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Rare Letters Stolen From Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace By Historian Recovered

Sep 24th - 18:51pm | Kathleen Layton

Ed writes that he turned himself into the authorities and I am investigating if that's true. i have my suspicions.

Traveler's View | Baffling Management At Cumberland Island National Seashore

Sep 22nd - 13:13pm | Will De Man

It's hard for me to believe that the whole reason why the DOJ wouldn't order the horses to be taken care of is because they "fear the horse-loving public." Would it not cost a lot of money for an already understaffed agency facing budget cuts? I think the argument that the feral horses are being left alone is pretty thing as described in this article. 

Sep 22nd - 02:30am | Mike B.

My entire career was in endangered species conservation.  I often wondered:  Why do resource management agencies (state as well as federal) constantly have to be sued into doing the right thing?

Sep 21st - 16:24pm | A. Johnson

"Are Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Park Service Director Chuck Sams on board with DOJ's rationale?"   Likely not.  They're bureaucrats appointed and confirmed because of their affiliations, not expertise or knowledge of NPS assets. Why not place the blame where it lies:  AG Garland.     Impeach Garland now.  

UPDATE | IG Report: National Park Service Can't Effectively Manage Maintenance Backlog

Sep 22nd - 08:22am | Loui

I don't understand the "blanket 35 percent markup".  

Sep 21st - 16:19pm | A. Johnson

Love the parks--HATE the NPS.   It's time to dismantle the NPS, and dream it up anew.

Sep 20th - 14:43pm | Mike Gaylord

The NPS will never have enough money, no matter what is allocated...Y

Big Spring Lodge, Cabins Rehabilitation Lags At Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Sep 21st - 20:44pm | Gloria Flottmann

It appears a robust crew is hard at work in the restoration process.  And estimate on the completion date??

Things You Just Don't Do In The National Park System

Sep 21st - 16:32pm | A. Johnson

I once "led" some friends on a camping trip to Utah parks in March about 5 years ago.  I emailed them information and news stories on the parks including the death & dangers up on Angel's Landing.  

Court Battle Being Waged Over Cumberland Island National Seashore's Horses

Sep 21st - 09:27am | Janice Dickhaus

A lot of those horses look bad. The young stallions fight and get injured. There is NO vetinary care. The land is limited where these horses are, so forage is very limited and no hay is not provided Over the winter. I am a horse owner for many years and I would never treat a horse like this.

Little Round Top At Gettysburg National Military Park Closed Until September '23

Sep 21st - 09:11am | Ron LYONS

I am very interested as to when Little Round Top work will be completed. It will be closed to 9/2023 today is 9/21/23  Any help would be greatly appreciated.             Ron

PEER: NPS Remains Plagued By Low Morale, Rising Attrition

Sep 20th - 14:47pm | W

the park service is the most abusive hostile workplace I have ever seen  I can understand why people leave mostly me and other employees wonder how emissions so good has been distorted so bad by those in power.

New Topgallant Masts Raised On 1886 Square-Rigger Balclutha

Sep 20th - 11:17am | Kurt Repanshek

Many thanks for the nautical explanation, Will. We dropped the ball on that one.

Sep 19th - 07:49am | Will

For those as unfamiliar with nomenclature as I, a topgallant mast is a section of a mast. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_(sailing), "From the 16th century, vessels were often built of a size requiring masts taller and thicker than from single tree trunks.

Reader Participation Day: Best National Park Campgrounds

Sep 19th - 09:40am | steve reed

Hands down Slough Creek campground in Yellowstone.  Cruising trout, grazing bison, prowling grizzlies, and denning wolves.  The bonus is 3 bars of cell coverage because there is a direct line-of-sight to a Mt Washburn communication complex miles away. G.O.A.T.

Sep 14th - 15:13pm | A. Johnson

Yes ,the Needles CG at Canyonlands is great, but I think the Willow Flats CG in the Island Dist. is even better, with numerous overlooks just down the road.  It is FC, FS though.

Sep 14th - 07:03am | Loui

Doughton Park campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway may be the best in the East.  Huge grassy sites and The Bluff's Restaurant is right down the road.

Sep 13th - 16:47pm | Clean Hiker

St Mary Campground out in Glacier NP stood out to me as a campground with a brand shower facilities. Not just that, but it was extremely clean, and free! Free Showers in NPS campgrounds are hard to come by so this stood out to me, not to mention that the campground is located in Glacier NP and the scenery goes without saying.

