| National Parks Traveler

I sure there's a reasonable explanation, something akin to nobody in government being aware or making public admission of the nuances separating the terms "federal" from "national" and "democracy" from "republic". These four terms are bandied about freely and without concern for the distinct differences between the two ideals.

Dec 14th - 21:03pm | Anonymous

This comment will probably not be added to the website (its too political): If we have money to take care of Iraq, why don't we have money to take care of America?

Dec 14th - 18:31pm | Dan Liddle

If you want to be taxed only once then you need to pay a true cost the first time. The problem comes from cutting the budgets and expecting improvements at the parks. This forces the park to behave like a private entity that charges at the door. This one example of privatizing public assets through the unending call for "small government".

Dec 14th - 10:22am | rscottjones

I hear what you're saying, but it seems like the first step in rolling back all these user fees should be eliminating them in the remote, "non-destination" areas. At least in national park units you usually get at least some "added value," whether that's ranger led-hikes, a bookstore, or at least a visitor center with a map.

Secret Service View Teddy Mather As Protestor, Not Presidential Material

Dec 14th - 19:41pm | Lone Hiker

If I may steal these immortal words from one of our country's supposedly noble "presidential material"....... Let me make one thing perfectly clear.

Dec 14th - 15:43pm | jsmacdonald

So does the Secret Service (SS) become the arbiter of what's whacko speech? Is that relevant to the free speech issue?

Dec 14th - 12:51pm | Anonymous

Welcome back Gerald, you never did say what your so called Ph.D. was in. Look's like NASA recent photo's and weather research reports on global warming doesn't reflect the work done by a bunch of whackos (expert climatologist). Pretty conclusive evidence that global warming is mostly man induced. Now, you wouldn't be working for the coal industry would you?

Dec 14th - 11:57am | Gerald

As long as so-called "conservationists" keep talking the "global warming" hoax, NO ONE is going to take them seriously. They will just been seen as a fringe group of whackos. PARK ISSUES are what they (NPCA) should be focused on. Better campgrounds, better roads, repaired infrastructure, better interp displays.

Dec 14th - 09:30am | haunted hiker

My apologies Lone Hiker, I misread, the intern got in. Still, being "off put" by a comment doesn't make it law suit worthy. The bear got bluff charged. He'll get over it.

Dec 13th - 16:01pm | Lone Hiker

One of us missed something hh-

Dec 13th - 11:20am | haunted hiker

Teddy Mather should be grateful to the Secret Service. Now he's actually interesting. At least for 15 minutes. This is a funny story. I love it. But some of you are taking this WAY too seriously.

Dec 13th - 10:21am | Anonymous

Right on Lone Hiker! Incidentally, did you watch that piece by ABC-TV news last night (12/12/07) on the big Christmas dinner bash that the lobbyist put on for the Washington bureaucrats? Talk about special interests, big money and corporate pimping. I'm sure all the jet boat and snowmobile companies were well represented. Yap, Rome lives well in DC! Oink! OinK! here piggy, piggy!

Dec 13th - 08:14am | Lone Hiker

I just want to let you know that we’re going to let you in, but we’re watching you. We know who you are. We know you’re with the bear. Any funny stuff and you’re going to be arrested. This is federal property and it won’t be pretty

Dec 13th - 06:25am | jsmacdonald

What's sadder still is that protesters of all kinds are treated like this. This is a typical, if fairly mild version, of what I have experienced hundreds of times.

Dec 12th - 21:12pm | p.scott rattermann

It' sad to think that a person in a bear suit representing OUR national parks is escorted out of a political event. what has this world come to? if one of the current candidates had only 1% of the insight of Teddy Roosevelt i would vote for that person. but for now the bear is the best thing going. give em hell teddy you've got my vote.

Conservation Groups Urge National Park Service to Reinstate Jet Ski Bans

Dec 14th - 08:59am | Bob Janiskee

Every single person who contributes comments to NPT is a resource -- somebody with experiences to share, insights to offer, questions to challenge us with. Consider J Longstreet, for example. Isn't it great that a park superintendent wants to share in our forum?

Dec 13th - 22:31pm | Anonymous

Frank, it's your constant scab picking at that NPS that irritates. We understand your grievances run deep and hard, but your losing your point by the constant brow beating on the parks. The less said, the better the impact! I think you're being a bit overly sensitive about Kurt's comments about slowing the constant negativity. You have made your point many times over.

Dec 13th - 06:36am | Anonymous

If people tell you that your negative energy sucks the life out of a room when you enter it, it's time to take a long, hard look at the way you relate to others.

