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**** Viewing National Parks Traveler on Firefox 3.0****

Aug 28th - 15:41pm | Ted Clayton

Now that's what I like to see: A good [s]excuse[/s] reason not to upgrade! ;-)

Aug 28th - 15:40pm | Kirby Adams

I'm guessing it's this: On the front page, under the Photo of the Week, there is a Latest News headline. It's all blank space under that until the bottom where the latest news actually shows up. Not really a big deal. I never go to the front page, so I didn't notice until now. -Kirby.....Lansing, MI

Aug 28th - 14:49pm | Chas

I'm viewing this with Firefox 3 and don't see a problem. Can you post a screenshot showing the difference?

Park Police Arrest Men Who Brought a Loaded Submachine Gun to a Playground in National Capital Parks-East

Aug 28th - 14:52pm | Anonymous

Hail to the NRA! Seig Heil! The Republicans gotta love this guy. Good job, America!

The Economist Warns that America’s National Park System is in Deep, Deep Trouble

Aug 28th - 14:42pm | Mark E

Frank, I'm sure you had a great time knocking around in those canyons, and that they're no worse off for it. Same goes for the idylls I've enjoyed in a host of remote locations while hiking, running, climbing and biking. The occasion for the original essay is the Economist speculating that American parks are in trouble.

Aug 28th - 13:30pm | Mark E

I'm surprised to read so many posts lauding the not-so-noble pursuit of hiking off trail! From the standpoint of recreation impact, a gaggle of tourists who stay on the trail will generally have fewer impacts on the natural world than an off-trail rambler in search of mystic connections with the landscape.

Aug 27th - 12:55pm | Ted Clayton

Kirby et al, An important part of my reaction to concerns expressed here on the National Parks Traveler that we are at risk of 'Shock & Awe' development in the Parks, stems from my experience with Olympic Nat'l Park. I have only superficial & spotty exposure to other Parks.

Aug 27th - 09:25am | Kirby Adams

To me, this isn't about whether Frank can get to his solitude now, but whether his children or grandchildren will have that option. It's a fact that a majority (vast majority, in many cases) of the land in each park is wild, kidless, and free of anthropocentric sound. Take Ted's beloved Olympic. There are about 5 or 6 places, each the size of a soccer field or two, that everyone gathers.

Aug 26th - 21:33pm | Ted Clayton

Frank; I believe the real idea behind making Parks, that made making Parks (etc) a Great Idea, was the notion to preserve the physical resource itself. Why is the physical preservation of an area a Great Idea? Because it is a concept that many people can relate & resonate to ... and can agree upon.

Aug 26th - 19:38pm | Anonymous

this is a great post, and a very interesting discussion. @ saltsage236:

Grammar Vigilantes Busted in Grand Canyon National Park, Barred from Park System

Aug 28th - 13:46pm | Lone Hiker

So, any sinage left for posterity by the earliest explorers of the world, regardless of national origin, are now subject to grammatical "fixing" the self-annointed grammar police? I take it "Olde English" simply isn't an acceptable method of conveying one's ideas any longer.

Aug 27th - 13:36pm | ElJayDubya

It seems to me that the action by park service and courts simply effects the restoration of a historical site to its original condition.

Aug 27th - 10:59am | Kath

OK. Let's have a little fun. What spelling/grammatical errors have you spotted on signs in parks. I'll start. There's a sign at Pt. Dume, Malibu, California (a state beach) which talks about the sea life clinging to the rocks as 'muscles'. Now unless Arnold himself is down on the shore, the spelling should be 'mussels'.

Aug 27th - 10:50am | Jonathan

Have you read the horrible grammar that is on the brass plaque that was left on the coast of California by Sir Francis Drake? I don't think I would change that either.

Aug 27th - 07:32am | Rangertoo

I think some comments are missing the point. This is not prosecution for correcting a typo, it is prosecution for damaging a historic resource. (Yes, "a" historic). The plaque is part of the original building design. more than 60 years old, and is hand lettered. We would expect the NPS to prosecute anyone who damages a historic sign, typo or not.

