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Trickle of Documents Highlights National Park Service's Mistakes In Hubbell Trading Post Investigation

Feb 6th - 18:18pm | J. Gingerich

I noticed a comment about 6,000 pieces of jewelry being "a problem". I strongly disagree and would like to know what you base that opinion on. I bought many items over the years from Bill Malone...he spent time with each customer and kept us coming back for more. He was authentic and had a true committment to the Navajo Nation.

Birding in The National Parks: Bald Eagles No Longer A Ghost Bird in the National Parks

Feb 6th - 18:16pm | ecbuck

Lee - care to identify the politician and give us the specific quote in context?

Feb 6th - 17:09pm | kari

On a trip to town for groceries last Friday, I spotted a Bald Eagle soaring above HWY 191 in Southeastern Utah. It was the first time I had seen a Bald Eagle without the company of another person. It was a really nice moment.

Feb 2nd - 21:43pm | Rick B.

We have pet names for some of those nesting in and around the Dyea unit of the Klondike Gold Rush NHP, just up the road from here. They always take my breath away, and their feeding through the salmon run is fascinating. 

Digital "Tracks" Help Rangers Solve Vandalism Case at Capitol Reef National Park

Feb 6th - 18:11pm | Jon Merryman

This is a very simple concept that local police forces should use more often. It's essentially a web-wide AND search.  If this AND this AND this AND this are true about a certain individual, you've quickly narrowed down your list of suspects to a handful of people. I'm using such a technique to track down frequent dumpers in the state park near me.  Only a matter of time.

Feb 6th - 12:21pm | Anonymous

Hardly ever are these costs recouped, I believe.  Likewise with SAR and retrieval costs.  Part of the cost of doing business although I agree.  They need to pay, dearly!

Feb 6th - 11:09am | thearys

i hope that $6000 included all the investigation costs as well, and punitive damages as well. Folks should be fully responsible for all costs.

Feb 6th - 11:04am | Anonymous

It's a factual "guess," Kurt.  Singling out user groups is a well honed pattern of the PR battles.  First hand experience on this one.  I had one individual in a group attempt this sort of thing and he nearly became a new entry in Tom Myer's, Death In The Grand Canyon judging from the group's and my own reaction.

Feb 6th - 10:38am | Kurt Repanshek

Anonymous, you're painting with a veerrrryyyy broad brush there with your "educated guess."

Feb 6th - 10:15am | Anonymous

Believe they could make a case a day (or more) on the South Kaibab Trail at Grand Canyon or on other sections of trails in the Park with very high hiker frequency.  A very educated guess would be that ALL this tagging/defacing is done by hikers and not Mule Riders.  

Feb 6th - 09:25am | Carol B

Now what are the chances there!!!  Good for those Ranger 'detectives'!

Feb 6th - 07:14am | RIchard Siggins

That's all?   There should have been a significant fine along with the restoration costs. Too bad all park vandals can't be caught this easy.

Court Rules That Sequoia National Park Officials Violated Wilderness Act By Allowing Horse Trips

Feb 6th - 18:10pm | ecbuck

So, Zebulon and imtnbke, you don't think bikes are "mechanical transport" ?  "Bicycles weren't mentioned by name because they come under the heading of "mechanical transport."  Cars weren't mentioned specifically, motor bikes weren't mentioned specifically, chain saws weren't mentioned specifically, because like bicycles, they were covered by the general catogories, i.e.

Feb 6th - 17:54pm | imtnbke

Anonymous of 9:49 a.m. and ecbuck of 11:25 a.m.: You're right that the Wilderness Act forbids "mechanical transport" in NPS, FS, and BLM Wilderness. But Anonymous is incorrect that the Act specifically excludes bicycles. They're not mentioned. Only agency interpretations of the Act have decided to exclude mountain bikers.

Feb 6th - 16:22pm | Anonymous

Muir used a horse in the wilderness sometimes. The JMT started out as a stock trail from YV to KC. There are many people who can enjoy the wilderness, because stock can help get them there and away. And actually a lot of avid hikers still hire stock to meet them on the trail for resupply. So hikers could also be disapointed by a complete exclusion of stock.

Feb 6th - 14:40pm | MG

This is MADNESS, and the Judge should be required to "hike" through there! Wanna-be "outdoors" sheep from the city are the problem, and so are the fed's in making it a "wilderness" when all they have to do is protect it from Development. Horseback is sometimes the only why through ...

Feb 6th - 14:38pm | Zebulon

Ranger Andy, Based on your arguments, should we conclude that you're okay with bikes?  They don't defecate, they're only around for a few seconds and they do way less damage to the trails than the horses do. Anonymous,

Feb 6th - 13:14pm | imtnbke

Hi, everyone, Good discussion.