Dec 12th - 22:08pm | Anonymous

Frank and Beamis, I don't read every post; I browse NPT selectively. I'm nonetheless pleased to see that we agree on some things and that you've on occasion been complimentary to NPS employees. It's a nice side of you guys; you should try using it more often.

Dec 12th - 18:42pm | Rick Smith

Good evening--

Dec 12th - 10:46am | Anonymous

Geez, I hate to see these four guys working in the same park: Longstreet, Beamis, Frank and Merryland! Could be utter chaos! With each quoting something from Muir to Bernard Shaw, all trying to out do each other rhetorically, if not poetically or politically in words or deeds. Amazing bunch! Long Live The Parks! P.S. I think Longstreet is on to something positive.

Dec 12th - 05:34am | Merryland

And yet, every once in a while, criticism and cynicism are inextricably linked...

Dec 11th - 21:16pm | Anonymous

I have spent a good portion of my career in water parks, Beamis, but I am not going to tell you which one I work in right now. All I will say is that I'm proud of what has happened under my tenure and the resource has come out consistently first in my decisions.

Dec 10th - 20:47pm | Anonymous

I, for one, want to commend Bob Janiskee for elevating the tone of comments on this site. I have great respect for the work that Kurt and Jeremy have done to raise issues about the parks and the NPS, yet have grown increasingly frustrated with the negativity of some commenters.

Dec 7th - 10:36am | Linda O'Neal

As a tax-paying citizen, I care about the effect jet skis, snowmobiles and other wildlife disturbing activities have on the environment. Wasn't the purpose of establishing these National Parks so that they could be kept in a natural and pristine order for the enjoyment of all, including future generations? If activities that disturb these conditions continue, what will be left?

Rocky Mountain National Park Officials Select "Lethal Reduction" To Help Reduce Elk Herd--Updated

Dec 14th - 00:18am | TZukoski

Kurt:

Dec 12th - 15:45pm | Bob Janiskee

There's no escaping it. Whether practiced on elk, bison, feral hogs, or white-tailed deer, the use of firearms for the "lethal reduction" of wildlife populations in or near our parks is a bloody business. Some animals meet a violent end, and even if it is for the greater good, that is certainly a very sad thing.

Dec 11th - 21:32pm | Anonymous

Kudos to Superintendent Vaughn Baker and the Rocky Mountain NP staff for the courage to use the science to make a difficult decision in favor of the resource. Supt. Baker also did that last year on air quality issues. While no one wants to see elk killed, what is more at stake is the vegetation and ecological community structure that too many elk destroy.

Dec 11th - 15:38pm | Anonymous

I think the first line of your report speaks volumes - Incroaching civilation and lack of predators. I know something needs to be done, but if you are spending that much money, why not just move the elk to other areas, such as MO., KS., or Minnesota, that has the grasslands to support them. Just don't kill them cause man needs more room. These are God's creatures, too.

National Parks Contribute Holiday Ornaments to White House Christmas Tree

Dec 13th - 13:34pm | Glenn Scofield ...

Oh my God. There really IS an Andersonville Prison NHS Christmas Tree Ornament! I thought Beamis was being sarcastic! Read about it here: http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_345145913.html. Unfortnately, there's no photo...

Park Service's Top Investigator Pleads Guilty To Theft

Dec 13th - 10:09am | MDI Man

It's not just the NPS. There seems to be a moral and ethical decline in our society. I dealt with Pat on another business level and I found that she was not completely honest. This is something I have been experiencing this with increasing frequency with clients. To generalize, I think it's a two fold problem.

Dec 7th - 22:31pm | Anonymous

NPCA consistently lobbys for more funding for the NPS. While the Parks are underfunded, just giving the Park Service more money means that the top managers will only waste more money. Before the IG put a stop to it, Buccello was commuting back and forth to her Maine home at government expense, even though her official duty station was supposed to be DC.

Big Cypress National Preserve: The Latest Battleground Over ORVs in the Parks

Dec 12th - 10:27am | Anonymous

It is the Big Cypress NATIONAL Preserve! Not the "Handfull Of People Who Want To Lock It Up And Bar Everyone Preserve"! I am a Moderate Thinker! I try to always see BOTH sides of an argument. I believe a balance can always be struck. While I'm not for destroying the land, I am for USING the land!

Birds Songs From Around The World

Dec 12th - 10:08am | Linda O'Neal

Haunted - thanks for the AuTrain link. I could spend an entire day going through all the information. As an aside to Kurt, where it says "Listen Here", there is nothing to listen to.

