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Grand Teton Puts Down Another Bear

Jun 3rd - 00:07am | Anonymous

i think that by putting a bear down is a bad thing the people could of just tried to scare it away. there is not need to kill the bear.i don't agree with that,i thing that by killing an animal is sin. because no animal desirves to be killed at any matter. thats also hurting the envirment to other baers... so what if even more bears started doing this are they all going to have to die??

Tracking Crime in National Parks Is Not An Exact Science By Any Means

Jun 2nd - 23:39pm | Field Ranger

In essence, there are 392 National Park Services. Intercommunication between the various units is often limited to a personal level, where one Ranger knows another who might be able to help with a case. No concerted efforts exist to share information on events or criminals who come to different parks.

Reader Participation Day: What Memorabilia Do You Take Home From A National Park Vacation?

Jun 2nd - 22:49pm | WAG

Must haves: the park brochure from the VC, patches, postcards, and passport stamps, CD's of regional music (bluegrass and hammer dulcimer from Great Smoky Mountains, whaling songs from New Bedford, etc.), baseball caps from the "Big" parks (Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Everglades, Mt. Rainier, etc.), and usually one of the KC Publications "Behind the Scenery" books on the park.

Jun 2nd - 22:17pm | Meg

I used to do t-shirts -- one of these days I need to make a National Park T-shirt quilt because I've got enough to cover a king-sized bed, I think. And I do refrigerator magnets. I've got them from 28 different national parks and monuments (in addition to many other places I've visited).

Jun 2nd - 22:13pm | offroad

Thanks for making me laugh Laran :) See his/her post above.

Jun 2nd - 21:34pm | Marilyn

I usually get magnets and sometimes ornaments. I have collected, but can't seem to find anymore at the National Parks, are the 8" square ceramic tiles to hang on my kitchen wall. I have collected five tiles from Glacier National Park and one each from Zion NP, Acadia NP, Yosemite NP, Bass Harbor, and Montana Huckleberry.

Jun 2nd - 20:54pm | suki

It's patches for me...and Passport stamps...and if there is a cool old-style poster, that's mine, too. I have the patches on 2 backpacks that I hike with...the only problem is deciding which one to take! Someday, they will probably all get sewn onto a blanket or something...maybe a sleeping bag.

Jun 2nd - 17:55pm | PamB

I collect stamps in my passport book, postcards, bookmarks, calendars, and magnets from every park. I display the magnets on my office filing cabinets so I can escape anytime of the day and I get to choose a different bookmark everytime I begin a new book.

Jun 2nd - 17:36pm | Amy

Postcards (I'm covering my RV cabinets with them). Christmas ornaments and passport stamps. I used to collect key rings, hung them like charms on a long braided rope bracelet & draped it over a mirror until it got too heavy. Pottery and other local art work is very special. I too want to buy at the VC to support the parks & local artists.

Jun 2nd - 16:06pm | Mitzi Koons

We look for lapel pins and patches to decorate our Bauble Boards with! I also like to keep the maps and use them as background papers for scrapbooks.

Jun 2nd - 14:19pm | kdbchickadee

My daughter and I collect stamps in our passports and pins from every park. We display the pins on lanyards and on our bedroom curtains. The lanyards hang from a hat rack in my daughters room and she can see them whenever she wants to. I also collect the maps from every park. I have a box that is almost full already.

Jun 2nd - 12:55pm | Carolyn

My husband always has to have a pin and a patch. The kids always get a stamp in their passport and on their junior ranger books, in addition to any junior ranger badge they earn. My son will sometimes get a spoon or something else that catches his eye. I like to get postcards, with dreams of scrapbooking them some time.

Jun 2nd - 12:16pm | MRC

Besides fond memories and lots of pictures, I usually get a book or booklet about the park that is rich on photos. Most of the times this is the first thing I do in a new park, to get an idea how professional photographers show the park and what is there to see. The Traveler's sponsor will like that most of the time it is the "stories behind the scenery" booklet.

Jun 2nd - 12:04pm | Christy

We also collect hat pins for us and the kids. The kids also try to collect pressed pennies wherever we go. Gotta get the National Park passports stamped as well.

