| Page 1505 | National Parks Traveler

Wow. Nothing like anti-gun hysteria backed with false statistics and groundless claims of doom and gloom. It seems that you have clearly fallen victim to the political pandering of none other than the Brady Bunch. You should rename this webzine to National Parks Sheepdog. You certainly have staked your claim as leader of the sheep in the National Park System.

National Park Entrance Fees Frozen at 2007 Levels

May 25th - 18:53pm | Sabattis

More bad news for the Parks, as sadly politics has gotten in the way of raising entrance fees to reasonable levels. For example, 3.5 million people visited Yosemite last year. An extra $5 per car entrance, could easily mean an extra couple million dollars (obviously, many of those people traveled in groups, and others used passes like the America the Beautiful Pass).

Is the National Park Service Obligated to Better Promote Proposed Change in Gun Regulations?

May 25th - 10:45am | Caf

being that this is the election count down, does this have anything to do with a kind of holding back on promoting more public response/attention.... god forbid if the candidates have to address( make a decision) the regulations/ or a change of such !!!!

May 25th - 08:20am | Sabattis

The answer to the title of this post is quite simple - actually. The answer is "no", the NPS is not obligated to better promote proposed change in gun regulations.

May 24th - 05:34am | Fred Miller

Thanks Kurt. One thing's for sure: the lawyers and bureaucrats ALWAYS win.

May 24th - 02:38am | MRC

Dear Anon, there is no "ever increasing threat to citzens in our parks systems as well as in everyday life". The crime rates are dropping, the violent crime in the parks is virtually nil. There may be valid reasons to carry a gun in a National Park (even though I doubt them), but there is no threat of violence to visitors that would make self defense a necessity.

May 23rd - 22:10pm | Kurt Repanshek

Fred, "EA" stands for Environmental Assessment. This is a measure of review -- short of a full-blown, much more encompassing and costly, environmental impact statement (EIS) -- that examines how a management action will impact a park's environment.

May 23rd - 17:16pm | Anonymous

Due to the ever increasing threat to citzens in our parks systems as well as in everyday life.i strongly support carriying of legal and trained pepole in our parks system.including our park Rangers.We have to many wack out maniacs that want to commit violent hanus crimes agaist the innocent and agaist wild life without a permit.I see no reason as long there are responsible adults that have the

May 23rd - 16:57pm | Fred Miller

Kurt - What is an "EA"? Is this some means of informing folks about this proposed rule change?

May 23rd - 16:15pm | Kurt Repanshek

Kelly, I've been getting conflicting signals. The most optimistic is that there might be an EA.

May 23rd - 14:59pm | Frank N

My opinion has been, and remains, that the Park Service should hand out a questionnaire at the entrance station of each and every National Park. Ask the people who actually go to our National Parks. This should not be decided by politicians, the NRA or internet blogs.

May 23rd - 14:53pm | Kelly

Is there any word yet what the Department of the Interior (DOI) decided was proper procedure for this proposed rule change? The official notice for the proposed rule indicated that DOI wasn't sure what its legal obligations were in regard to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).

May 23rd - 14:45pm | Anonymous

Thank you, Lone Hiker for injecting some sense into the debate. I'm sick of hearing the crap that people put out about how the big, bad, liberal government (or is it the gub-ment?) is out to ruin America by placing reasonable restrictions on guns.

May 23rd - 14:12pm | Lone Hiker

Past posts from a variety of CCP holders admit that they have been and will continue to bring weapons into public lands. Fred was the only one who had the stones enough to openly admit to it, kudos to him.

May 23rd - 14:12pm | Anonymous

NPCA has put out an action alert giving people info on the rule change and how to comment in opposition to the gun regs.

May 23rd - 14:11pm | Fred Miller

Absolutely. I don't know WHO would spread the word, but if folks are OPPOSED they should find out somehow. The NRA has over four million active members.

