| Page 1162 | National Parks Traveler

George, it's always interesting to see what position the speaker is in, ie minority or majority. The GOP members made plenty of foolish, unproductive comments when they were in the minority. I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying that what both parties seem to be lacking are statesmen/women who can play nice no matter if they're in the majority or minority.

Jan 4th - 18:47pm | George Orwell

By the way, Markey's comments are pure BULL. That type of sad untrue rhetoric is ...not productive and NOT believable when people are engaged as the public is and not accepting of the silly sound bites that often, in the past, have played to pop culture environmentalism. There is a great correction going on and the earlier it's realized and dealt with the better. :)

Jan 4th - 16:49pm | George Orwell

There needs to be some consideration for job creation, NOW, in the private sector! It is a serious situation and I'm not seeing the concern from many that have government jobs apparently only interested in MORE government jobs.

Jan 4th - 16:20pm | Anonymous

Wilderness is a disease of the mind.

Jan 4th - 15:58pm | George

The main point of the secretarial order is to restore BLM's authority to consider wilderness in its resource management plans, under the inventory and planning provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For many years the Forest Service has been doing what the order directs BLM to do.

Jan 4th - 11:26am | George Orwell

There is hope:):)

Jan 4th - 09:02am | Ryan

J.Q., I appreciate your willingness to have a real conversation about this!!!! OK, answers, well, if I had some really good ones, I would be a rich and famous individual.

Jan 3rd - 18:44pm | J. Q. Public

Good argument, Ryan. I agree for the most part but if you would solve the problem of lack of energy self sufficiency and what that means on the world stage, it would be helpful. I'll skip the extremes of these arguments as they are hurtful in the long run. There is a need for REAL problem solving.

Jan 3rd - 16:40pm | Ryan

I am plenty serious and designating something as wilderness does not "lock things up." This "locking up" argument is tired and ill informed. Does wilderness designation not allow resource extraction (i.e. a boom/bust economy for areas surrounding these protected lands), yes. Does wilderness designation not allow people to do whatever they please (i.e. motorized recreation), yes.

Jan 3rd - 15:47pm | J. Q. Public

So, Ryan, which action is reasonable. Which action is something that gives people jobs while protecting the environment and which just locks things up. At some point, people without jobs(at some point) don't give a rip about the environment.

Jan 3rd - 14:24pm | Ryan

funny...Hastings talking about back door deals...Salazar was simply overturning a Bush era back room deal.

Traveler's Gear Box: Would You Add The SteriPEN Journey To It?

Jan 5th - 02:46am | SEAsia traveler

I LOVE(D) our steripen...until it broke! We had Nalgenes that fit the seal of the pen perfectly and were able to turn the bottle upside down and swirl it without much leakage. With 2 months of use, never got sick, so it seem to do the trick.

What Do GOP Politicians Have Against Protecting National Park Landscapes?

Jan 4th - 23:39pm | Jim C.

As another poster mentioned, you need to fix that T.R. quote ("all marred" should be "unmarred" or whatever it really was). It looks like that typo was copied amongst other sites, including a NPS page.

Jan 4th - 23:35pm | Jim C.

It's highly annoying when Republicans name-drop Teddy Roosevelt as one of their own when they're accused of disrespecting nature.

Snow-capped Mountains Offer a Different Look at Death Valley National Park

Jan 4th - 18:48pm | Anonymous

The area has broken rainfall records in December, surely the wildflowers will be spectacular this spring.

Jan 4th - 18:46pm | Anonymous

I am leaving for my first visit to Death Valley on Sunday, I wish I was there now!

Jan 4th - 18:41pm | Kolby

I wonder if this will help the spring wildflower bloom?

Piping Plover Production Up At Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jan 4th - 17:59pm | Dave

How did they get away with selling that large area of donated land up on the northern Outer Banks? I bet they did not put that in the newsletter. Are the people across this land really that stupid? Karma is coming any day.

