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Interior Officials Want to Allow Concealed Carry in the National Parks

Apr 29th - 15:09pm | Lone Hiker

For this, someone can find enough time away from truly important issues to assist special interests in an election stunt. Speaks loudly and succinctly about who’s the puppeteer and who’s the marionette in this debate.

Bison, Elk and Bears Might Be Cute, But These Videos and Statistics From National Parks Suggest Caution

Apr 29th - 13:07pm | jsmacdonald

So true, Dorothy, if only that could compete with the lack of respect the National Park Service has shown these animals - specifically the bison - every winter and spring. Sigh.

Apr 29th - 06:15am | Dorothy

We have visited many national parks and we have been amazed at the lack of respect some people have for the parks and the wildlife. These videos should be mandatory upon entry for those who have little or no experience sharing the outdoors with wildlife. As a seasoned hiker, I am glad to have seen the videos as a reminder of how quickly a situation can change.

Traveler's Top 10 Picks For Movies Involving National Parks

Apr 29th - 12:17pm | CivilWarBuff

That's a GOOD one, Bob!

Apr 28th - 18:31pm | Anonymous

Thanks for your comments. The book is authored by Marguerite Henry, and I have read it. She has written other wonderful children's books, such as King of the Wind, for one. I was so excited because I found the movie on Netflix and soon it will be sent to me from Salt Lake City! I'm glad this discussion came up because it reminded me of a movie I wanted to see again.

Apr 26th - 05:17am | Bob Janiskee

Susan, you are absolutely right about Brighty of the Grand Canyon. Though produced over 40 years ago, this film still resonates with youngsters and the young at heart. How could you not love that little burro? :o) There is a Brighty of the Grand Canyon children's book available in paperback, and you can order a copy online for about five bucks.

Apr 26th - 01:09am | ReBecca

Forrest Gump also runs past Glacier National Park when he is on his long jog back and forth across the USA - a beautiful moment! What Dreams May Come also has scenes filmed in 'heaven' - although it was actually Glacier NP. One in the same for me ;)

Apr 25th - 20:11pm | Susan

My favorite National Park Movie is Brighty of the Grand Canyon (1967). I was even down at Phantom Ranch when the movie crews were filming it back in (1965?). I saw "Brighty" in the corral there and the movie crews on a sandbar near the north side of the Kaibab Suspension Bridge!

Apr 25th - 13:42pm | Bob Janiskee

Hey, CivilWarBuff, when are you going to get around to pointing out that the horse Robert E. Lee is riding in the photo accompanying this article is named "Traveler"? :o)

Apr 24th - 21:43pm | griz

I happened to be visiting Harper's Ferry during the filming of Gods and Generals, unfortunately it is probably one of the worst movies ever filmed in a NPS area. I've tried watching it, but it is incredibly boring.

Apr 24th - 19:24pm | John B

My gosh....all this talk about great movies filmed in National Parks and no mention of the Western classic Shane (1953) filmed in Grand Teton National Park! "SHANE....Come Back Shane!" Of lesser note, the Russian tundra scenes from Rocky IV (1985) were also filmed there.

Apr 24th - 17:57pm | Maltodextrin

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Devils Tower National Monument Grizzly Man - Katmai National Park Both these movies are highly entertaining.

Apr 24th - 17:42pm | jersu

Actually, I think you've got a really great list. Don't worry that you don't remember Remo Williams, nobody does (except me, for reasons I can't figure out). The Remo Williams movie is forgettable, and anything but classic, I was just teasing. Although, the finale does take place on the scaffolding of the Statue of Liberty, that part is true.

Apr 24th - 16:34pm | Bob Janiskee

Jeremy, where have you been?! While you were gone, Repanshek conned me into writing this Top Ten Park Movies thing, and now my life has turned to crap. Not one single person, not even my wife, agrees with my list. And the feedback we're getting has been unrelentingly brutal.

Apr 24th - 15:35pm | jersu

What?? No mention of the 1985 classic "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins". Who could forget the exciting final fight sequence which takes place on the scaffolding built up around the Statue of Liberty?

Apr 24th - 11:52am | Bob Janiskee

Good Grief; did I really call The New World an "over-hyped chick flick"?! I must have forgotten to take my lithium again. I should have said "masterpiece," of course. Thank you for setting me straight.

Apr 24th - 10:53am | RangerTyler

Dismissing Mallick's impressionistic masterpiece, The New World, as merely an "over-hyped chick flick" is not only sexist, it's insulting. If you didn't like the movie, perhaps you could provide concrete reasons and serious examinations rather than writing in cliches and soundbytes.

