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National Park Service to Charge for Clean Air?

Is the National Park Service preparing to charge us for the clean air in parks? Based on a recent survey request, in which the parks were seeking our "willingness to pay to improve visibility at national parks", and considering all of the other use-fees charged in the parks, I was ready to believe they were. The good news? I was wrong! Find out why.
  • By jersu - August 27th, 2007 3:18pm

The Essential Death Valley

Towering sand dunes that ripple across the heart of a 3.4-million-acre landscape, hidden canyons that echo with splashing, gurgling water that nourishes a surprising cache of lush vegetation, a human history of anguish as well as prosperity. The surreal landscape of Death Valley can be deadly hot in summer, and yet it is one of the more intriguing units of the national park system because of its stark beauty and demanding nature.

Mining, Nuclear Power, and Parks in the Balance

As worldwide demand for clean nuclear power increases, mining claims for uranium and other material have boomed in the western United States. Many of these claims are being staked very close to the sensitive areas just outside of national parks, places like the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Arches. This has led to a plea for updated mining laws, which in present condition have remained nearly unchanged since 1872.
  • By jersu - August 29th, 2007 6:32pm

The Park Service's Historic Buildings Can Be Saved Without Resorting to Leases

It's no secret that I've been troubled by the National Park Service's seemingly quick reliance on the private sector to preserve historic buildings on its properties. The agency's ongoing efforts to allow a private developer to lease three dozen buildings at Fort Hancock in Gateway National Recreation Area are being done in the name of preservation. Yet there are parks that are managing restoration without resorting to privatization.

Yosemite's Half Dome: Everything You Need to Successfully Hike Yosemite's Most Famous Landmark

Climbing to the precipice of Half Dome is not a task easily done, nor one that should be lightly considered. That much I think is a given to anyone who has accomplished the day-long hike, or anyone who has read or heard of the tragedies that have taken place on this famous outcrop of granite.