Aug 27th - 07:22am | Kurt Repanshek

Ted, All that remains of Jeff Deck's website can be found here. However, if you read the attachment I provided, it contains some screen shots of the site as well as verbiage from it. Thanks for your thoughts on this, Doug.

Aug 27th - 01:51am | Doug

As I used your post as a reference in mine, I figured I should alert you about my take on the situation, which can be read here: http://uselessdoug.blogspot.com/2008/08/doing-it-for-kids.html

Aug 26th - 23:26pm | Ted Clayton

Kurt, was there an editorial or typographic oversight in this post? ;-) I read, 'Yada, yada yada' ... "... explains one section of the web site." ... but I don't see a link to it. What website?

Aug 26th - 22:57pm | Ron Scofield

There is only one thing that bugs me more than typos and that is someone with built-in spellcheck that highlights the typos by making corrections on the printed material with bold markers or white out. You can't find the original authors most of the time and you loose the original flavor. [Ed. Here at Traveler we do make typo corrections to make sure that the intended meaning is conveyed.

Aug 26th - 22:11pm | Anonymous

This is INSANE. This kind of thing is why I hate the Parks system. I love the parks, but the system and the self righteous, jerks that work there can go to Hades.

Aug 26th - 21:42pm | Anonymous

I understand the punishment. Regardless of the grammatical improvement, it is most probably vandalism. I am concerned, however, that park officials reinserted what was deleted. I wonder what their thinking was: Let's correct the vandalism by restoring the grammatical errors?

Aug 26th - 20:29pm | Anonymous

$3,035.00 for a hand-rendered sign? Who is the criminal?

Flooding Nurtures Life in Congaree National Park

Aug 28th - 13:30pm | SaltSage236

If it's national park wilderness you're looking for, Congaree has a special, exceedingly rare brand of it.

Aug 28th - 10:06am | Kirby Adams

Yeah, you were within shouting distance as you came down 127. You're just teasing me now. I really want to see Congaree in flood, or at least damp. We were there in April of last year and it was pretty dry. We had to portage a few spots on Cedar Creek that I imagine are passable in higher water.

Aug 28th - 09:32am | Bob Janiskee

Kirby, while returning from northern Michigan last Saturday I cruised down M127 and hung a left on I-96 at Lansing to head over to US 23 South (where I participated in a 70-minute traffic delay just north of Ann Arbor). By my reckoning, I must have passed within a few miles of your house.

Aug 28th - 09:14am | Kirby Adams

Stop it, Bob! You're making me want to look for plane tickets to Columbia. My wife will wonder where I went when she gets home from school. -Kirby.....Lansing, MI

Presidential Politics and the National Parks

Aug 28th - 12:12pm | Lone Hiker

Dear Mr. Kiernan,

Aug 28th - 10:07am | Rick Smith

NPT Readers and commenters--

Aug 27th - 15:39pm | Ted Clayton

Kurt, Oops. Though I can be a bit daring, I try to recognize when conflicting viewpoints are no longer 'discussing'; when the struggle is whether the glass is half-full, or half-empty. "Semantics", etc.

Aug 27th - 14:19pm | Kurt Repanshek

Ahh, Ted, you dare to embark on the debate over the meaning of "conserve" v. "preserve."

Aug 27th - 14:01pm | Ted Clayton

Good wrap-up, Kurt! The quote that you extract from the Democratic Party draft platform uses the word "conserve" for non-Park lands, and "protect" for the Parks. It then segues back to "conserve", in mentioning millions of new acres for hunting & fishing. Nowhere in this passage do we see "preserve", and that may be significant.

Aug 27th - 10:27am | Andrea

Thanks, Kurt! Check out the ads here: www.npca.org/media_center/psas or watch a video production of Sam Waterson's radio PSA created by a Law&Order fan.

First Piping Plovers, Now Sea Turtles Descend on Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Aug 28th - 11:58am | Mike

Anon You are correct this is "Sad stuff".

