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Trigger-happy Man Shoots Another Rustling in the Brush

Sep 19th - 12:41pm | Anonymous

Ric - which 'you' are you referring to?

Sep 19th - 08:21am | Ric Barnett

You won't win any friends or influence any people with this one. What you did do is distroy any credibility that you might have had. If your argument held water then ban driving in the parks, (hummm.... not such a bad idea) because drunk drivers kill thousands of people a year.

Sep 19th - 06:09am | Anonymous

I think you hit the nail right on the head with your comment, not the gun but the person.

Sep 19th - 01:07am | Dave O

Obviously this nut job has not taken any hunter safety course, which I took at age 12. You don't shoot at a sound. You identify your target, check your background, look for the proper spot to place your shot and aim for that point. Sounds like some big city psycho that should stay in the big city.

Sep 18th - 21:34pm | Merryland

I can see that most of you haven't camped at the various National Recreation Areas. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are staples there. The "issues" at Chickasaw are legendary.

Sep 18th - 20:20pm | Jim Burnett

This sad incident is an example of the kind of problem that I predict will become more common if the existing regulations concerning firearms in national parks are relaxed. Why?

Sep 18th - 20:12pm | Anonymous

Look at it this way. A rowdy drunk man can do more damage with a gun than a rowdy drunk man throwing beer cans at a bush.

Sep 18th - 17:28pm | Kirby Adams

I have, however, seen the villainous types that you describe

Sep 18th - 14:59pm | dapster

Kirby,

Sep 18th - 14:10pm | Anonymous

This has more to do with irresponsible drinking than with guns.

Sep 18th - 12:47pm | Kirby Adams

Not all campgrounds are created equal. I've stayed at a lot of campgrounds and I've found the vast majority of those inside the parks to be pretty quiet and civilized. On the other hand, I can only describe a significant percentage of grounds outside the parks as wretched hives of scum and villainy. -Kirby.....Lansing, MI

Sep 18th - 12:47pm | Ted Clayton

No doubt, there are individuals & organization who will try to use incidents like this to argue against firearms, period. As noted, it's not directly germane to whether the firearms are being packed within the National Parks (though of course that won't stop some from trying to connect them).

Sep 18th - 12:39pm | Kirby Adams

Kurt, you're going to take a lot of heat here for this one! I really don't see this being very apropos to the guns-in-parks debate, but I'll let the masses decide that.

Pruning the Parks: Shoshone Cavern National Monument (1909-1954) Would Have Cost Too Much to Develop

Sep 19th - 11:24am | SaltSage236

How about Yucca House National Monument in Colorado? Unexcavated, uninterpreted, virtually unvisited and unstaffed and managed by nearby Mesa Verde National Park, it seems Yucca House ought to be included as part of Mesa Verde, or developed such that there would be some sort of interpretation at the site to illustrate for the public the significance of an unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan site.

Sep 19th - 06:11am | Bob Janiskee

Here is what you learn when you go to the home page of Hohokam Pima National Monument, which was authorized in 1972 to protect an ancient Hohokam village (Snaketown):

Sep 18th - 21:15pm | Sabattis

I'm wondering if Hohokam Pima National Monument would be on your list for "delisting". Like Shoshone Cavern, it has never been opened to the public. On the other hand, there is also no question that "Snaketown", which Hohokam Pima National Monument protects, is a nationall-significant resource. To me, this raises something of a conundrum.

Sep 18th - 11:43am | Bob Janiskee

Some existing national parks probably should be delisted. I'll be writing more about this later.

Sep 18th - 11:20am | Kelly

Imagine all the "minor" national parks waiting to be decommissioned if the Nixon administration had gone through with its idea of creating a new national park for each of the 50 states during the Bicentennial. Some folks in South Dakota were recently reminiscining online about it: http://tinyurl.com/52enjz.

Sep 18th - 09:25am | jsmacdonald

Wyoming in particular has as part of the deal (see http://www.nps.gov/history/history/hisnps/npshistory/monuments.htm ) that added Jackson Hole to Grand Teton NP a rule that stops presidents from creating monuments in Wyoming without the consent of Congress (i.e., in essence, without making them national parks).

The 9/11 Anniversary Draws Attention to the Flight 93 National Memorial, an Extraordinary Work in Progress

Sep 19th - 10:15am | Anonymous

Yes, the creation of the park immediately was the right thing to do, despite all the good and important NORMAL reasons to wait for a decision by a future generation before dedicating a new national park. But, there was NO need to leap right in and build a big memorial structure, or sculpture, to accompany the creation of the park.

A Section of the Appalachian Trail Designed for Wheelchair Access Opens in Vermont

Sep 19th - 05:26am | Bob Janiskee

Merryland, remember that the newly constructed AT segment (boardwalk and path) replaced an AT segment that consisted of road surface (Thundering Brook Road). This new trail segment is a step toward nature, not away from it. Further, the segment was built across a floodplain, which made a boardwalk a logical choice and wheelchair access a sensible provision.

Sep 18th - 21:37pm | Merryland

So much for getting away from it all. Next they'll install people-movers so you don't really need to hike the trail. Walk left, stand right folks.

Sep 18th - 18:39pm | Barky

Hmm, very interesting. Kudos to the builders. Of course, I'm sure the pork-project folks will come along to poo-poo this project, but I think it's a nice idea. I wonder if the real AT hikers appreciate having an even boardwalk for a portion of the trip? ==================================

Federal Judge Blocks Recreational Snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park

Sep 18th - 21:42pm | Merryland

They do make perfectly quiet snow transportation with zero pollution. It's called cross country skiing.

Sep 18th - 17:12pm | Ted Clayton

MRC,

Sep 18th - 12:33pm | MRC

Please get your facts straight: The United States didn't enter World War I before 1917.