Feb 6th - 12:50pm | Ranger Andy

The dark side of organized "hiking clubs". Fresh horse poop REALLY screws up their Wilderness Experience ? Do the club members picture themselves as John Muir clones ?What self-induced coma do they put themselves in to endure the outrage when they go take their own dumps in the woods ? I've hiked all over the Sierra, and the trails with pack stock travel are in the minority.

Feb 6th - 12:41pm | Anonymous

"But for those not on a horse, walking in their wake can be a challenge in terms of avoiding not only at-times voluminous amounts of manure, fresh and old, but also hoof-pocked trails and trampled areas."  I see how this irration can be frustrating for equestrians when many of trails that hikers like to use were orginally cut by stock.  Just doesn't seem fair.

Feb 6th - 12:25pm | ecbuck

Zebulon:

Feb 6th - 11:57am | An equestrian

Not all of us are healthy enough for hiking but still enjoy exploring Nature's beauty by horseback. This reminds me of librarians who want funding for big, beautiful libraries but don't want anyone to actually visit and enjoy them for fear they may have to accommodate them.

Feb 6th - 11:12am | Zebulon

Anonymous.  That's incorrect.  The Act did not ban bikes, an administrative reinterpretation of the Act did.  Furthermore, a good chunk of the NPS is not in wilderness.

Feb 6th - 10:49am | Anonymous

Zebulon - rightly or wrongly bikes are specifically excluded by the language of the Wilderness Act- horses aren't.

Feb 6th - 10:27am | Zebulon

I find this story fascinating.  Apparently, the NPS has no problem with horses trampling and destroying nature, but if cyclists want to have access to national park trails, somehow, trail erosion becomes an issue.  Oh the hypocrisy!!

Feb 6th - 09:10am | tahoma

I can testify to NPS management's "romantic" attachment to stock use in the parks, but they often emphasize the historic tradition and minimize the associated ecological damage and other costs. The Park Service continues to be much better at wilderness rhetoric than complying with the Wilderness Act.

Feb 6th - 09:02am | Anonymous

Now if they could just do this in Rocky Mountain NP! There, it's the lower elevation trails that are being pounded to death by hooves, eroded to dust and cobbles, and buried in manure.

Feb 6th - 09:00am | Anonymous

How about a 5 year trial limiting the commercial use of stock/pack trips to the dry season? This would be a compromise based on the fact that the use of stock is less damaging in the dry seasons. It would allow people on both sides of the issue to enjoy the parks, and bring in revenue from the companies running the trips.

Feb 6th - 07:16am | No More Chickaf...

What a bunch of babies !   Talk about class warfare.  No more wilderness!  

NPCA Report Looks At Creating A National Recreation Area Along the Texas Coast Near Houston

Feb 6th - 17:21pm | Bob Janiskee

The two most heavily-visited National Recreation Areas -- Gateway National Recreation Area (NY/NJ) and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA) -- are situated on the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific Coast, respectively.

Feb 6th - 16:51pm | Boogamite

As we've found out in NC, you cannot have a National Recreation Area and a National Seashore together.  "Since 1962, Cape Hatteras has been referred to as “national seashore” in all Congressional legislation and “national seashore” has been the standard nomenclature for this type of park."

Yellowstone National Park Officials Crafting Framework For Lake Area's Future Development

Feb 6th - 09:21am | David Crowl

I remember reading something about Fishing Bridge RV park needing upgrades and the NPS and the vendor both said it was the other's problem. Is this part of the solution or had the upgrades just happened?

Camping In The Parks: Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Feb 5th - 22:45pm | Will

John, seriously?  Comparing backcountry fee proposals to WMDs?  Oh yeah, fyi Recreation.gov has been in the Smokies for years.  Thats how you reserve a sight at some of their other campgrounds.  You would know that if you knew anything.  Sorry Traveler. Great article Danny.  Cataloochee is a gorgeous area of the Smokies!

Feb 5th - 09:35am | John

So, Recreation.gov has already gotten it's foot in the door of the Smokies.  Surprise, surprise.  And we wonder why this backcountry fee proposal is so pressing, why there is such a crisis in the smokies backcountry that requires the saviors on the white horse of a Canadian company, recreation.gov, to save us poor Southerners from ourselves.  Corporate entities steering public policy in the NPS

Millions Of Dollars Heading To National Parks For Road, Multiple-Use Trail Improvements

Feb 5th - 17:38pm | Anonymous

Kudos to the person from NC that noticed.  You may be surprise to note that NC has NEVER received money in the history of this seven year old program.  I love the Blue Ridge Parkway but mostly for the driving experience.