Apr 24th - 09:36am | CivilWarBuff

The Pickett's Charge scene in "Gettysburg" is made all the more powerful by the fact that it happened on the actual hallowed ground of the battlefield.

Apr 24th - 09:27am | Tracey

Don't forget "The River Wild" (1994) with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon--filmed in Glacier National Park, with Meryl learning to negotiate the rapids without a stunt double!

Groups Sue To Overturn Removal of Greater Yellowstone Wolves from Endangered Species List

Apr 29th - 11:48am | Random Walker

Sport hunting, to kill an animal for pleasure be it a shark, bear or wolf is wrong. What Mr. Repanshek did not tell you is that B160 was shot once through the femur and once through the stomach and left to rot. The famous Hoppy was killed at an elk feed lot in Sublet county Wyoming. The majority of the 40 or so killings I have read about have not been hunting,

Apr 28th - 21:47pm | Anonymous

It's all about the White House cowboys that own peacock ranches in Montana. Fat bellies, booze and guns!

Apr 28th - 21:40pm | Anonymous

Aldo Leopold once wrote many long years ago about the kill of an old wolf which he committed as a forest ranger in the American Southwest. As he describes and remembering "a fierce green fire" in the eyes of dying wolf and her crippled pup. Something that burned in his psyche for years to come. In Mr.

Apr 28th - 21:15pm | fhasti

Once again the state of MT shows that there is only one thing on their mind....big $$ and they'll take it however they can get it at the expense of their wildlife. 40 wolves dead already in one month....they didn't waste any time. They take pride in attracting big bucks from all over the country to shoot bison, elk, and now wolves (just like AK does and makes lots of dough on the hunts too).

Apr 28th - 18:40pm | Bob Janiskee

I am an ethical hunter who believes in the rules of fair chase, so it truly pains me that Mr. Saunders got his picture in the paper for doing what no true sportsman would ever do. What in the bloody blue blazes do they mean when they say that Saunders "stalked" that wolf? Using a snowmobile or plane to chase a wolf to the point of utter exhaustion is not stalking. It is not even hunting.

Apr 28th - 18:21pm | katrina

When will the government (of the people) not fall prey to special interest groups who convince it that it's necessary to slaughter wild bison and now the gray wolves? In the case of the wolves, have the lessons of the 30's been so forgotten?

Apr 28th - 16:21pm | Random Walker

"Whenever I see a photograph of some sportsman grinning over his kill, I am always impressed by the striking moral and aesthetic superiority of the dead animal to the live one." ~Edward Abbey~

Apr 28th - 15:36pm | Donna

Man kills everything .....we will have nothing left for our Grandkids to see....run wild.

Charismatic Marine Fauna

Apr 29th - 08:30am | Kurt Repanshek

After the winter we've had, you bet the South Seas sound wonderful! Kurt

Apr 29th - 07:25am | Anonymous

Is it just me, or is there a sudden urge by NPT editors/writers/readers to voyage to the South Pacific, thanks to recent NPAS coverage?! :) There's another great picture at http://www.nps.gov/pwr/pgallerycontent/p/l/20060706133325.jpg The water isn't as clear, though.

Creature Feature: the Many-Colored Fruit Dove

Apr 29th - 07:59am | Rob

Nice article and well written. Thanks.

Apr 28th - 18:19pm | Joesf

Chance, Nice story on an interesting bird. I enjoyed it! Thanks, Joe

Proposed Settlement Filed in Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Case

Apr 29th - 06:19am | Clanton

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) is a very different National Park. The problems are bigger and more complex than off-highway vehicle (OHV)/fishing organizations access and environmental organizations concerns with resource management, although that is currently taking the spotlight.

Are Blue Ridge Parkway's Historic Guardrails At Risk?

Apr 28th - 21:40pm | Bob

"The Blue Ridge Parkway is a cultural resource park, whereas GRSM and SHEN are mostly natural resource parks, and since the parkway is our primary resource, we look very closely at proposed changes to it. We want to maintain the original design of the Blue Ridge Parkway," Mr. Johnson said...

Apr 25th - 12:49pm | jr_ranger

I think it's worth to point out that this isn't just about guardrails. The FHWA wanted a 12 foot clear zone, which would have meant that NPS would have been responsible for removing anything in that 12 foot zone. Trees, rocks, rock walls built by the CCC, etc would have had to been bulldozed.

Flying Squirrels, Scenic Vistas, and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Apr 28th - 12:54pm | Houck M. Medford

Additional comments have been posted on the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's Executive Director Web Log http://www.blueridgeparkwayblog.com/foundation-executive-director/genera...