Aug 28th - 11:47am | dapster

Anon Ex-CAHA employee,

Aug 28th - 11:44am | Anonymous

Sea turtles are indead protected under the endangered species act. You can check out the status of each species here: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/

Aug 28th - 11:00am | Anonymous

Sad stuff. I live in California and we keep motorized vehicles off most of our beaches, even proposing opening beaches up to vehicles would cause a riot. The internal combustion engine is dying, but it will take a generation for those die hards to let go. Go read a book about sea turtles- we've just about wiped them out, and we do not know what the effect of that will be.

Aug 28th - 10:58am | Chuck Mullins

Just want to agree with what FHTS had to say about buisness being off this year.My family started coming to the OBX about 25 years ago.We fell in in love with Hatteras the first day there.We averaged two to four trip a year up until this year.We work hard all year to be able to do this.With the closures this year affecting most all of the areas we fish that changed.My family is now three famil

Aug 28th - 07:59am | FHTS

It's a fact the the turtles are nesting in large numbers on the whole east coast. It's also a fact that they are not endangered or threatened. So why the massive closures?

Aug 27th - 22:56pm | Bernie McCants

And the reason for full beach 24/7 nest-to-dune for pedestrians is what? And the closure during the day for ORVs when the nests are enclosed by a barrier is what. I would love to see the data to verify the 3/3000 statistic. Can you point me how and by whom this number was arrived? Or is this truthiness?

Aug 27th - 19:26pm | Anonymous

As a former official NPS employee that no longer works in CAHA some of your facts are wrong. There are criteria for moving turtle nests in CAHA and it does happen. I myself moved one with a record 168 eggs of which a more significant portion did not hatch than usual. The primary reason for moving it was to allow greater access for ORVs to South Pt.

Aug 27th - 18:37pm | Kingspointer

------------- Posted by longcaster On August 27th, 2008 At midnite Sept 14 the rules of common sense change. The full beach will be closed dune to surf. No human may pass this closure, not by walking or driving. Is it that the turtles want to go into the dunes to play with the gulls & raccoons? --------------

Aug 27th - 17:35pm | Anonymous

The reason for the full beach closures after Sept 15 is because the night-time driving prohibition is lifted. Headlights behind the nests will cause the emerging hatchlings to travel toward that light.

Aug 27th - 17:27pm | Anonymous

1. Only nests which reach 50 days after Sept 15 require a full-beach closure, even if they are more than 30 m from the dunes - because night-time driving begins with permits on Sept 15. (all nests behind which an ORV corridor cannot be established also require a full-beach closure).

Aug 27th - 15:38pm | longcaster

Want to see something silly? Look at what the CONsent decree says has to happen on Sept 15; 26. After September 15 all remaining unhatched turtle nests, once they reach their hatch window, shall be protected by full beach closures, in addition to the fencing methodology described in the Interim Strategy.

Aug 27th - 15:01pm | dapster

Anon, Quote: "It's actually the state of North Carolina and the FWS who oppose moving turtle nests and with good reason."

Aug 27th - 12:24pm | Anonymous

It's actually the state of North Carolina and the FWS who oppose moving turtle nests and with good reason.

Aug 27th - 09:26am | dapster

It is indeed a fact that in the CHNSRA, Post-CD, all nests within the 50-day window require full beach closures for a certain distance either side of the nest to ORV’s and in some cases pedestrians as well. The reason for this is: Tire tracks make it difficult for the hatchlings to reach the sea after hatching. That makes sense, but here’s the kicker: Beaches are closed from 10PM until 6AM.

Aug 27th - 08:28am | Anonymous

Nice to see that Cape Hatteras is finally doing what it needs to to protect wildlife at the seashore. It's been overrun by 4x4s for far too long.

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

Aug 27th - 14:22pm | Danielle

i think its the parks fault. they need to make sure that the park is secure not just for children, but for everyone. the grand canyon is a huge cliff and if anyone lost their balance or anything else they need a fence or something to keep them from falling off. i mean they shouldnt even allow people to be that close to the edge.

Glacier National Park Officials Plan to Scale Down Search for Missing Hiker

Aug 26th - 22:58pm | Anonymous

Best wishes to Yi-Jien Hwa and his family. I had the opportunity to hang with a group of Malaysian climbers in Nepal- they were most accomodating and it has remained a fond memory ever since. As a Montanan, I hope for the best in this difficult situation. T

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