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A Major Overhaul at Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Raises a Few Eyebrows

Jan 23rd - 13:24pm | Warren Z

The collection on exhibit in the basement of Ford's Theatre in 2005 (when I left my position there) was a mixture of artifacts owned by the NPS, and those on loan from the Smithsonian; this collection included the Derringer. I would imagine it will be part of the newly refurbished museum at the theatre.

Jan 23rd - 11:43am | Bill R.

Superb article! I'm confused though, where is the Derringer used to assisinate Lincoln? Last time I saw it, it was in the Smithsonian. Few years ago --- like forty(?). Articles like this make me want to load up the 4X4 and hit the road to head for civilization. Presently reside in the Kommunist Republik of Kalifornia, but am a native Texian.

Jan 23rd - 08:37am | JimB

Warren Z- Thanks for the comment, and the perspective from someone with first-hand experience at the site. The tip on the publication will be appreciated by history buffs.

Jan 23rd - 07:12am | Warren Z

Thank you for another excellent article. Your reporting will surely help folks navigate a site that used to be somewhat visitor-unfriendly. I'm eager to return there and judge the experience for myself. I've sat through performances in those old chairs and they are indeed extremely uncomfortable!

Help Ken Burns Chronicle the Parks

Jan 23rd - 12:47pm | S. Mattson

One of the elements that might be considered when searching for who we are as Americans should look at who we first set out to be. In the preamble to our constitution for instance, we are betrothed to insure “Domestic Tranquility”....what does that mean?...what should it mean?...what does it currently mean to many? Is anyone really working to "insure" it?

Jan 21st - 21:16pm | Jim Bloom

Back in the early 1990s, I met a National Park Service ranger named Donald Scott. He was quite interested that I was the chapter advisor for the Sigma Chi chapter at UC Berkeley. It turns out that when Stephen T. Mather held the conference to write the National Parks Act, he did it at Cal and had the congressmen and other dignitaries stay at the fraternity house.

Interior Secretary Salazar Uses the "S" Word On Second Day at the Office

Jan 23rd - 12:10pm | Dan

Jim's dead on. Science is not an oracle that can be consulted for the answers to all of life's conundrums. Policy decisions are value decisions, and the Bush administration got to influence those value decisions for eight years because they had been elected. That's how our system works. Now, the Obama administration gets to influence those value decisions, for the same reasons.

Jan 23rd - 11:11am | jsmacdonald

Frank,

Jan 23rd - 10:54am | Anonymous

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" - Albert Einstein, Science is not the answer to everything...

Jan 23rd - 10:33am | Frank N

Of course another arguement againt snowmobiles in Yellowstone is the problem of bison following groomed roads out of the Park and into trouble in Montana, though I guess the roads have to be groomed for snow coaches as well. Wouldn't it be great if the Obama administration could find solutions for both of these problems?

Jan 23rd - 10:16am | Kurt Repanshek

Of course you're right, Jim. Science can't be held in a vacuum as a cure-all. And neither can values. The trick is to find a balance.

Jan 23rd - 10:05am | Frank N

The problem with making decisions based on values is that everyone's values are different. My values may be different than yours, and both of our values are no doubt different from former (don't ya love it!) President Bush. Science is science. While I would agree that you cannot blindly follow science wherever it leads, decisions clearly based on it are hard to dispute.

Jan 23rd - 09:25am | jsmacdonald

I wish people were careful about this when they would give hegemony to science without a clear understanding of what science does and doesn't do. Science does not settle value decisions, which must be at the root of any policy decision. It isn't something that takes the place of values or is itself a higher value.

Humans as "Super-Predators" – New Study Offers Startling Information about Hunting and Fishing

Jan 23rd - 12:04pm | JimB

Scot - Good question. At the time I wrote the article, I had to rely on the abstract for the study, which you'll find at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/01/12/0809235106, and on e-mails with the author of the study and the press release.

Jan 23rd - 11:30am | Scot M.

Jim, your article's link to the study takes you to a press release about the study, but not the actual study. Do you have a link to the actual study?

Jan 23rd - 11:09am | Dean

When asking whether human evolutionary impacts on other species should just be treated as another natural selective force, the question we should fundamentally be asking is whether that force is tending to undermine the broader health of the system. And I'm defining health here not in some aesthetic sense, but whether biomass and complexity are decreasing.

Freeze On New Regs Could Impact Efforts to Expand Mountain Biking in National Parks

Jan 23rd - 12:02pm | Zebulon

MRC, I've stopped more than once to let a hiker pass, especially if I'm by myself going slowly uphill and big group of hikers is coming down. It makes more sense. Now, whether you feel second rate or not is frankly a non issue, a national park is not your own private Idaho. We just have to learn to share. Furthermore, there are plenty of ways to do it in ways that are fair.