May 23rd - 13:50pm | Kurt Repanshek

Fred, I have no doubt the NRA has mounted an enormous campaign. Unfortunately, my guess is that only those folks entering gun shops or holding an NRA membership would learn the details. That leaves an awfully huge population out there.

May 23rd - 13:43pm | Kurt Repanshek

Neil, I hope you're right. But across the country there are more than a few gun incidents involving those holding CCW permits. In 2006 there were 1,950 "weapons offenses" in the national parks; in 2007 that number dipped to 1,495, which still is a staggering number. Unfortunately, the NPS can't say how many of those involved permitted gun owners.

May 23rd - 13:32pm | Fred Miller

In the interest of fairness, it should be pointed out that the NRA and every gun shop in the United States is telling folks about the necessity to post comments SUPPORTING the regulation change. IF someone OPPOSES the rule change, they should be told by SOMEONE that they can post a comment if they want to. The OPPOSERS will be in very lonely company though, IMHO.

May 23rd - 13:01pm | Kurt Repanshek

Sorry Neil, but I think that's a very realistic possibility. Even you yourself point out that "most ... are extremely responsible and fanatical." The concern here isn't the behavior of "most" permit holders, it's of those who are more cavalier.

May 23rd - 12:46pm | Neil

"or strolling across the Colter Bay campground in search of a cold beer."

National Park Quiz 3: Bridges

May 25th - 10:20am | Kurt Repanshek

Why, that would be the bridge that spans the Colorado River at the bottom of the South Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park.

May 25th - 08:21am | Sabattis

BTW - in what Park *is* that bridge in the photo?

National Park System Benefits From Omnibus Natural Resources Bill

May 25th - 08:14am | Sabattis

Omnibus bills are often a mish-mash of things, and despite the fact that the Section D on "Memorials, Commissions, and Museums" is included under Title III - National Park Service Authorization, many of the provisions of Title III, Section D don't actually impact the National Park Service.

May 23rd - 12:11pm | Anonymous

A National Quilt Museum??? Are we nuts? I'm sure quilts (see subtitle D in the article) are important, but I would think NPS has other things to spend its money on.

Star Party Scheduled for June 21-28 at Grand Canyon National Park

May 25th - 05:50am | MRC

For those. who can't attend the Star Parties at GRCA,but live in the Bay area, I'd like to recommend the monthly star gazing events on top of Mount Tamalpais.

Is Your Backcountry Safety Net A Personal Locator Beacon or Cell Phone?

May 24th - 13:32pm | Fred Miller

You tell 'em dtroutma !!

May 24th - 11:39am | dtroutma

PLBs will attain the same status as 911 operators, called routinely to give baking instructions or time of day. The good part of cell phones is that in much of the remote west, you may have six square feet of "coverage" in 2,000 square miles of desert.

May 24th - 08:24am | Hypermommy

Thanks for a great article. It's been featured on the front page of my website, http://www.scoutingwiththemouse.com (of course, with full credit given to you as the source) becuase I think this is very important information for folks to know.

Guns in the Parks: A Bad Idea

May 23rd - 16:29pm | Anonymous

Guns? cant you use one of your wrestling holds?

Park History: Crater Lake National Park

May 23rd - 12:45pm | pkrnger

During the summer of 2000, the USGS and their contractors extensively resurveyed Crater Lake's inner caldera below the lake's surface. Using the USGS benchmarked elevation for the lake's surface of 1883 meters (6178 feet), they determined the lake's maximum depth to be 594 meters (plus and minus 1.2 meters [one sigma error] or a 95% uncertainty range of from 591.6 to 596.4 meters).

Book Review: Let's Go See:All 50! -- Visiting the 50 States Journal

May 23rd - 06:12am | Stephen L Martin

Wow, that's great to hear that you like using yours, Sia. Thanks so much for sharing. For general information, I have sent one to the Honorable Barack Obama at his Washington D.C. office with the following note. I hope he likes the journal. ;-) May 23, 2008

May 22nd - 10:21am | Sia

I love using mine even though most of the states are empty (so far). I'd like to see it filled one day!! It's a marvelous journal BECAUSE it provides a handy structure to the process without excessive details stifling individuality so that it is truly a personal journal in the end! Excellent decision to go with "less is more".

