| Page 1435 | National Parks Traveler

Have lived in Miami for over 50 years and visited Everglades N.P. hundreds of times. However, I was not aware (nor was it advertised) that there was a Nike missle base within the park. When we found out that they were giving tours of the site for the first time ever, we immediately called to make reservations.

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Jan 19th - 11:39am | Smartin271

Sorry Richard Smith, I should have been more clear in my concerns. I gave too much credit, apparently. The differences I was concerned with had to do with relative distance from comparable spots, for instance, and the time of year in which each photograph was taken. Or, iwas that not too concerning to be brought up as a "problem?"

Jan 17th - 06:43am | JimB

re: Lots of smoke, but thank God the winds were blowin' away from us! Good thing the wind blew all that smoke out over the ocean, where the CO2 would be quickly absorbed...

Jan 16th - 18:30pm | Sandi

"All that carbon" is being absorbed by the seas and flora as it always has. Flora loves CO2...and today there is more forestland in the U.S. than there ever has been in recorded history. No "deforestation" here, BTW.

Jan 16th - 16:03pm | Richard Smith

I cannot fathom why someone would be interested in parks and have no clue about climate change. Smartin271 mentions that the photos have differences, yes they do, how nice to notice. But seeing the differences and saying it is climate change is deemed to be reactionary. What do you people think all that carbon is doing?

Jan 16th - 15:21pm | JimB

Re: the above comment:

Jan 16th - 11:05am | Gerald

Climate change? What direction? Could begin to cool next hour, tomorrow, next year...as it has for millenia. We have very little to do with it. Many factors involved here. Our global climate is extremely complex.

Jan 16th - 08:04am | Smartin271

Could we, at the very least, use some photographic evidence that compares apples to apples? The pics used have obvious differences. Jumping the gun based on what's been provided doesn't do much to demonstrate the intelligence of the reactionaries.

Jan 15th - 23:42pm | Scott G

Those pictures are dramatic. Aside from the ice to water aspect, note the added vegetation along the mountainside.

Should Anything Be Done With Angel's Landing?

Jan 19th - 08:23am | JimB

Mike - re:I just decided that the reward just wasn't worth the risk this time I'd like to commend your good judgment in deciding to turn back when you felt the trail had become too dangerous. Many of the rescues that I was involved in during my NPS career were the result of people pushing on "no matter what."

Jan 18th - 22:20pm | Mike

Hiked the Angel's Landing trail yesterday, January 17 (wintertime, obviously) for the first time. My wife and I are in our mid-fifties, pretty good shape, and didn't have any problems that way, but the ice from this year's extra snowfall made many areas of the trail especially dangerous.

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

Jan 19th - 07:56am | Warren Z

"Super predator" is an unfortunate term, often applied by White Conservative ideologues to sectors of the human population (whose skin is not white) they'd prefer to see behind bars, and thus out of their consciousness. It's unfortunate when an innocuous term is hijacked like that, but still I personally wish scientists would now stop using it.

Jan 19th - 02:15am | MRC

Well, if you cite Thoreau, I'll reply with Stephen Colbert: What a heck of governments have we established in Iraq and Afghanistan then.

Jan 18th - 15:05pm | JimB

Frank_C: You accurately point out the perils of taking a brief quote from any writer and applying it to another topic, so I'll happily modify my use of it slightly: This new study of human impacts on both plant and animal populations suggests that in recognizing the values of "wildness," Thoreau seems to have been on to something.

Park History: Arches National Park

Jan 19th - 06:21am | Dr. Joseph Portland

I really didn't know Arches National Park teems with so many arches - 2000. That's prodigious!

Studies Show Bear Spray More Effective Than Guns Against Grizzlies

Jan 18th - 22:43pm | Don from Kentucky

Unfortunately, taking away guns are not going to take away the intent to commit crime, murder most of all...There are many crimes (that result in death) where guns are not involved...I am an educated chemical engineer, not just some backwoods Kentucky hick with a shotgun, although those people do exist...My reason for chiming in is simple...the black bear population in Eastern Kentucky is on th

Red Rocks and White Snow

Jan 18th - 12:45pm | Ray Bane

Fantastic park. I have done two cycling trips through southern Utah and spent a day in Bryce each time. I hope to go back in the not too distant future.

Jan 18th - 06:38am | JimB

Nice photo! Red rock country is dramatic any time of the year, but it takes on a special beauty when snow offers contrast to the other colors.

Groups Ask for Extension on Comment Period for Grand Canyon "Natural Quiet" Definition

Jan 18th - 04:51am | Dr. Roger Portland

The Feds doesn't really give a damn or two about the improvement of parks. They have far more important things to do than attend to the needs of these people who care for it. It's a sad trend, if we think about it.

Park Rangers, Active and Retired, Lament Change in Gun Rules for National Parks

Jan 17th - 17:02pm | Anonymous

The Heller decision said that an individual right to own and possess a firearm was protected under the 2A and that person did not have to be a member of a milita. Your comment was you said the part you did not undestand of "infringement" was a well regulated militia. Regulated in colonial times meant same ammo and same arms to be carried or to well trained, not rules like park regulation.

Jan 17th - 14:28pm | Lepanto

I've read the decision. If you have, too, you will see it went out of its way to say it is not definitive, but a narrowly drawn decision based on a specific, overstated local rule. It is not a landmark ruling on whether regulations of guns are legal. Read it again.

Jan 17th - 12:15pm | RAH

Lepanto, Read the SCOTUS Heller decision. It explains that the preface is a purpose ,not the sole purpose. That is what the decesion was about whether an individual not part of the militia has 2A and it was decided in the affirmative .