Jan 23rd - 02:34am | MRC

@Zebulon: Of course it is the governments role to determine which kinds of use are allowed on which parts of the public lands. Bikes are permitted in National Forests, on BLM land and in more than 40 national parks including spectacular routes like the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. But other parks are closed to bikes - particularly on single trails.

Jan 22nd - 20:12pm | Zebulon

Joan, all great points. Let me address them if I may.

Jan 22nd - 20:01pm | Mark E

Really Joan? Waaaaayyyy more damage than what I'd would see on the foot-travel-only section of popular hiking trails? Say, the Appalachian Trail? The Colorado Trail? The Wilderness sections of the Colorado trail? Come visit the later and take a good look at he sections that allow bikes and those that are restricted to foot travel.

Jan 22nd - 18:37pm | Joan 1

Zebulon, Nobody is banned when mountain bikes are restricted. You are still able to hike the trail along with the rest of us. It is only your mode of transportation that is restricted.

Jan 22nd - 11:43am | Zebulon

JD, you're misinformed and factually inaccurate. Multiple studies have shown that bicycles do no more damage than hiking and way less than horse riding.

Jan 22nd - 07:39am | Betty H

Those of us who appreciate peace and quiet in natural surroundings are not always "liberals". We are just folks who love our great natural areas and will hike to great lengths to get away from it all so we can enjoy nature in its most natural setting.

Jan 22nd - 05:58am | JDRower

I hope they're banned. The damage done by mountain bikes is enormous. The decision will be political but hopefully with an environmental foundation.

Jan 21st - 20:29pm | Zebulon

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Will Obama cater to the very liberal wing of the party (i.e. your typical Sierra Club bike hater) or will he be more centrist in his approach (i.e. recognize that the rule simply transfers decision making power to the local park)?

4-Year-old Dies in Fall off South Rim of Grand Canyon

Jan 23rd - 10:22am | Frank N

"An adult has to hold onto a 4 year old at all the Grand Canyon overlooks. Constantly and tight."

Jan 23rd - 09:32am | Kurt Repanshek

Whoa, Rudee, that's pretty harsh. I agree that many groups of inner city kids (and even from other areas of the country) at times seem to be running like wild packs in the parks. But if they don't even get a chance to experience a park how can they learn to appreciate them?

Jan 23rd - 09:25am | Rudee

I have to say, this verifies my cynicism when I toured the South rim once. The place was crawling with urban brats of all kinds who were clueless about being in the outdoors. Kids running rampant, women hiking trails in high heels. It was a ridiculous three ring circus. They were ALL like a bunch of children in need of supervision, not just the 4 year olds.

Jan 22nd - 23:35pm | Mike

LOL! You're right Russell.... they probably haven't had kids.

National Park Quiz 38: African Americans

Jan 23rd - 09:13am | Bob Janiskee

Congratulations, Barky. This was not a particularly easy quiz. BTW, I'll soon be selecting quiz topics for March. Got any suggestions?

Jan 21st - 19:37pm | Barky

A couple of weeks ago, you challenged me to attempt this quiz when it came out. My results ... well, got 8 right. I am irked I got #7, about the Tuskegee Airmen, wrong. I visited that site (actually, it was just a trailer in a field, the NPS was still figuring out what to do with it), and should have known Moton Field was the right answer.

Muir Woods National Monument is More than Really Old, Really Big Trees

Jan 23rd - 02:33am | Kevin Anthem

Muir Woods is simply wonderful. I remember going there last year with my wife. Teddy made the right decision to declare this a national monument in the name of John Muir. I must say, it's one of his administration's legacies. Something that the next generations will surely appreciate and preserve.

Don't Try this At Home: Driver's Life Saved By Vegetation and Ledge at Colorado National Monument

Jan 22nd - 20:07pm | ReBecca

Our local news paper has a slide show of the wreck: http://www.gjsentinel.com/ap/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=141600

It's Not Too Early To Start Planning This Summer's National Park Vacation

Jan 22nd - 13:24pm | dwulfman

We've been helping families plan National Park camping trips for 10 years and our Trip Consultants have a good feel for when each Park normally begins selling out. In 2008, we reserved about 2500 nights in NPS and NFS campgrouds across the west, but we expected things to progress much more slowly this year. Yet, so far 2009 looks about the same as previous years.

Jan 22nd - 12:34pm | JimB

Kurt - Good advice. A friend started checking in mid-summer last year on lodging in Yosemite for this coming summer - and found very slim pickings, with the possible exception of the higher-priced spreads. He was told by a reservations agent for the concessioner to plan a year ahead for peak travel periods in mid-summer at Yosemite.