Sep 18th - 11:20am | Ted Clayton

It may be, the first item in exploring a possible reform of the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916, is to ask what the context or 'provocation' of such a process might be.

Sep 18th - 03:35am | MRC

> Those truly "crown jewels" should designated for maximum preservation. Yellostone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Crater Lake, Glacier, Grand Canyon, so on.

Sep 17th - 15:23pm | Frank N

"There is created in the Department of the Interior a service to be called the National Park Service, which shall be under the charge of a director. The Secretary of the Interior shall appoint the director, and there shall also be in said service such subordinate officers, clerks, and employees as may be appropriated for by Congress.

Sep 17th - 15:12pm | Rick Smith

I would be very hesitant to open the Organic Act to anendment There would be no end to the silliness that would ensue. Rick Smith

Sep 17th - 13:33pm | jsmacdonald

I understand that you can only go through Yellowstone with a licensed guide. The snowmobile industry doesn't like it, but they have taken it rather than lose all snowmobiles. My point was economic; there are more guide industries, more ways to obtain snowmobiles, borrow snowmobiles, etc., and more varieties of guides. Still, it's not equitable access for those able to be there.

Sep 17th - 12:55pm | Ted Clayton

Frank C., I did indeed misread the author-name, and attacked you for someone else's statements. I'm sorry. Frank C, a related issue/question I have been mulling and do not know how to approach, is the relationship between the Wilderness Act, and the Organic Act. Since some "wilderness" are lands covered by the Organic Act, how is the conflict between them resolved?

Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished

Sep 18th - 21:31pm | Sabattis

Beamis - Platte National Park did indeed get incorporated into a National Recreation Area - the Chickasaw NRA, which is still part of the National Park System to this day.

"Hidden Fire" Continues To Burn In Sequoia National Park

Sep 18th - 18:37pm | Barky

Anyone who's been to Sequoia knows that fire plays an intricate part in the health and survival of the great trees.

Attendance Shortfalls at Steamtown National Historic Site Prompt Calls for Privatization

Sep 18th - 15:00pm | Anonymous

More correctly, I should have said all revenue bills originate in the House of Representatives.

Sep 17th - 15:52pm | Bugsyshallfall

Anonymous,

Sep 17th - 13:03pm | Anonymous

Dear RoadRanger

How Did The National Park Service Err So Badly On the Yellowstone Winter-Use Plan?

Sep 18th - 12:02pm | Ted Clayton

Anonymous, I will certainly grant you, that corporations & industries spare no effort or expense to drum-up & excite consumer interest in their wares, and that often enough this situation does seem to fly in the face of our better interests.

Sep 18th - 11:04am | Anonymous

Ted (and others),

Sep 17th - 17:01pm | jsmacdonald

Ted, I agree with much of what you say here, though West Yellowstone is growing more and more culturally complicated, which adds to the angst that many of the old timers feel. Cody is still a bastion for the sort of person you are talking about; West Yellowstone is larger and more diverse.

Sep 17th - 15:11pm | Ted Clayton

Jim, I did make a couple over-night/weekend visits to West Yellowstone from my military station at Idaho Falls, 1972-3. Seemed like a regular little backwater (or as we fondly say, 'dirt-bag') town. Snowmachines were still very early then ... but your description of the culture jibes with what my expectations would be, even from that far back.

Sep 17th - 14:07pm | jsmacdonald

Ted,

Sep 17th - 13:35pm | Ted Clayton

Anonymous, and Kurt; Ok, since my characterization of the 'mentality' or 'correct-thinking' issue embedded in main environmentalism themes is distracting from the actual discussion-points, I will set aside that 'device', and work to frame a more-palatable way of illustrating the point I'm making.

Sep 17th - 13:04pm | dapster

MRC, Your point is well taken.

Blue Ridge Parkway Revising General Management Plan, Might Close Campground

Sep 18th - 10:53am | Steve Johnson

I believe the National Park Service and Roanoke need to think big regarding the Roanoke Mountain Campground. As they say, accentuate the positive. This campground is surrounded by miles of very nice trails. Open the Chestnut Ridge Loop to mountain bikers (yep, I’m one) and install showers.

Federal Government to Back Off on Wolf Delisting In Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Sep 17th - 19:43pm | jsmacdonald

This is pretty big news. And, until Wyoming ever gets its act together, things won't change. Wyoming, through its draconian wolf management, has become the best friend of the wolf by keeping them under federal control, even though the population is very strong.

Mount Rainier National Park Proposing to Reroute Section of Wonderland Trail

Sep 17th - 19:14pm | Marylander

I will be very interested in what they decide to do. I am most interested in what those who hike that trail would want done out of all of the options. I've never had the chance to hike it, and although it is on my 'must do' list, whatever option they decide will be long in place before I get out that way again.

Greening the National Parks: Environmental Achievement Awards Highlight Sustainable Design, Energy-Efficiency, and Recycling

Sep 17th - 18:46pm | Betty H

Ted, Xanterra has the in-park concessions in several national parks. I have stayed in their Old Faithful SnowLodge and Mammoth cabins in Yellowstone and eaten at several of their restaurants & snack shops in that park. They do an exceptional job on recycling and low-energy use. They not only practice what they preach but also do educational work in the process.

Is Climate Change Driving A New Forest Regimen in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?

Sep 17th - 16:01pm | Kurt Repanshek

Kelly, Thanks for your kind words. I am indeed planning more climate change pieces. I've several work-related projects tied to climate change, and you'll see the results on the Traveler at the appropriate time.

Mountain Pine Beetles Chewing into Grand Teton National Park Forests

Sep 17th - 15:57pm | Kurt Repanshek

Anon,

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