Public Health Service Agrees to Operate Yosemite Medical Clinic

Jan 4th - 16:57pm | Tony Ascaso, RN

Yosemite Medical Clinic will close for 1 month, starting 1/1/11

111th Congress Did Well When it Comes to National Park Wilderness, But It Could Have Done Better

Jan 4th - 13:21pm | y_p_w

My understanding about the renewed shellfish permit for DBOC is that its validity is contingent on the NPS reauthorizing the use of those specific shore operations. For example, the DBOC couldn't lose their right to their current shore operations and farm oysters in Drakes Estero with shore operations at Tomales Bay.

Jan 4th - 12:09pm | Kurt Repanshek

Thanks for your note, Ranger. I think more than a few of us are learning about the nuances every day as we follow life in the parks. As for the Point Reyes oyster debate, we've had a few stories on it: /2009/05/national-research-council-report-blasts-park-service-report-oyster-farming-point-reyes-natio

Jan 4th - 11:46am | Ranger

Well, this is a nice, thought-provoking article to start off the new year. Thanks.

Jan 4th - 11:46am | Jeffrey Creque

Mr. Buono has it wrong with respect to Senator Diane Feinstein’s provision to allow a ten-year extension of a two acre on-shore facility associated with a State of California aquaculture lease in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Jan 4th - 10:31am | George Orwell

The historic dairy farms still operating at Point Reyes seem to be working but to purists (?). How do purist's make a living, anyway? I'm glad there are a few decisions that actually include us in the food chain. :) Boy, does it ever storm at Point Reyes. The pines I saw grow horizontally :).

Jan 4th - 09:14am | Sarah Rolph

The information here about Drake's Bay Oyster is inaccurate and misleading. This statement is not true: "The authorization for the oyster farm in the Drakes Bay Estero was due to expire in 2012. At that point the nonconforming use would have ceased, enabling the NPS to convert the potential wilderness into full wilderness by publication of a Federal Register notice."

Jan 4th - 08:35am | George

Wilderness is valuable to discourage development in the back country. In 1966 the superintendent at Zion showed me a map indicating a proposed development of visitor facilities in the wild lands east of Zion Canyon, to be accessed by a spur road off the Mount Carmel highway.

Jan 4th - 07:13am | George Orwell

Is there a correlation between the 111th doing well and the country being in the tank with disaster looming?

We'd Like to Welcome the Glacier National Park Fund to Our List of Sponsors

Jan 4th - 12:16pm | Merry Lynn

This looks great, Kurt! Thanks!!

Jan 3rd - 10:07am | Tony Bynum

Great Partnership!

Parking Just Got More Expensive at Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Jan 4th - 11:24am | LArry Smith

Why be upset about parking? Mt Rushmore is nothing more than a well-planned tourist trap devised by politicians. It has no historical value other than the artist's skills...(or perhaps the mt. goats that wander around). In fact the entire Black Hills area is a gigantic "DisneyUniverse" built to encourage tourism to the area...and it works!

Jan 3rd - 11:45am | Bob

I think that parking garage raises my blood pressure more than any other thing in the national park system. Given my guess as to the average length of stay, the hourly rate is comparable to expensive urban centers, for no good reason. There is a very low-capacity alternative (though I'm not telling where), so it's essentially a license for the concessioner to print money.

Lease For Airport Inside Grand Teton National Park Extended

Jan 4th - 10:50am | jersu

I traveled through the Jackson airport last summer. Because of its relationship with the park, I expected it to be a tiny place with tiny airplanes. I was wrong. There were some smaller jets, but I watched at least two 737s and a 767 come through within an hour mid-day.

Group Claims Big Cypress National Preserve Going Too Far With ORV Access, Panther Impacts

Jan 4th - 06:49am | Jon Merryman

BICY was a wasteland back in the 80s when I worked in the area. In the places where ORVs were allowed access, it literally looked like a construction zone -- like they were in the process of building a shopping mall. The only vegetation that hadn't totally been trampled to death were the trees. Anything shorter than an SUV had been mowed down and beat into a muddy pulp.