National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program Helps Water Trail Materialize in Washington State

Feb 5th - 15:34pm | Mary Kay Hodges...

That is Floyd Christman in his kayak that he built in our shop with DeLane showing him how to sew the pieces together. Most people do not realize that Floyd and his Kayak have been all the way to Alaska and back. Anyone every heard that story?

Dinosaur National Monument To Dedicate New Visitor Center, Exhibit Hall On October 4

Feb 5th - 13:30pm | Ann Hooke

Hurray - we have done the Yampa rafting trip with Holiday and Cloud Ridge Naturalists at least twice. The visit to the old museum, even with its obvious problems, was always a highlight. I was so glad to hear that the museum was being renovated - AND now it will be open when we are there in May for another rafting trip.

Rainforest Wander

Feb 5th - 10:24am | Keeper

Ha, it does rain there!  Beautiful but when my Arizona raised new bride and I moved to Lake Quinault (Rain Forest) she realized she wasn't in Kansas anymore:) when she saw the rain gauge and it actually was in FEET, lol!  She adapted well, however.

Feb 5th - 10:08am | Rion

  Visited here last Sept. Truely beautiful.  As a lifelong resident of the desert south-west; I was inspired to visit all the National Parks sites that I could in search of visions like this.

Transit System Designed to Reduce Pollution, Congestion at Gettysburg National Military Park

Feb 4th - 18:28pm | Anonymous

Yep, I am not buying it.  This whole things sounds like a way for the locals to usher traffic to their chosen locations.  I looked at the website and I looked at the routes, and I am not seeing the way that these things are going to take very many cars off the road.  Yes, Gettysburg needs help getting cars off the road.  However they are thier own worst enemy, the main thing to do at gettysburg

Feb 3rd - 12:26pm | Anonymous

They're going to spend over $750K for a system to tell motorists when the parking lot if full even though it only fills to capacity a few days out of the year.  Seems like a few temporary employees would be more cost effective. 

Survey of Western Attitudes Shows Strong Support for National Parks, Clean Environment

Feb 3rd - 17:52pm | ecbuck

"It might also help all who read your posts to understand where you are coming from if you would provide some background information on yourself. Where do you live? What kind of work do you do? Who do you work for? What possible financial interests do you have in the stances you espouse here?"

Feb 2nd - 19:11pm | ecbuck

For Rich - like Lee you dramatically exaggerate.  1505 won't "suspend" any of those acts but will make accommodations for a specific agency implementing a very specific (and immensely important) mission.  And 1505 will NOT lead to "every acre of our land have been paved and contain either densly packed homes, a drill rig or some kind of mine and

Feb 2nd - 19:06pm | ecbuck

" I probably can't back it all up" Of course you can't - but that doesn't prevent you from making the accusations. "Your anti-environmntal stance has been as well documented" 

National Park Mystery Photo 43 Revealed: No Smoking!

Feb 3rd - 14:24pm | tomp2

Perhaps Rangerlady could check in ICMS to see just how many NPS units have "Powder Keg" in their accessioned inventory?  I tried using the public interface and could find "powder keg" when searching Bent's Old Fort, but got no hits when searching "powder keg" for all sites, and only a few units have their accessions on the public-facing server.

Visit Yellowstone National Park in Winter Through the Lens of Chris Cauble

Feb 3rd - 10:33am | Anonymous

Wonderful! Brings back lots of memories of our winter trip to Yellowstone. Yellowstone NP is incredible but in the winter it is just magical!

Feb 3rd - 08:34am | Lee Dalton

Very nice!  Wonderful scenery and great music.  Thanks for sharing it, Chris.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy Gives Friends of The Smokies $2,000 For Bear Cables In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Feb 3rd - 05:35am | Danny Bernstein

I'm so glad that Friends of the Smokies is helping out the park yet again. These bear cables are so important. They are so much better than the old "throw a rock over a tree" that I never seemed to master. I've used the Bear Cables myself so many times. Because the Park can't charge an admission fee, Park partners are especially important in the Smokies. Danny

$4 Million Helps Acquire 385 Acres For Richmond National Battlefield Park

Feb 2nd - 20:57pm | Bruce

Nice article about this on the Richmond Times-Dispatch web site, including video of the secretary, governor, director, and (CWT) president speaking on location: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/feb/02/tdmet01-federal-funds-to-...

National Park Mystery Photo 43: What's In Store?

Feb 2nd - 20:21pm | Bob Janiskee

Ed-123, richp39, and Lisa from Wichita KS have nailed it too. Good job.

The Essential RVing Guide

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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.