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The New NPCA Podcast

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has just jumped into podcasting, a welcome addition for those of us who love to listen to an insiders perspective on parks. The first program is with an interpreter in Yosemite National Park. It is a quality program, the likes of which we are sure to hear more of, in the months to come.

Around the System: Yellowstone's Snowmobiles, Everglades' Restoration, Glacier's Party, Valley Forge's Developers

There's plenty of news around the national park system, if you take a look. Newspapers are questioning Yellowstone planners on their snowmobile decision, politicians are making hey with the Everglades, Glacier is celebrating its Peace Park status, and Valley Forge is facing development on its doorstep.

Judge Orders Cross Removed from Mojave National Preserve

Brace yourself, I'm about to delve into one of those public conversation taboos. You know, you don't talk sex, politics, or religion in public. But at times I find the debates spurred by symbols fascinating. And, of course, religious symbols seem to spur the most debates. The one I want to focus on involves Mojave National Preserve, where a federal judge has ruled that a cross can no longer stand atop Sunrise Rock.

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.

The Secret Life of Drugs in Parks

I was inspired recently to write an article about the problems drugs bring to the parks when I visited Olympic National Park earlier this summer. As recreational visitors to the national parks, we may not be aware of the battle behind the scenes to keep drugs out of the parks. I was told a story by a long-time law enforcement ranger that surprised me, and made me realize the burden to the resource they represent.