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

Aug 23rd - 19:54pm | jersu

Welcome back Frank. As a quick point of clarification, I'm not sure anyone disagrees with you on this point. I'm pretty sure the Cultural Resource folks within the NPS say the same thing, that historic buildings need to be occupied, they need to be lived in and cared after every day.

Aug 23rd - 13:46pm | Bob Dahl

Let's not forget that all funds for restoration of park properties at one time were private. Just because money has percolated through government hands doesn't make it any more "pure." There are many, many private organizations who have only the best intentioins for the preservation of historic buildings within the park syatem.

The Consequences of the Legal Bear Hunt in Katmai

Aug 23rd - 11:08am | JC

The state of Alaska seems to be managing their bear population as if they have too many bears. One huge problem with that is people visit Alaska not only to hunt but also to view the bears.

Aug 23rd - 11:00am | anonymous

Jim, thanks for sharing the Casper Star-Tribune article on: President orders hunting focus. I think this article will relate very well with Alaska's fish and game policies. I can now see these sporting trek outfits licking there chops over this article...$$$! Anything that relates to Gale Norton and her former administrative policies, I smell a rat in the hole.

Aug 23rd - 09:13am | jsmacdonald

Interesting related story from the policy standpoint in today's Casper Star-Tribune. This talks in general about the Bush Administration policy toward hunting on public lands and not to Alaska in particular - but certainly relevant.

Aug 22nd - 15:45pm | jersu

Off hand ... I don't know, although, it may be worth checking into. I do know that 2/3 of the acreage for the entire National Park Service is held in Alaska's parks, more than 55 million acres. We've covered stories in the past about the challenges the parks face having to patrol that much acreage, but I couldn't find anything specific to poaching with a quick search of our archives.

Aug 22nd - 15:32pm | Anonymous

Jeremy, right off hand do you know if illegal bear poaching is a serious problem in Alaska. Some years ago there was quite a bit of bear poaching in the upper regions of Northern California. I'm not sure if there is a huge demand for bear parts (paws & penis organs...etc.) these days, which pays very well for it's aphrodisiac effects...so said by certain Asian communities.

Aug 22nd - 12:34pm | jersu

I'm not an expert in game management, but the state of Alaska should be. What I think is so surprising about this story, is that the state is going against its own guidelines for the bear hunt. If they have decided that 18 should be the upper limit of bears hunted/harvested/killed/, then why would they give out permits for twice that number?

Aug 22nd - 12:18pm | Claire Walter

Like Merryland, I've always had a bit of a problem when land managers use the word "harvest" when it comes to big game hunting. A bear is not a blackberry. And elk is not an eggplant. A moose is not a mango. Subsistence or sport hunting (or sportfishing, in fact) for food is one thing. Do so just to hang a dead aminal trophy on the wall is entirely another.

Aug 22nd - 07:34am | Mookie

Reminds me of one of Ed Abbey's famous quotes: If people persist in trespassing upon the grizzlies' territory, we must accept the fact that the grizzlies, from time to time, will harvest a few trespassers.

Aug 20th - 18:39pm | Snowbird

Snowbird06 Sporting chance is right! Yeah, out of those spotter planes and hit the ground and hump the brush with a Ben Pearson bow...now that's giving the bear a fighting chance. I can remember once reading a bumper sticker in back of a pickup truck which read: "a huge gut pile is a happy hunter"....hopefully, the guy was a poor shot. Good points Merryland!!

Aug 20th - 17:40pm | Merryland

Shouldn't the salmon population and general availability of food determine the bear population in a balanced ecosystem?

Aug 20th - 10:27am | jersu

I think rather than anti-hunter, it's a pro-bear statement. Jim is speaking specifically about hunting bears in a Park Service managed area that was protected in-part to protect bears and bear habitat.

Aug 20th - 08:45am | Mike

All this diatribe is, is an anti-hunter statement. If the state must issue a permit for a bear, that in itself is a limit to how many bears will be harvested. Of course the tree-hugging writer cannot fathom this and states there is "no limit" on the amount of bears that one can harvest.