Yellowstone National Park: Poster Child For Goofy Gun Laws

Jan 22nd - 11:35am | Carl in Chicago

That laws respecting the right to carry arms have been somewhat liberalized by this rule change is a good thing in and of itself. Civil liberties are like that, but their rightful expansion often comes with some confusion and getting-used-to.

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Jan 22nd - 10:59am | Lone Hiker

It's sad that our lives are being manipulated by a chosen few on the issue of our planet's "weather" cycle. It's even more curious how after decades and decades of abuse from mankind, his "intellect" now drives him to right past wrongs which he doesn't even completely understand.

Jan 22nd - 09:42am | Kurt Repanshek

Dan raises some valid points. Issues such as climate change and guns in the parks will not be settled at the Traveler. But I'd disagree that this is the wrong forum to discuss them. They are both, in their own ways, highly relative to the national parks, and a key mission of this site is to report on and explore issues pertinent to the parks.

Jan 21st - 21:20pm | Dan

This debate reminds me of the ongoing flame war about concealed carry in the parks. Not only is the argument getting nowhere, but I think this is an especially bad forum for the debate. There are big, ongoing debates about whether the climate is changing, whether this change is caused or exacerbated by humans, and to what extent that change is harmful or beneficial.

Jan 21st - 19:54pm | RAH

Hanson's data had to be revised and the warmest year was substantially changed. His latest data used the wrong month and than declared that he had no confidence on temperature data that came from Russia. There is substantial number of scientists who dispute the hypothesis that global warming or climate change is man made.

Jan 21st - 11:14am | Frank N

I'm sitting here on the 21st. of January in Livingston Mt. looking forward to another clear day in the fifties. So it has been for the past couple of weeks. There is no snow in the valley, and it is getting pretty thin on the surrounding mountains. Yesterday I was out tilling soil in my garden (not that I plan on planting for four more months, but it was that nice out).

Jan 21st - 10:07am | Lone Hiker

Interesting notion, that of "more usable land". But usable in what manner? The atmospheric variances that currently exist on the planet and the direct interaction that they impose on the existing land masses are a direct result of not only the proximity and topography of land masses in relation to the seas but in the specific temperatures of the sea water in a given region.

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

Jan 22nd - 08:17am | David

My wife and I stayed at the lodge in December 2000 and had a great time despite unusually cold weather. The birding was fantastic. It's sad that nothing has been put in place to allow people who cannot camp to experience this special place. Camping wouldn't bother us but it is not feasible to bring the necessary equipment from home (England).

Jan 21st - 20:14pm | Anonymous

I so miss being able to come and stay in the Lodge. The Everglades is magical. I enjoyed bringing my children there in years past and have taken many good memories home with me: the prairie warblers and other birds, the bobcat sitings, and the moonflowers which opened at dusk.

At New River Gorge National River, an Iconic Bridge Attracts Suicide Jumpers

Jan 21st - 23:01pm | Anonymous

I too have been touched by the loss of a loved one on this bridge since the last entry. I try to get past the anger and fruitfulness of a young life lost because of the finality of the act. We do not know the desperation and hopelessness one feels because they had chosen not to let us.

National Park Foundation Loses Its Honorary Chairperson

Jan 21st - 19:21pm | Dan

Are you sure she's not continuing in the position? There's no press release on NPF's website, and there's no reason a former first lady can't be the honorary chair of a foundation.

Jan 21st - 19:16pm | Barky

No kidding. First I've heard of this. I guess her absence from NPS issues puts her above her husband on the Success-O-Meter: she didn't leave any mark at all, while her husband left a big stain. ====================================================

Jan 21st - 12:29pm | Bugsyshallfall

Wait.......so Mrs. Bush was trying to help the NPS while her husband was slowly destroying it? I am confused, how much good did she do and how much did she influcence her husband?

Interior Officials Want to Allow Concealed Carry in the National Parks

Jan 21st - 18:33pm | Anonymous

I don't necessarily agree with the "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" concept, I think most of those arguing against the new proposal are kidding themselves about what would happen. Does anyone doubt that some people have been "packing" in national parks for years? Have any of you ever been frisked?

Yosemite National Park Officials Looking For Suggestions on Preserving Badger Pass Ski Lodge

Jan 21st - 09:50am | tahoma

Those interested in the history of skiing in the National Parks should not miss Ch XIV, "The Problem of Winter Use" in the Mount Rainier Administrative History: http://www.nps.gov/archive/mora/adhi/adhi14.htm

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