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Just Another Snake Story

Jul 24th - 13:20pm | jersu

That photo is enough to give me nightmares.

Time Running Out to Comment on Everglades Management Plan

Jul 24th - 12:29pm | ROBERT

I was raised in Florida and I have seen so much of thats states natural resources be exploited for money.

Friends of Dick Proenneke

Jul 24th - 12:23pm | eilkso

hello kurt, Thank You for the commentary here on NPS about the new Friends of Dick Proenneke mailinglist over at YahooGroups. your NPS is a well done, impressive site and i have added it to my favorites for regular visiting. :) thanks, again! regards, eilkso

Private Party At Charlestown Navy Yard Doesn't Lack Alcohol

Jul 24th - 11:55am | WhyNotAmelia

One reason for problems at Charlestown (both management of the events and the funding return to the park) is because the park chose to use a cooperative agreement to do this deal. Congress obviously intended park superintendent's to use concessiions for this sort of thing. read the 1998 concessions law and it is clearly implied.

Jul 21st - 20:49pm | Beamis

I'll stick to H.L. Mencken's observation that "Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." He also said "Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." I couldn't agree more.

Jul 21st - 17:26pm | Merryland

And to think, someday that nuclear test zone will be a National Historical Park where we'll all learn from our past mistakes (how's that for finally getting back to the subject of this website?) The history of the world is replete of examples where people and governments (especially when viewed with 20/20 hindsight) did the wrong thing.

Jul 21st - 14:20pm | Beamis

I guess 100 above ground nuclear tests blanketing the country in deadly radiation was a noble effort by a benign and caring government. One which has yet to admit publicly that it did so knowingly and with the knowledge that it would be not be held accountable for the preventable death, disease, birth defects and retardation of countless thousands.

Jul 21st - 14:01pm | Merryland

Before FDA and USDA and other agencies like it, what were people's life expectancies? I'm not saying they're solely responsible for the increase but they've made their impact. Before government intervention, all the land in this country was generally viewed as lumber and ore and water for harvesting.

Jul 21st - 12:55pm | Beamis

"I am curious though about the reference to "illegally snatched". Is there any form of government that would meet your criteria?" How about what is specifically articulated in the U.S. Constitution? Nothing more, nothing less.

Jul 21st - 12:53pm | Beamis

If you believe the FDA makes food safer I've got a surplus Navy Yard in Boston I'd love to sell you. The same goes for the USDA "inspections". How did we ever get along before all of these regulators sprang up to save us from the predations of the free market?

Jul 21st - 12:36pm | jersu

Really? Are we going to get into a pissing contest over Star Wars philosophy? Since when did making reference to pop-culture on a blog become a point of ridicule? Frankly, I thought it was an appropriate and somewhat amusing response to earlier comments. Let's not get too wrapped up in this that we can't laugh a little. Thanks Jon.

Jul 21st - 12:31pm | Merryland

Craptacular, Re Star Wars quotes, you're confusing humour with philosophy... You also seem to confuse the term "government" with "the current administration". The vast majority of government employees are there year in, year out, doing their jobs at lower than job market rates, regardless of who's in charge for four or eight years.

Jul 21st - 01:51am | craptacular

I find it even more disturbing still that Merryland is quoting Star Wars as philosophy. Beamis is totally correct: a government that ignores 2/3 of its citizenry is not at all accountable to anything but money and greed.

Jul 20th - 23:42pm | Merryland

Theft? Stolen? Secession? Wow... I guess this conversation is going nowhere fast. Have a happy life in the Conch Republic. ;-) PS -- I said "ultimately accountable" ULTIMATELY: adverb. At last; in the end; eventually.

Parties in the Parks: Much Ado About Nothing?

Jul 24th - 11:03am | lepanto

It is ridiculous to say or think that the Charlestown Navy Yard is not nationally significant, and should not be in the System. It is a major piece of American history, both as a functioning, major navy base and shipbuilding site since 1800 and the home of the USN Constitution (one of the sensational frigates that stunned the world and England in the War of 1812).

Jul 24th - 10:00am | Frank

I would rather see half naked men and women in Alcatraz than hear a car alarm in a giant sequoia grove.