Creature Feature: Hellbenders

Apr 28th - 10:20am | Bob Janiskee

In southern Missouri, the scientists and others fighting to protect the Ozark hellbender are not just battling against habitat loss, water pollution, and overcollection.

National Parks Week: Perfect Time to Assess the "State of the Parks"

Apr 28th - 07:42am | Anonymous

True, NPS is having problems across the system, and the Centennial Challenge probably does amount to not much more than election-year, feel-good politics. That being said, though, at least it's better than nothing :)

Apr 27th - 13:56pm | Rick Smith

It really is discouraging to read all the happy talk coming from the NPS leadership about the wonders of the Centennial Challenge and how much good it is going to do for parks. Most park managers I know are in despair because so little attention is being paid to operational deficiencies, the kind that gnaw away at the basic core of our parks.

GYC Explains Value of Latest Agreement for Yellowstone National Park Bison

Apr 27th - 20:06pm | fhasti

Amen "be". Any group and any individual (including myself) who considers themselves to be even remotely concerned all the way to absolutely ticked off about this issue should make as much noise as possible about this absurd situation and great example of greed and extortion by CUT.

Snared Wolves At Denali National Park and Preserve Cast Ugly Shadow on Trappers

Apr 27th - 19:48pm | katrina

Why are we trapping wolves? Aren't supposed to be allowing them to breed and have them provide a natural balance in nature?

Apr 26th - 10:13am | Anonymous

What kind of credentials are required to be a trapper in Denali, and how close do the trappers work with the State Wildlife Services and the NPS? I hope these trappers are well educated in all aspects of wildlife sciences....and are not just bunch of renegade cowboys on the prowl for another trophy (on the wall).

Apr 26th - 05:13am | Peter Dunn

It is so wrong to do this and then not put them out of their misery. I wish the trappers had this on their heads. If they can take a picture of this then they could just as well stopped the torture futher.

Apr 25th - 19:47pm | Anonymous

This should not be happening at all. Park wolves should be protected both in and outside of Denali. Trapping is barbaric and unnecessary. All trappers around Denali are recreational -- one even works for the National Park Service. Disgusting.

Yellowstone National Park Bison Agreement: How Big A Step Forward Is It?

Apr 27th - 12:27pm | jsmacdonald

There is a hunting season in Montana for buffalo, but there is no wild buffalo population in Montana. One step toward there being a viable hunting season is expanding the range of the buffalo so that they have a permanent presence in Montana. Right now, for a large licensing fee, people can line up at the border and wait for them to cross over.

Apr 26th - 21:15pm | Samuel L. Davidson

You make it sound as if they are trying to kill all the bison. Would you rather they starved to death? Why is there not a hunting season to help keep the herd to a sustainable level? As for this notion of a "wild and free roaming bison herd," it is not the old west anymore, it is 2008 and we are not leaving.

Critics: Changing Gun Laws in National Parks Would Open a "Pandora's Box" of Problems

Apr 25th - 13:47pm | Fred Miller

Thank you Mr. Taylor. I couldn't have said it better myself. Actually, I wish I COULD say it as well as you. I too would be right there to back up a Park Ranger if the need ever arose. Don't forget to repeat these viewpoints next week when the NRPM for changing the rules about concealed-carry in the Parks is released.

Apr 25th - 09:03am | J. Taylor

“In 2006, there were 384 violent crimes, including 11 killings and 35 rapes, reported in the more than 272 million visits to the nation's 390 national parks,”

Battle Mounts Over Off-Road Vehicles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Apr 24th - 12:33pm | marga

I have gone to the island for the last 13 years(sometimes twice a year)and the thing that alters the ecology is the big amount of people and new developments (a lot in comparison with 13 years ago). I remember the old Chicomacomico station. There wasn't anything there, but look now. The development of new houses brings trash, sewage and obviously the appropriation of a piece of beach!!!

Apr 24th - 08:57am | Anonymous

After your comments it is obvious you have not been to the beaches your are so strongly trying to protect. I have been going to the Outer Banks for over 40 years. Do you drive a car? do you fly commercially? I am sure you do and by doing so you do more to ruin the environment that the vehicles on the beach.

Former National Park Service Directors Urge Interior Secretary To Keep Guns Out of Parks

Apr 24th - 08:48am | RangerTyler

Distorting my comments is one thing, but at least please quote me correctly: "equating an individual right to arms [not tyranny] with mob justice" is my exact phrase. And that's exactly what you did when you asked the rhetorical question, "Or are you suggesting we return to the days when the lynch mob and the posse were the lawkeepers in this country?"

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