17th - 20:40pm | Ranger KT

Well I've done Hawai'i, and the Alaska parks are my first inclination but instead I'm going to say Dry Tortugas! Gotta mix it up a little bit.

Mar 17th - 20:20pm | Meg

I've been to 99 different national park units (according to the PBS national park widget [g]), including some of the ones in Alaska. But my favorites are still Mt. Rainier (practically in my backyard) and Yellowstone (which I've been to eight times in the last 10 years).

Mar 17th - 20:00pm | Donald Jump

Wow, so many parks; so little time to do them all justice. And each one with it's own intrinsic beauty and character. I intend to visit as many as I possibly can. So, with that in mind, I think I'd like to visit the Hawaii Volcanoes.

Mar 17th - 17:43pm | Barky

It would be serious, in-depth tours of all of Alaska's parks. Maybe a month or two off and spend a solid week minimum in each major park and multiple days in the smaller ones.

Mar 17th - 16:29pm | Bob P

Decisions - Decisions. As much as I would like to say Hawaii, I think that Denali would be my choice. The splendor of seeing the mountain and it's wildlife are overpowering. Although a trip to Hawaii's Volcano National Park would give me a glimpse at what Mother Nature might be building, seeing what she all ready made seems more attractive.

Mar 17th - 15:34pm | dennis g.

Alaska parks are tempting, but the weather would make up for the lack of wild life in Hawaii with Volcanoes NP, Kaloko NP, Haleakala NP, etc.

Mar 17th - 14:47pm | Anonymous

We'll be visiting Denali, Wrangell and Kenai in just a couple of months and that's my dream come true. My next "dream" park would be Katmai.

Mar 17th - 13:02pm | Sharlene

I would either go Alaska or American Samoa. There are other parks that are higher on my to do list but the cost to visit them is alot less.

Mar 17th - 12:14pm | Ken

Isle Royale, then Glacier.

Mar 17th - 12:12pm | Rick B.

I've seen the Arizona Memorial and the various memorials of D.C. Crater Lake, Rainier, Olympic are all local to me. I will visit American Samoa later this year. With those eliminated I would have to say that Alaska's parks call to me the most.

Mar 17th - 11:25am | rdm24

Gates of the Arctic or Wrangels St. Elias!

Mar 17th - 11:10am | Kathryn

Haleakala!!!

Mar 17th - 11:02am | Bob M

Kurt, I'm all for Alaska. When we going?

Mar 17th - 10:47am | SaltSage236

Easy. Gates of the Arctic, hands down. Maybe on the same summer trip, I'd hike into Kobuk Valley and spend a month or two down at Wrangell-St. Elias, Lake Clark and Katmai before I fly back to Colorado.

Mar 17th - 09:51am | JanetinKy

I'm going with a guided trip to Gates of the Arctic. I'd love to see it and don't feel prepared to do it on my own.

Mar 17th - 09:50am | Dick

If I can have only one choice it would probably be American Samoa.

Mar 17th - 09:23am | MikeD

Yeah would have to say something like Gates of the Arctic.

Segways in the National Parks: Do We Really Need Them?

Mar 18th - 13:15pm | y_p_w

This really isn't about the use of the Segway for those with mobility problems. The discussion is about using them as organized "tourist vehicles" as seen in some places, with a guiding permit for the company. It sort of looks like a motorized mule train. If you notice - some of them even have deep treads designed for off-pavement use.

Mar 18th - 01:51am | John

thanks to all you haters out there who have no understanding of what is it like to spend and active life then be house bound by bad knees or hips, heart conditions, diabetes or other things that keep you out of the out of doors. Keep up your elitist demands that nothing disturb your purity of walking. We vote too.

How Might the National Park System Appear if Not for the Use of the Antiquities Act of 1906?

Mar 18th - 10:10am | George

Lehman Caves is now in Great Basin National Park. Hurray for national monuments! Thanks for the continuing information on them in National Parks Traveler. I was a seasonal at Lava Beds NM many years ago, and that's where I learned to love the desert.

Mar 17th - 10:16am | tomp

Kurt-- In all your spare time, could you post lists of National Parks and Monuments established by Congress? I have a sneaking suspicion that most folks will think that the antiquities act units are "better" than those designated by Congress, even though they had greater initial resistance, but I could be wrong.

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Mar 18th - 01:48am | Ray Bane

Awhile back I read an article on the role of humans in climate change. In it the author used the analogy of a standard desktop globe of the earth to give perspective. The thickness of the earth's atmosphere would be represented by a single coat of varnish on the globe. It is that thin.

Is There Economic Value to That National Monument in Your Backyard?

Mar 17th - 19:10pm | Anonymous

I think Dr. Power would do well to stick to economic theory and stay out of politics. His blinding insight on the future of the Republican Party is just that: blinding.

Mar 17th - 15:57pm | Zebulon

Kurt, Thos are great examples. Maybe it's more of a slow transition from one economic engine to another one that's more diversified.

Mar 17th - 14:56pm | Kurt Repanshek

Zeb, You've got the gist of it. As for how many folks can telecommute, that's just one segment of the overall influx.

Mar 17th - 14:40pm | Zebulon

Very interesting article. It sounds like the gist of the article is that the economic impact from a national monument or park is not so much the tourism dollars, but the fact that the area is attractive and will bring in people to live and work there that would not have had otherwise.

Mar 17th - 11:20am | Anonymous

Economic arguments for parks have been abused and misused time after time and at some point it begins to be a big joke. You will hear politicians and administrators throwing around numbers and while most people don't have the ability to truly understand the numbers, those with a background in economics, and not holding bias, would find them very difficult to believe.

Pruning the Parks: Platt National Park (1906-1976)

Mar 17th - 11:11am | Bob Janiskee

Anon, let me compliment you on your choice of movies. Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a dandy, and the scene that you cite ( Ray Walston as history teacher Mr.

Mar 17th - 10:42am | Anonymous

Thanks for the primer on the Platt Amendment. I never could follow Mr. Hand's explanation.

Fishing, Boating, Surfing, Permits Available for Gateway National Recreation Area Beginning Feb. 1

Mar 17th - 10:50am | Anonymous

Absolutely appalling. Conditions at Gateway are indescribable. North section beach has a nickname of Jingle Beach, because all the broken glass jingles with each wave, trash through out the area, on the shore, in the parking areas, in the fields, my nieces call gateway the yucky beach. Rats are abundant through out.

"Upper Lot" At Ridge Trailhead on Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park To Be Permanently Closed

Mar 17th - 10:13am | Anonymous

Old Rag closing upper level parking. Another sign that the USA does NOT want Americans freely enjoying the Beautiful Scenery around them. Surely, they can fix the parking issue so our Elders and Young can get closer to the top! I LOVE OLD RAG!

Hikes Abound in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Both Short and Long

Mar 17th - 09:57am | Jen Duerr

Thank you for highlighting our beautiful area! We live in Waynesville, NC just 20 minutes away from Cataloochee Valley and it is a beautiful and peaceful place to hike.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.