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

Aug 21st - 11:21am | Rick Deutsch

Kurt, Thanks for the review of my book. We need to get education out so more can enjoy this hike - safely. Just a couple points of clarification. The book title is actually: "One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome".

Bear at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park

Aug 21st - 00:10am | Merryland

You put your right paw in, you put your right paw out, You put your right paw in, and you shake it all about, You do the Coho Pokey and you run the fish aground, That's what it's all about. -- Jon Merryman

Mission

Aug 20th - 16:36pm | John Eagle

Great website. Good to see you guys expanding. Good Luck

Celebrating the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

Aug 19th - 22:33pm | B. Krumenaker

The peace park idea continues to grow and one of its great advocates is Nelson Mandela. Peace parks in Africa are being created not just for conservation purposes but to foster reconciliation between peoples long at odds.

Fire Continues to Keep Yellowstone's East Entrance Closed

Aug 19th - 13:40pm | jsmacdonald

Mudslide cleared; East Entrance opened again. See 8/19/07 Mudslide outside Yellowstone cleared; East Entrance open again (press release by National Park Service)

Aug 18th - 19:38pm | jsmacdonald

No sooner do you think that it's safe to travel through the East Entrance, and it closes yet again! This time, it's not the fire but a mudslide outside of the park. This is the second time this summer a mudslide has closed the East Entrance.

Aug 17th - 12:45pm | jsmacdonald

As of 9 AM MDT, the NPS has yet again re-opened the East Entrance. See http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/0774.htm.

Aug 15th - 14:09pm | jsmacdonald

The most recent press release (8/15 afternoon) just out says that the East Entrance remains closed. This "may remain in effect for a few days," according to the National Park Service. See http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/0768.htm

Clara Barton's House Goes High-Tech

Aug 18th - 20:24pm | Merryland

Still nothing like seeing it in person with all the creaking floors and steps, but my daughter will surely love it. Also if you visit the real site on Tuesdays, they often have a 4-person play called Clara Barton: The Courage Within which brings Clara's life... err uhh... to life.

The Traveler's Code of Conduct

Aug 17th - 17:41pm | Anonymous

I really enjoyed the traveler when it was more of a web magazine than a blog, because it lent credibility to the issues Kurt explored and exposed that NPS employees knew about but couldn't do anything about.

Pot Farmers Tilling Ground in Yosemite

Aug 17th - 10:54am | Anonymous

that's funny. the national guard will cause more environmental damage going after the growers than the growers themselves cause.

Aug 17th - 10:09am | Kath

Well you can petition your representatives to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act which has been in effect since the days of Reconstruction....or.....(much easier) get them to just enforce the laws on the books now using more ICE and DEA with the help of the NPS.

Aug 17th - 08:26am | Anonymous

Think about this! Right now we are paying farmers to not grow on land because we have an over abundance of alot of these crops and it drives the price for that crop so low that it is more profitable for the farmers to not grow on this land. they call it CPR ground and it is still costing the taxpayers to pay these farmers to not grow on it.

Aug 16th - 17:59pm | lennea

Snowbird06 Kath. wasn't the National Guard used to quell the L.A. riots in the 1960's and 1980's...and in Detroit. Sure they can be used in the National Parks. B.S. to the "Posse Comitatus Act"...I say, get the SOB's!

Aug 16th - 17:56pm | Das

Thank you, I wish we could get everyone to see the light. Now we just need to VOTE for like minded people!!!!!!!!

Aug 16th - 16:07pm | Kath

I'm not saying they, the National Guard, shouldn't be used, what I'm saying is: I think there are laws preventing them from being used for police work inside the U. S. I think it's something called the Posse Comitatus Act.

Aug 16th - 15:35pm | lennea

Snowbird06

Aug 16th - 14:50pm | Abby22

Beamis, my guess is that you're a fan of DPA.

Aug 16th - 14:23pm | Merryland

That's just it -- I don't consider this routine police work. People from outside our country are here growing, harvesting and selling illegal drugs. If that's not a good use of the National Guard, I don't know what is. And if people don't consider this a national emergency, no wonder we're being so sluggish in our response to it.