Jun 2nd - 11:24am | Gaelyn

I too collect hat pins which I put on a curtain in RV living room. I also collect Jr. Ranger badges. First stop is the VC to get my Jr Ranger book and I always promise to complete the whole book. I've only been turned down once and was told I was "too old." What a bunch of bunk. I always learn a lot about the park doing these activities.

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

Jun 2nd - 22:44pm | Z

Oh my god, these comments are hilarious. You guys can't even spell!

Jun 2nd - 22:42pm | Z

Oh my god, these comments are hilarious. You guys can't even spell!

Jun 2nd - 19:23pm | Kath

I've been charged by a black bear in Kings Canyon. It happened in seconds. Fortunately it was a bluff charge. I can't imagine being charged by a bear the size of a grizzly. For bear spray to be effective you have to be closer to the bear than I would want to be.

Jun 2nd - 17:11pm | Kurt Repanshek

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that no one would have wanted the hikers mauled.

Jun 2nd - 16:57pm | Kath

Usually around here when a mountain lion or a bear mauls a human being, law enforcement tracks it down and kills it. If memory serves that's what was done in Alaska with the bear that mauled the girl mountain biking in a park near Anchorage. (I don't know what Denali's policy is on that). In Yosemite, a bear that injures a visitor is killed, I believe.

Jun 2nd - 15:06pm | dean

The more we allow handguns in National Parks, the more likely we are to see the accidental shooting of a backpacker "rustling" in the eye-high tundra plants. If you want to backpack, don't bring a gun. If you want to hunt, don't bring a backpack. If you want to stay home and watch National Geographic, by all means do so. Just don't shoot me if I surprise you in The Bush.

Jun 2nd - 15:03pm | twoton

I cant believe that all of you value the life of a bear over a human... that is the dumbest thing i have ever herd of... i think that this man did exactly what most humans would have... There life was in danger and he defended himself... i would have done the same thing... he did not discharge his weapon in a reckless manner... and he did not intend on going into the woods to kill a bear....

Jun 2nd - 13:11pm | MikeD

By the way, I recommend checking out the film "Grizzly Man" if you haven't seen it. Interestingly, it probably provides fodder for both arguments on both sides of the table.

Jun 2nd - 12:37pm | MRC

To the last anon: You don't get it, the back country of a National Park is the realm of the wildlife. We are the visitors there. And if you decide to enter the bear's country, you should be prepared for the remote possibility to get killed, same as you accept when climbing mountains or dive in the sea.

Jun 2nd - 12:18pm | Kurt Repanshek

Perhaps the best book on bear behavior -- both black bears and grizzlies -- is Stephen Herrero's Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance. Here are some pertinent excerpts:

Jun 2nd - 11:39am | Anonymous

What is with all the sheeple here? What happened to the right to protect oneself and family, let alone a complete stranger? Most .45 shots are probably within 20 feet and that is no bluff charge. If you have EVER read anything about the grizzly, they get very upset when surprised and will almost always attack. This is what it sounds like here. These people are lucky to be alive.

Vandalism Leads to Closure of Ramp at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jun 2nd - 21:42pm | dapster

Kurt, The photo caption reads: "The National Park Service does not know how many chicks, like this least tern, are killed by vehicles at Cape Hatteras. What is known is that in 2004 two chicks were killed after the park service removed fencing from around their nest sites. Photo by Walker Golder "

Jun 2nd - 18:57pm | Anonymous

"An overnight blow takes care of that, as do the daily tide cycles. Check out the DEIS on the subject and you will find the impacts of said ruts to be "Long term Negligible" across the board." Just because the DEIS says it is so doesn't make it so, I'm sure there was much in that doc that you challenged the Park's analysis on also.

Jun 2nd - 16:04pm | Kurt Repanshek

Dapster, Re the Audubon story you cited, if I recall correctly, the ORV side long has maintained that an ORV has never run over a plover. What do you make out of the photo showing a tire track across a bird?

Jun 2nd - 15:50pm | dapster

Anon, Some good points! Allow me to expand:

Jun 2nd - 12:17pm | Anonymous

Actually what stinks is the misinformation that the ORV side perpetuates. Walk into a local business and you will get a barrage of how the Park and environmentalist are in the process of closing all the beaches to everyone forever in the Park. Some of the ORV contingent helps fuels this kind of reaction (resource violation) with their inflammatory rhetoric.

