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Must We Clearly Set Out "Principles of Parks"?

For more than a century the United States has been in the national park business, and for nearly a century the National Park Service has been guided in managing those parks by the National Park Service Organic Act. Some groups, though, question whether another road map of sorts, a declaration of principles, should also be referred to when managing the parks.

What's Your Vision for the Centennial Initiative?

How do you think the National Park Service's Centennial Initiative (or Challenge, depending on whom you ask) should be funded? And how do you think those funds should be spent? There were quite a few suggestions tossed about in Washington today as both the House and Senate held hearings on legislation proposing ways to fund the Centennial Initiative.

Protecting Grand Teton from Drilling Projects

Wyoming is home to some of the Lower 48's greatest energy resources, particularly natural gas. The southwestern corner of the state currently is the hot spot in terms of energy exploration, and one area companies have their eyes on is the Wyoming Range. Some Interior Department officials, however, are opposed to drilling there, saying it could be detrimental to Grand Teton's wildlife and scenery.

Setting Precedents in the Parks

There's a passage in Director's Order 53, one of the many documents that guide National Park Service management decisions, that warns of proverbial icebergs ready to assail superintendents who truly believe their mission is to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."