Jan 3rd - 15:05pm | plet39

If you're too lazy to walk, don't hunt!

Jan 3rd - 15:02pm | plet39

ORVs have no place in ANY national park. They are massively destructive vehicles that mostly appeal to people who have no concern for their impact on the environment. Setting rules about where they can and cannot be driven does no good -- I've yet to meet an ORV afficianado who followed anyone else's rules.

Finding Winter Bliss in a National Park Lodge

Jan 4th - 06:21am | Connie Hopkins

Hey Anonymous nice to "meet" you as well! I have a couple on Flicker myself, they're under: EDELWEISSTEXAS Connie

Jan 3rd - 21:05pm | y_p_w

For some, backcountry or car camping in the snow is bliss. I don't necessarily feel the same, but I thought I'd put it out there. I've seen people at Camp 4 in the dead of winter in Yosemite. If they get tired of that, they can head to Yosemite Lodge or the fireplace at the Ahwahnee.

Jan 3rd - 16:27pm | Anonymous

Yep, that's me! (homeschool traveler) I only have a few wildlife pics up but plan to put more up soon. Nice to "meet" you! And I agree - Yellowstone in winter really is magical!

Jan 3rd - 13:21pm | Connie Hopkins

I KNEW you would have a wonderful time! I don't know how anyone COULDN'T have a great time in such a magical place! Are you Homeschool Traveler on the Flicker site? I was wanting to see your pictures. Connie

Big Cypress National Preserve Superintendent Defends "Addition" Lands ORV Use

Jan 4th - 01:51am | Matt Schwartz

“I like to tell people it’s not just different uses, it’s a different mandate from Congress, and it’s not up to us to change the mandate from Congress to manage this place differently than national parks," Superintendent Ramos said during a telephone call. Page 10 of the Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan for the Big Cypress National Preserve responds as follows:

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve

Jan 4th - 00:25am | BCsurfer

I haven't been in griz territory for quite some time, though surprisingly I was actually charged (false) by a black bear in Wyoming this past summer! My experience: The day after highschool graduation, at the tender age of 17, I jumped on a plane and flew from my coastal homeland of southern California to the Great White North - Whitehorse, Yuon, then on to norther British Columbia.

Keys Ranch Tours at Joshua Tree National Park are a Hit – Reservations Needed in 2011

Jan 3rd - 22:02pm | Sharlene

I recently took a private tour of Keys Ranch and loved it. I think it should be on everyone's must do list at Joshua Tree as long as they aren't traveling with kids under 7 or so.

National Park Stories We'd Like To See In 2011

Jan 3rd - 07:15am | Matt Stubbs

"Yellowstone National Park Solves Winter-Use Conundrum; Snowmobilers And Conservationists Happy" Ten years later millions of Batteries are found illegally dumped poisoning the entire eco system. "Months Of Behind-the-Scenes Meetings Lead to Satisfactory Resolution of Cape Hatteras National Seashore ORV Use

Jan 3rd - 06:35am | Danny Bernstein

Another headline I'd like to see in 2011 Congress finally pays the full $52 million to Swain County, closing out the North Shore Road issue in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park forever.

Jan 2nd - 19:14pm | David Whisnant

Will we ever be so fortunate? Will political discourse ever turn in such a way as to even permit an intelligent, progressive discussion of such long-delayed but urgently necessary moves?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agrees Wolverines Need ESA Protection, But They'll Have to Wait

Jan 2nd - 23:00pm | toothdoctor

WOLVERINES!!!!...Red Dawn...Sorry, but couldn't resist.

Lost to Hurricanes, the Flamingo Lodge at Everglades National Park Will be Hard to Replace

Jan 2nd - 21:53pm | Birdie_on_the_fence

My husband and I worked at Flamingo for a little less than a year after we married. Throughout the years I have off an on been struck with little bits of homesickness and memories. I am happy to run across this article; up til now I had not been able to find out any info about the possibility of lodging replacement.

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