Jul 24th - 09:25am | Art Allen

In my opinion there should be a certain amount of decorum, dignity, and reserve associated with the national park areas. One can have "fun and enjoyment" in an environment replete with education, inspiration, and respect. Parks should not try to be all things to all people; there are venues available for cocktail parties and performance art, but not within the parks.

Jul 24th - 06:07am | Dorothy

Isn't the draw of a national park or area the national park or area itself? I think it is time to rethink where we are trying to go. We are a society that has learned to want "entertainment" at every moment hence our need for tvs in our suvs. Enough already. You don't need to draw in gen x with a Vegas night club act on historical and protected grounds. They have an outlet for that.

Jul 23rd - 12:49pm | Anonymous

this is a great subject and thanks for bringing it up, kurt. i am against these sort of events, but have to ask the question "what else are they going to do?" if the events do not net any profits, then dump them. but as far as fundraising park administrators rising through the ranks, in my estimation, the bathrooms have to get cleaned somehow.

Jul 23rd - 11:43am | Beamis

It becomes confusing when what is allowed in a historic prison cell-block, by establishing a service-wide precedent, could be applied to Cades Cove or Hayden Valley. It's frrightening really.

Jul 23rd - 11:26am | repanshek

I wholeheartedly agree with Beamis' point that there are some questionable units of the national park system. Unfortunately, it seems more congressfolk want to have a park of any kind in their district than want to adequately fund the park system, which, really, is at the root of the problem.

Jul 23rd - 11:07am | Beamis

I think this debate should be more about what kinds of units the NPS is forced to administer by a politically charged Congress. Is Alcatraz a "national treasure". Would Horace Albright and Stephen Mather have envisioned a federal prison as a part of America's "crown jewels"?

Bringing Color to the Public Lands Landscape

Jul 24th - 09:51am | Anonymous

Why don't you two just get a room and get it over with???

Jul 24th - 05:50am | jsmacdonald

Okay, we can pick this up another time. One of my favorite philosophers is G.W. Leibniz, a contemporary of Locke, and he disagreed with Locke on so many things. He actually wrote a dialogue called New Essays on Human Understanding that reads more like a blow by blow response to Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

Jul 23rd - 23:15pm | Ranger_X

Jim, Thank you and I'm sorry for my sarcasm. I'm weary of the discussion and will just agree to disagree. Let me first add a bit of clarification or whatever. I lean toward libertarian and free market, not only in economics but in science.

Jul 23rd - 21:34pm | jsmacdonald

I'm sorry if you took what I was saying as patronizing; I apologize. Are we really talking about knowledge when we are talking about anything empirical? I don't think so. It's all subject to induction, which is always at most probable.

Jul 23rd - 20:29pm | Ranger_X

Jim, When someone else uses the exact same words and the exact same phrasing I used and then uses the word "pretend", well, that's quite hard not to take personally.

Jul 23rd - 19:24pm | jsmacdonald

I have no idea what Mr. Hare has to say about this, but I have plenty of my own thoughts on these remarks.

Jul 23rd - 16:28pm | Beamis

Ranger X you're priceless!

Jul 23rd - 16:10pm | Ranger_X

Mr. Hare has taken several thinly-veiled slams at me. The first instance referenced people who "pretend that they lost their job because of somebody else's need to hire a diverse staff." This was clearly in reference to my previous statement, "I was 'diversified' out of a job at SEKI.

Jul 23rd - 16:07pm | Beamis

"And more importantly, why, after 600 years of being together, we choose to be so separate from each other while maintaining so much suspicion, animosity, and ignorance of the other."

Jul 23rd - 15:14pm | Wayne Hare

Kath and others who think I am recommending that the Park Service or some government agency do something to address diversity: I’m not suggesting any NPS or government program. Nothing I wrote had anything to do with any government program. I would like to see people of all colors, including the color white, not buying into myths and stereotypes perpetrated by Marlboro, Hollywood, and etc.

Jul 23rd - 12:54pm | kath

The reason I asked the author of the article to specify what the NPS should be doing is that he raised that very question. (A question he never answered.) He says in paragaph 2, that the NPS is looking into ways to boost 'diversity' among park visitors. Perhaps the NPS could host private parties inviting the 'right' demographic. (She says sarcastically).

Jul 23rd - 10:06am | Beamis

Again I don't think so-called "racism" has anything to do with a discussion of market preferences, in this case the desire by certain groups to visit national parks.