Sep 13th - 14:20pm | y_p_w

As someone who has camped at Yosemite - that place is a zoo.  I've stayed in several campgrounds in Yosemite Valley, including Upper Pines and the old backpackers campground near North Pines.  For the most part, sites are all poorly defined where there's the chance that your neighbor is encroaching on your space.

Sep 13th - 13:09pm | Gila Monster

I really enjoyed Butte Lake Campground at Lassen Volcanic NP. Towering trees above us, no paved road for miles, easy access to fantastic hikes to Cinder Cone and the Fantastic Lava Beds. Loved it.    

Reopening Of Death Valley National Park Will Take Time

Sep 18th - 22:35pm | Brian Moss

We have a family reunion event at Oasis ranch hotel on November 17 for Thanksgiving week? Does it look like any possibility to get there from Vegas side?

Sep 10th - 16:13pm | BH

I'm really sorry to hear about the damage. I'm visiting from the UK in October and had planned to be in Death Valley on 11th-13th October - is there any chance anything will be open by then? Thanks

Sea-Level Rise Threatens To Erase Park Units

Sep 18th - 17:51pm | Stan Chrzanowski

I paddle the Everglades and the 10,000 Islands regularly and video what I see because that's the only way my grandchildren will know what it looked like when they're my age.

Sep 18th - 12:54pm | ecbuck

Will - climate change has not created more "extreme" wildfires or hurricanes.  But don't let that stop you from visiting the parks.  It is well worth it.   

Sep 18th - 12:38pm | Will De Man

Reports like this make me feel a sense of urgency to visit these parks before they're gone. I know 2100 is a long way off, but even the near-term effects of climate change, such as extreme wildfires and hurricane seasons, create an imperative to see these places sooner rather than later. 

Sep 17th - 23:40pm | Loui

The article is grammatically well-written, pointing out that over the next 94 years what "could" "may" and "might" happen.  Just as soon as these computer models accurately predict next weekend's weather I'll take these sort of Nostradamus-esq end of world predictions a little more seriously.

Sep 17th - 19:30pm | ecbuck

Climate changes.  Also has, always will.  Nothing we can do about it.  As Snochasr says planning to adapt if necessary is the best call for today   

Sep 17th - 08:32am | Snochasr

 SSP 8.5 is the "Impossible worst case scenario" so any projections made from it are equally unlikely, tales told to frighten children.  Just do the math on Statue of Liberty, and it comes out to about 3mm/year, and that is indeed the historic global average.  That average has persisted over the last 20, 30 or 50 years and is not accelerating.  By that measure, Dry Tortugas (one of my f

Sep 17th - 06:42am | Kate B

You make these simple comments about individuals doing "their part" by becoming vegans when in reality its big corporations who have the politicians in their pockets who are the biggest offenders of climate change & they never get fined because they are lining the pockets of politicians. STOP blaming individual people like it's OUR fault.

The Presidio's Historic Public Health Service Hospital has Been Recycled into Luxury Apartments

Sep 17th - 17:36pm | Jennie Budge Garner

We lived on the station from 1964-1968. My dad was a radiologist. I have been back to see it twice - both times in the 90's. They had painted those cute pastel stucco duplexes brown. So ugly. They were tearing out the asbestos one time when we visited, and the other time, the houses were fenced off. The grounds seemed smaller than I remember. You can never go back. 

How North Cascades National Park Manages 400+ Miles Of Trails

Sep 17th - 16:43pm | Richard Bannerman

Glad to see the editorial respect shown the pack train, the horses and mules who as it sayhs, are friends and coworkers.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 240 | Grand Teton State of the Park

Sep 17th - 10:37am | Joshua Israel

Kurt, great podcast on Grand Teton Park but I have two questions for you! 1.  What is current situation with the Kelly Parcel?  Will it be bought out by the park? 2.  Are there any design plans to put a fish ladder on Jackson Lake Dam for cutthroat trout migratio?