Jun 2nd - 12:05pm | tomp

doh-- Dapster is quicker on the reply than I am. My post was in response to his first post, not his followup.

Jun 2nd - 12:00pm | tomp

dapster--

Jun 2nd - 11:44am | dapster

Thanks for not asking me to tweak my tinfoil hat in relation to my conspiracy theory! Not at all saying it isn't an overzealous ORV proponent either. Since there has yet to be a person(s) charged, it's all speculation at this point.

Nine Injured By Lightning Strike At Old Faithful In Yellowstone National Park

Jun 2nd - 21:33pm | Rich H.

Unfortunately the Old Faithful streaming cam was off line.

Jun 2nd - 17:19pm | y_p_w

I would have thought the most vulnerable would be those sitting on the aluminum bench seats.

Jun 2nd - 16:08pm | Rap

let the countdown for the lawsuits begin...

Jun 2nd - 15:00pm | Regina

Glad everyone seems to be OK! Wonder if it was caught on the live web-cam feed. Old Faithful has one if I remember correctly.

Jun 2nd - 14:30pm | Bruce J.

Awesome! I was struck by lightning once - it was a unique experience. I am so glad they lived to tell about this event!

Commemorative Quarter Places Old Faithful Geyser, Bison On a Quarter

Jun 2nd - 20:46pm | Liz

If you are interested, Yellowstone National Park Quarter event is on June 3rd at Yellowstone National Park at 10:30 MT. If you can't make it to the event, you can check out the live webcast at http://bit.ly/b2Oxmd. The webcast starts at 10:25 MT.

Calving Glacier Injures Two Hikers In Glacier Bay National Park

Jun 2nd - 16:26pm | Kurt Repanshek

Sharon, Glad to hear everyone's on the road to recovery. Sounds like an incredible story that you'll be retelling for years! If you have any photos of the glacier you'd like to share, I'm sure our readers would be interested.

Jun 2nd - 15:45pm | CP

Sharon--thanks so much for the information and the expression of appreciation. I will make sure our staff in the plane receive it, as well as Acting Chief Ranger Gus Martinez and District Ranger Jacqueline Ashwell who cooridinated the NPS response. We all wish you and your husband a speedy recovery! Cherry Payne, Superintendent Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Road Work in Zion National Park Will Impact Hiking, Canyoneering Access

Jun 2nd - 15:19pm | indelable

Just drove into Zion over Memorial holiday, beautiful and not too crowded at all. I do hope everyone who wants to see this incredible Canyon will still find a schedule to include a weekend at least. There is so much to see, personnel are very helpful and the scenery incredible.

Ask A Ranger. Violence Is Nothing New To The Blue Ridge Parkway.

Jun 2nd - 14:53pm | corv78

David Codrea wrote "Rangers have no legal duty to protect anyone, and risk no liability should they fail to do so." While Mr. Bytnar was able to show that the law requires that Dept. of Interior personnel "protect persons" it does not require them to provide individual protection, per se. Should I be attacked by someone in the park, the legal system would never hold Mr.

National Park Service Renews Partnership With Mountain Bike Community

Jun 2nd - 14:02pm | Zebulon

Interesting development regarding Mr. Vandeman. Turns out that he was arrested in Berkeley on charges of assault with a deadly weapon on two unsuspecting cyclists. It's one thing to disagree on trail access issue, but taking the matter into your own hands...

National Park Mystery Plant 8: The Ferrule is Dented and the Handle is Cracked

Jun 2nd - 13:28pm | Bob Janiskee

It's Indian paintbrush, alright. Win to Anon, who was first to figure it out. Place to RangerLady, who honored the point. Apologies to tomp, who was working with a set of clues that hadn't yet received their final tweaking.

Jun 2nd - 12:20pm | RangerLady

I think I have to agree that it's indian paintbrush. Redman Tobacco is "America's Best Chew," ferrule can refer to paintbrushes, and sunsets and eye hemorrhages are red.

Jun 2nd - 12:12pm | tomp

From the second stanza I'd guess Fagus grandifolia. I can sorta twist the first stanza to fit, but I'm less than satisfied by this as an answer.

Jun 2nd - 11:58am | Anonymous

Indian Paintbrush?

Free Entry To National Parks This Weekend

Jun 2nd - 12:29pm | Danny Bernstein

Come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's free 365 days a year. Danny

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