Proposed Settlement Filed in Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Case

May 22nd - 22:01pm | Valerie

I vacation with my family, my parents, my aunts and uncles and their families on Cape Hatteras every year. If the beaches were closed to vehicles, we would stop going. Plain and simple.

Coalbed Methane Projected Proposed North of Glacier National Park Tabled

May 22nd - 16:46pm | Carps Lionel

Gas resources will soon come to an end. Instead of just throwing our money down our kitchen sinks we should better think of ways to replace methane with renewable energy sources.

NPS Retirees Oppose Carrying Guns in National Parks

May 22nd - 14:24pm | Fred Miller

Kurt - These are all valid concerns. I truly hope that they are un-founded. I am an avid safety "nut" and would NOT tolerate any of the actions you speak about.

May 22nd - 12:12pm | Anonymous

Kurt - One reason why you perhaps haven't seen so many anti-gun-in-parks comments recently is that this is an emotionally charged issue, and I'm probably not the only one who isn't commenting publicly because I don't want to be sucked into an argument/I-am-always-right-I-will-not-compromise 'discussion' with Mr. Rick and Mr. Fred.

May 21st - 22:31pm | Kurt Repanshek

Fred,

May 21st - 21:11pm | Fred Miller

It's way too soon to call, but I suspect that the proposed rule change concerning concealed handgun carry in the Parks will go forward. If it does, will the attendance change? Will people AVOID the Parks because they're afraid they might be sharing the trail with me or some other CCW permit holder?

May 21st - 19:54pm | Fred Miller

Kurt - You're right about some of these comments. Wading through some of the spelling and grammatical errors is downright painful. Their points would be much easier to perceive if they would have taken a minute to proofread their post. And it might have helped if they were trying to make some sense. Some of the comments left me asking, "What did he SAY??"

May 21st - 18:41pm | Kurt Repanshek

Fred, Thanks for your thanks. Truthfully, I do often wonder why I spend *so* much time on some of these issues. Re the comments filed so far, I found at least two that oppose the change. But you're right, far and away the majority do seem to support concealed carry in the parks. But I'm not sure for all the right reasons. Here's one questionable comment I found:

May 21st - 18:02pm | Fred Miller

This is truly an emotional discussion. We are fortunate to have Kurt willing to spend so much of his personal time and energy to facilitate this blog.

May 21st - 15:06pm | Rick

You said: > think it might be worth it for you to dig up some more recent information

While Bison Are Driven Back into Yellowstone National Park, Questions Over Management Continue

May 22nd - 12:24pm | jsmacdonald

Now an even fresher memory - I'm sad to report that the nine bulls were sent to slaughter this morning. That's confirmed by BFC, as well as a person who witnessed this in Horse Butte. That brings the total to 1,613 killed; the total buffalo left in Yellowstone is estimated to be close to 2,100 (well more than half now dead from the fall population); however, no one really knows.

May 21st - 18:28pm | jsmacdonald

According to Buffalo Field Campaign, the Montana Department of Livestock has just captured another 9 bulls, which they intend to slaughter. So, despite what we've been lead to believe, the slaughter isn't over.

University Professor Missing in Canyonlands National Park

May 22nd - 10:42am | ironranger

According to the NPS Daily Report, this disappearance was a planned suicide and the park launched a search for Mr. Henderson previous to his expected return date.

Closed to the Public For Nearly a Year, Artist Point in Yellowstone National Park is Reopening

May 21st - 18:25pm | jsmacdonald

If you are traveling to the park this weekend, the weather is supposed to be terrible. Tonight, for example, there is a snow advisory for the park with up to 15 inches of snow possible.

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