Jul 22nd - 17:26pm | jsmacdonald

I am disappointed that several people commenting here talk about this issue in terms of what the federal government response should be to the issue of racial diversity, as though that's the only relevant consideration. Don't we matter in this discussion? Isn't it more helpful to talk about what our role is in this reality both in terms of what it is and what should be done?

Top 10 Most Visited National Parks

Jul 23rd - 21:46pm | Merryland

Great observation Felicia -- there are a number of parks that simply shut down a big chunk of their operation once the Bush adminstration decided maintenance was the number one NPS priority.

Jul 23rd - 13:53pm | Felicia

I was wondering why Frederick Law Olmsted NHS was a least visited park since it is in an urban, and one would assume fairly accessible, location. Is it related to the park closing? Per the NPS website: "Frederick Law Olmsted NHS is currently CLOSED to visitors in order to carry out a construction project involving park buildings, grounds and collections.

Jul 23rd - 12:05pm | Glenn Scofield ...

I'm always gut-punched when I read these kinds of stats. I'm unsure how Great Smoky Mountains survives hosting nine million people in the course of a year. Even with the majority being drive-throughs or tour buses, this is an unbelievable amount of footprints in that area.

Jul 22nd - 13:58pm | Anonymous

Only one of the bottom 10 is a national park. Great Basin NP is very beautiful and a nice get away from the lights of Las Vegas. I had always heard that it is ranked very low in visitation, which is great for me. How does it compare with other national parks?

Jul 21st - 21:25pm | jsmacdonald

How do they figure totals on something like the GW Memorial Parkway? I've driven it many times and ridden on my bike alongside dozens more, and no one is counting that I know of. It's actually hard to believe given the sheer wall-to-wall commuter traffic that the total is that low. Why is something like that counted and not the National Mall?

Jul 21st - 20:04pm | Merryland

I think Zion is a side trip from Las Vegas for some people. Something to do once you've lost all your money... -- Jon

Jul 21st - 20:01pm | repanshek

It somewhat surprises me that Grand Teton is almost 500,000 visits behind Yellowstone. They're so close that you'd think someone making a long trek to Yellowstone would factor in time to visit its next-door neighbor. And I'm not sure it's fair to include the George Washington Memorial Parkway, as I believe it receives a lot of commuting traffic.

Rocky Mountain Trying to Give Wetlands A Chance Against Elk

Jul 23rd - 11:22am | Claire Walter

We went hiking this weekend on RMNP's Cow Creek Trail. McGraw Ranch, once a guest ranch and now part of the park's building inventory, is now a research facility reached by a small bridge across the creek. The beavers have been busy a short way upstream from the bridge.

Tiger Lily in Olympic National Park

Jul 23rd - 11:07am | haunted hiker

I love this site. You are pulling off an unusual mix of welcoming controversial discussions over NPS mgmt and appreciating the beauty of parks at the same time. Andy www.hauntedhiker.com

Zion Fire Complex Nearing 10,000 Acres, Yellowstone Fire Grows

Jul 23rd - 08:23am | jsmacdonald

The Owl fire is not as large as previously reported. See http://www.inciweb.org/incident/news/article/855/4359/ and http://www.inciweb.org/incident/news/855/ for the latest.

Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories and Mystery

Jul 22nd - 15:36pm | Ken Bers

Outstanding , explanation of the gology og the Grand. A must read for those who seek a better understanding of the forces that created this magnificant place

Mission

Jul 22nd - 15:32pm | Ken Bers

Great site packed with good info. Keep moving the site to greatness. I will become a advid reader.

House Leaders Propose $1 Billion Parks Centennial Funding Plan

Jul 22nd - 01:00am | Bill

Time to privatize...the parks need to be run more like businesses. The public will be amazed at how much better they will be managed!

Jul 21st - 11:52am | craptacular

Here's another national "treasure": Bill would make site of WWII explosion into a national park.

Jul 21st - 11:09am | Beamis

That the legislative impulse to fund the parks in the first place stems from a silly anniversary date is even more absurdly strange than any language inserted into a Congressional spending bill and just points, once again, to the folly of our national treasures being mere political footballs for the crooks in DC to kick around on Capitol Hill.

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So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.