Dec 11th - 10:39am | haunted hiker

Oooooh! I SO want this book for Christmas! Thanks for telling us about it. Here's a link on the Au Train Bird Song Trail http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/hiawatha/recreation/hiking/au_train_song...

Dec 11th - 05:17am | Linda O'Neal

When I was vacationing in the Upper Penninsula, Michigan, I learned of the AuTrain Bird Song Trail, a one-mile loop through the forest. At the AuTrain store, for a small deposit, I was given a bird book detailing the birds found in the AuTrain area with pictures, descriptions and information, binoculars, and a tape player with a tape corresponding to each bird in the book.

Dec 10th - 20:59pm | Anonymous

This is pure enjoyment to review and listen too. Brilliantly put together by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. A must for all lovers of the great outdoors. For added pleasure read Miyoko Cho's book, Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds. Delightful reading that helps reduce the stress levels of every day life.

Entrance Fee Repeal Legislation Would Have Little Impact on National Parks

Dec 12th - 05:30am | Bill Roberts

Totally agree with the bill. I'm don't think Americans should be taxed twice for enjoying the great outdoors. Some of the heavily visited parks ... yes. Yosemite has to have it's own jail because the traffic is so heavy!

Big Cypress National Preserve: Is More ORV Access In Bear Island Unit Wise?

Dec 11th - 12:26pm | Tom

I have to comment on the photo displayed. This is exactly what a "ORV" trail looks like, but as an "ORV" user I've seen these trails many times at their worst and came back the following year and could hardly tell there was a trail there.

Dec 8th - 21:11pm | Random Walker

Maybe, if the name was changed to Big Cypress National ORV Park I would not feel so disgusted?

Dec 7th - 19:14pm | haunted hiker

Frank, I think the editors have picked a particularly provocative photograph in this instance, as they, understandibly, have a tendency to do. (just as we writers are guilty of making the same choices with words) I agree with you. This impairment thing is a conundrum. And God love you for bringing up those elk trails! They can do some "damage" can't they?

Dec 7th - 10:21am | haunted hiker

I reviewed the map of the Bear Island ORV Unit. It appears to be (approx) a 5 mile by 6 mile area just north of and alongside Interstate 75. Street legal 4x4s are also allowed on these "trails" which tells me these trails may be more like roads. According to the NPS website, the ORV plan intends to eliminate dispersed use and limit ORV use to designated trails only by 2010.

Grand Canyon Officials Release EA on Bright Angel Trailhead Improvements

Dec 11th - 07:54am | Tracy

I recently hiked The Bright Angel Trail out to Plateau Point... very proud of it since I hadn't done anything like that before! : ) Goodness was it beautiful! And I got fabulous photos too... although I don't know who wouldn't! It would be hard to get a bad one.

How To Buy National Park-Related Gifts Without Leaving Home

Dec 11th - 07:38am | Lone Hiker

Another in a long tradition of gaffes by the marketing geniuses who run the program that is the NPS and our beloved federal government. Is it any wonder why these entities can't turn a profit without subsidies and taxation? There's not an insightful businessman anywhere to be found within these organizations.

Park History: Petrified Forest National Park

Dec 10th - 04:08am | rscottjones

Among Arizonans (including myself), Petrified Forest is often overlooked. But, it really is one of the coolest places in a state with a long list of such places. The last time I visited - it's probably been 6-8 years now - we were shocked at the $50 fine for stealing petrified wood.

Dec 9th - 06:50am | Bob Janiskee

The NPCA reports that souvenir-collecting visitors haul away an estimated 12 tons of petrified wood every year in Petrified Forest National Park. I guess if you wait long enough, souvenir hunters, collectors, and thieves will haul away nearly everything of value or interest that isn’t firmly anchored in place and constantly guarded.

Ghost at Blevins Farmstead; Excerpt From 'Haunted Hikes'

Dec 8th - 08:44am | Kevin Smith

That's a neat story cause Oscar was my great uncle I just remember meeting him a few times.

Park History: Everglades National Park

Dec 7th - 11:32am | Bob Janiskee

Regardless of which specific words we might use to describe the net result of Everglades inundation, I think we can all agree that sea level rise would bring about some pretty dramatic changes in the true Everglades area of the park. The suburban ruins scenario is wonderfully thought-provoking.

Dec 7th - 09:39am | haunted hiker

Frank, I'm with you on this "alter" vs "destroy" point. And I'm sure you are right that this ecosystem has seen many dramatic fluctuations in water levels in the last 4,000 to 2 million years. Correct me, but aren't mangroves opportunists that have adapted to endure in just this scenario?

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