Jan 16th - 22:01pm | Lepanto

Taggart: the part that says "well-regulated militia"

Jan 16th - 16:54pm | Taggart

Assuming that you're referring to the rule bringing national parks in line with state concealed carry laws:

Jan 16th - 16:34pm | Rick Smith

Taggert-- Are you satisfied with the stupid new rule that Department of the Interior cubicle-dwelling burearcrats thought was a good idea? Rick Smith

Jan 16th - 12:33pm | Taggart

Some people see stupid rules and break them. Some people see stupid rules, and stupidly follow them. The first group is the group responsible for the Declaration of Independence and the spread of democracy.

Jan 15th - 21:39pm | Rick Smith

Yep, you get to decide which are stupid rules and then break them. How does that compute? Rick Smith

Glacier Bay National Park Issues New Cruise Ship Contracts

Jan 17th - 05:57am | RAH

These is a good idea and a good way to enjoy the beauty of the park. NPS is there to preserve and manage the parks for Americans to enjoy. A cruise ship is an ideal way to provide that enjoyment and they have attempted to make sure that that method does not do damage to the water and air.

Delaware Can Relax; The New National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Series Will Celebrate “National Sites” Too

Jan 16th - 18:27pm | Quarter Designs

Please visit the link below to see the images of the latest quarter designs: http://www.geocities.com/juicemeter/quarters.html

Upon Further Review: Preferential Treatment for Local Residents at National Parks?

Jan 16th - 18:17pm | tahoma

Apologies for hijacking your thread, Jim. I just had to vent some of my frustration with the situation here. I do appreciate the challenges NPS staff can face dealing with a wide variety of Park visitors. Your articles are excellent and entertaining examples!

Jan 16th - 17:12pm | JimB

I realize there's always more to an issue than meets the eye, but it sounds like there's room for improvement on the Mount Rainier access question. Hopefully the park staff will take another look at the balance between safety, liability and costs vs. visitor access.

Jan 16th - 16:12pm | tahoma

Jim wrote: "...it's only human nature for some people who live near a park and use it on a regular basis to develop a sense of 'ownership' of the area." Rangertoo replied concerning some NPS staffers: "Someday, someone ...is going to call attention to this kind of double standard...".

Jan 16th - 12:48pm | Rangertoo

What about preferential treatment for employees? I have been in many parks where the employees break rules for which they give the public tickets. Drive through the housing area at a place like Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, for example.

Jan 16th - 06:05am | Lynn Berk

If stupid was a crime, we've had even more of the parks and wilderness to ourselves...If you have never read "Deaths in Yellowstone," try and pick it up (I understand it's a big seller at the park itself. I always thought the true title should be "Stupid Deaths in Yellowstone." P.S.

What Priorities Should The Next National Park Service Director Address?

Jan 16th - 17:05pm | Ray Bane

Jim has an excellent point. Private inholdings in national parks are potential time bombs that can impact the resources, visitors and integrity of an affected park unit. The current economic crisis will likely make the owners of such inholdings more willing to sell either outright or to accept payment for limits on the uses of such lands.

Jan 16th - 14:42pm | Jim Pepper

1. Buy Land. 2. Buy Land. 3. Buy Land.

Deadly Threats You Never Heard of Lurk in Our National Parks

Jan 16th - 15:05pm | Thomas L Price

Thank you very much for the information relating to the wolf / moose study up in Isle Royale NP. I will be sure to pass this along to who is going (unfortunately, since my first response was posted I've learned there will be surgery (minor) for me this spring).

National Park Icons: Yellowstone’s Roosevelt Arch

Jan 16th - 11:34am | Anonymous

All I would say to that Jim is that you have to remember the kind of people who were coming to the park back then. These weren't blue collar folk who could see the beauty of an arid high mountain desert so to speak. These were upper class rich folk who needed glitz and comfort for their vacations.

Jan 16th - 10:17am | Dave Crowl

I personally love to imagine how the people felt coming into a place in the time before our current entrances to National Parks. I still get excited when I approach the booth to show my Parks Pass. and enter. The booth always marks most entrances for us now.

Jan 16th - 09:45am | jsmacdonald

I know that the look of places change over time, but I am having a hard time understanding how the land around the North Entrance could possibly have made a bad impression as is. It is one of the most beautiful landscape spots in the park; a wild looking country with large mountains all around (dominated by 11,000 foot Electric Peak).

Sen. Salazar Sails Through Confirmation Hearing

Jan 16th - 11:00am | Rick Smith

Did he wear his cowboy hat? Rick Smith

National Park System Would Gain Official Wilderness Under Omnibus Lands Bill

Jan 16th - 01:30am | Ray Bane

Wilderness is the ultimate gift one generation can give to another. It is much more than just impressive scenery and wild animals. It is literally a working model of what the world was like before modern human civilization substantially altered or destroyed natural systems.

Yellowstone National Park: Poster Child For Goofy Gun Laws

Jan 15th - 19:04pm | Anonymous

James Watts, DOI secretary under Reagan put the regulation that guns had to be dissambled and not available . Yeah, James Watt, a well known liberal, under the authority and guidance of President Ronald Reagan, put in place new restrictions on your ability to lawfully carry firearms.

Commentary: What Would An Economic Stimulus Package for the National Parks Buy Us?

Jan 15th - 18:23pm | Barky

By the same token Hitler's autobahns are still standing and have provided solid service to the German motoring public for decades and decades and decades. Ain't national socialism great? Awesome non sequitur!!! ===========================================

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