Aug 16th - 12:03pm | Kath

The National Guard is never used for routine police work. They were called out for national emergencies like Hurricane Katrina, the L. A. riots and they have been used as support for the Border Patrol.

Aug 16th - 11:41am | Chronic

A Chronic Problem....not with Marijuana seeds in Walmart...intresting thought. I say Yes. Sell them in Home Depot too.

Aug 16th - 00:34am | Merryland

I would just love to tell you EXACTLY what I think about tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs, but we're all making this effort to be more civil now, so I'll refrain from insulting folks here, even though it is something I wouldn't hesitate to say in person. For now, you'll have to decipher the metaphors (which isn't really all that difficult).

Aug 15th - 22:44pm | lennea

What about those toxic meth labs that are stuck way into the Sierra foothills, talk about chemical junk left behind. Were dealing with a nasty breed of people that could care less about the toxic chemicals that they dump into are pristine streams and rivers surrounding our National Parks.

Aug 15th - 19:55pm | Merryland

Time for a controlled burn to reduce the understory...

Aug 15th - 10:58am | Anonymous

Looks like the Park Service is working with every law enforcement agency except ICE. Keep illegals out of the country and out of the parks and this pot growing problem goes away. Until illegal immigration got out of hand, there weren't marijuana fields in the National Parks.

Missing Hiker in Yosemite Found Dead

Aug 16th - 12:43pm | Larry

My heart goes out to Ms.Bonaventura's family. I would like to know the circumstances of her death; perhaps she was killed by pot farmers after she hiked into thier field.

Aug 16th - 09:22am | Ken Bers

Sad, yes, but those of us who our vagabonds for natures beauty understand the risk. Especially for the lone hikers. My thought our with her family. Somehow I think they will understand and accept her tragic fate.

Aug 16th - 00:43am | JDP

I am a 55 year old widow and cancer survivor, among other things............I pray to God that I may leave this earth hiking in so beautiful a place...........................My condolences to her family, and my congratulations to Ms Bonaventura and praise to God that she was able to do the things she loved to the end of her life!

Are Car Campers An Endangered Species in National Parks?

Aug 16th - 10:38am | Kath

The quote in Kurt's piece says that tent and RV Camping 'in the National Parks' is down 44%. There weren't floods in all of them. The floods and the reduction in campsites was only in Yosemite Valley, not even in the rest of Yosemite. One of the largest campgrounds in the western U. S. is in Tuolumne Meadows in the Yosemite high country.

Aug 16th - 09:01am | Merryland

I got it -- turn the golf course into more camping space. They can keep one hole as a driving range for historical purposes and the people clamoring for tent space will have somewhere to go. -- Jon Merryman

Aug 16th - 07:43am | Dan

A no-registration-required of the same LA Times article (i think...) is http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-yosemitecampers13aug13

Aug 16th - 01:11am | Marc

@Kath: Tent camping is not down 44%. It is at the same level as before, with about 90% occupancy. The flood just reduced the number of tent camping sites available, so the total number of nights is down. Never trust a statistics, before you have seen how it was made.

Aug 15th - 21:44pm | Judy

The best memories of life come from camping. I have been in all of the lower 48 states and across Canada. It would have neverbeen possible for my family to afford to travel like that without a tent as lodging. We would just load up and go. Buy an annual National Park Pass and you never knew where you could visit tomorrow or next week.

Aug 15th - 12:21pm | jsmacdonald

I understood your point perfectly well. My point is that it's an irrelevant connection to be making. Whether people should or shouldn't be frugal is one thing; the reasons why prices are raised are something else. Whether you've misspent your money or not and happen to be poor, you have reason to be upset if public goods are out of reach because someone decided to raise prices.

Aug 15th - 11:36am | ssurasky

Jim,

Draining Hetch Hetchy

Aug 15th - 13:28pm | Lyk2Hyk

Be careful when you assume that all HH lovers want this area restored. My first visit to Yosemite included a few days in the HH area after my arrival at YV. I couldn't wait to get out of the valley and HH was exactly what I needed. No crowds, no cars, no buses, and picturesque views in every direction. Much of those views were enhanced by the water that you wish to drain.

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