Marker Pinpoints 1943 Shootout At Joshua Tree National Park

Sep 16th - 11:09am | Chuck Ellsworth

The story is told in every detail in the book entitled AMBUSH, which I purchased at the smll gift center near the south entrance of the park.    In short, Bill Keys was ambushed by another rancher named Worth Bagley.   He was tried for murder and convicted in a sham trial, details of how it was a sham are fully disclosed in the book.    After being pardoned, Keys returned to his ranch, now a yo

Unplugged: National Park Service Struggling To Meet EV Challenges

Sep 15th - 12:15pm | EV-er

This article is undated but based on the comments it appears to be from early 2022. The EV charging situation in our National Parks doesn't seem to have improved much since. I tried to plan an EV drive to Sequoia NP but this proved to be impractical due to the complete absense of destination charging at the park's lodges or anywhere else in the park.

The Most Remote Outhouse In The Lower 48

Sep 15th - 10:09am | Bob Pahre

Thanks for the link Rob - I'd love to get to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

The Challenges Of Recreation.gov

Sep 12th - 22:34pm |

Don't you guys get it.  It's a surveillance tracking system that keeps the history of everything you've done anywhere with Reserveamerica, builds a profile and sells the profiles back to the gov.  It's just facebook for parks.

Which Is More Hazardous To Yellowstone Visitors, Wildlife Or Hot Springs?

Sep 12th - 20:54pm | Barry Shelley

The most hazardous thing to Yellowstone visitors is their own stupidity and ignoring National Park warnings and regulations!

National Park Service Proposes To Raze Old Buildings At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Sep 12th - 15:03pm | Bob Apfel

Agreed. These buildings did not exist at the time of the civil war and have no relevance whatsoever to the historical mission of preserving the structures then existing in order to capture the physical reality of the place as it existed at that time.

Sep 12th - 14:34pm | Mark R.

If we are going to "Preserve the Battlefield" then we need to dig out all the dirt that was dug off the school house ridge battlefield and used to build the rout 340 ramp up Alstadts Hill. Then put it all back on the battlefield where it came from. The Park seems to forget that this happened.

Sep 12th - 14:32pm | Mark R.

"The Parks Role"? The fact that the buildings, or any structure, were put in after the civil war or 1906 is not relevent. The historic nature of any structure should be considered and preseved. They should be preserved in some way because they are part of history. But the Harpers Ferry Park has made nothing but terribler mistakes over the years.

Sep 11th - 07:58am | M X S

 I have been to Harpers Ferry 3 times and have hiked that area. Any buildings post Civil War without any other cultural or historical significance should be removed. This park is rich in American history and is wonderfully told through the buildings and park employees.

Sep 10th - 17:19pm | Leo p

Exactly 

Sep 10th - 17:07pm | Ntx

These buildings all were built after the Civil War. They are not historically significants.

Sep 10th - 16:30pm | Zachary Salman

It's unfortunate to see old structures come down, but it makes sense here. Because Harpers Ferry's significance is the period of the Civil War, that's the story it's telling. If the goal is to tell a story through experiencing the place where it happened, then anything that's outside the scope of that story is harder to justify putting finite resources into.

Sep 10th - 16:03pm | RG

They're not of the historical era though.  They're also unsafe.

Sep 10th - 16:02pm | DM

The title of this article seems to be deliberately misleading ("clickbait").  Replace the modifier "old" with "out of era" to be more transparent. The point has been rightly made:. Building that are not from the historical era of interest, and which are unsafe, need to be removed.  This will enhance the historical site.  Get on with this good work.

Sep 10th - 10:38am | T.L. Murphy

The NPS should preserve the Civil War Era buildings in Harper's Ferry and not buildings built in the 1920s. Harper's Ferry changed hands 6 times during the Civil War in the 1860s and was the scene of John Brown's Raid in the late 1850s. The 5 buildings built in the 1920s should be torn down. They are an eyesore and potentially dangerous when they collapse.

Reader Participation Day: What Was Your Most Unique Lodging Experience?

Sep 11th - 20:46pm | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp was always the concessionaire's responsibility, NPS had nothing to do with it.   Wonder if DNC trademarked the name, wouldn't surprise me the least.

Sep 11th - 20:15pm | y_p_w

J. Sequoia: Delaware North is the concessionaire for Sequoia NP, so i'm thinking nothing ever gets done in rebuilding it.

Sep 11th - 07:13am | J. Sequoia

Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Cmp was wonderful, and sadly I say that in retrospect as the last season was 2018, for the heavy winter of 2019 damaged some buildings, Covid close it down from 2020-22, and the winter of record destroyed the remainder of the the 6 tent cabin platforms along with the dining hall/kitchen.

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