| Page 1527 | National Parks Traveler

Whoa there, Art...when did I frame any sort of argument? All I did was respond to your comment. I am a member of the NRA, gun owner and avid hunter. I have no problem with the 2nd Amendment, or anyone's right to own or use firearms. All I did was say that no where in the Constitution is it "enshrined" (using your words here, not mine) that firearms can be used for self-defense.

Feb 12th - 10:04am | Art

Arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe and preserve order in the world as well as property. -- Thomas Paine, Writings of Thomas Paine

Feb 11th - 12:53pm | Sam K.

Art, you say: the fact remains that the right to own firearms and to use them in self defense is enshrined in the Constitution.

Feb 11th - 11:53am | Art

The right to own and carry a firearm is a Constitutionally protected right. While a leftist judiciary has sought to infringe on that right by imposing limitations, which only law abiding citizens respect, the fact remains that the right to own firearms and to use them in self defense is enshrined in the Constitution.

Feb 11th - 11:02am | JoeSF

Frank

Feb 11th - 10:37am | Joel

Sorry Bill, You must have misread..."There is no such thing for private citizens to obtain a National Concealed Carry Permit" is what I actually said. I would love to get my hands on a National Concealed Carry Permit. Just no such thing.

Feb 11th - 10:36am | JoeSF

For those of you who do feel unsafe in National Parks, you can thank in part the willful disobeying of federal law by sanctuary city governments that have encouraged millions of illegal aliens to flock across our borders. The result is mountains of trash on our federal lands and crimes of all types in our parks and elsewhere.

Feb 11th - 10:23am | Frank N

In the old west everybody carried a gun. We all know how safe that made everybody! In old Chicago, everyone carried a gun. We all know how safe THAT was. Even today many victims of violent crime are carrying guns at the time, or have guns in their homes or vehicles. Some people end up shot with their own gun.

Feb 11th - 07:04am | Nbar

II own a handgun and carry it in my RV. I do not have a CCW and I do not carry the weapon on me but I have on my property and legal or not there it will stay. It is protection from an intruder only. I see no need to carry a concealed weapon in a National Park. Let's face it if you are carrying concealed for protection from animals, a handgun is only going to make them mad.

Feb 10th - 13:54pm | Jim M

I agree with you Joel that we're probably talking about a very small number of people that would be carrying guns in National Parks if it were made legal, and I do believe that most gun owners are quite responsible. My problem with a change in the law and what I was emphasizing in my letter to Sen.

Feb 10th - 12:47pm | Rick Smith

Gee, Bill, I have visited scores of national parks, all without a weapon, and believe I have retrieved my investment. I assume you could do the same. Rick Smith

Feb 10th - 10:46am | Mookie

I've always said Senators can't add correctly...no wonder they can never find enough money for the NPS.

Feb 9th - 21:48pm | Bill Roberts

I must have missed something. Joel seems to imply some one suggested there was a national CCW permit issurer out there somewhere. Have no idea if he was referring to my comment in my statement that my CCW permit should be recogniized in a NP anywhere. and not just in the 32 states for which I am licensed or recognized as legally authorised to carry a concealed weapon.

Feb 9th - 19:27pm | Peter

Some of the comments are just plain insane throughout the gun articles on this site. Think the whole way through society and how human interactions work. Just because you keep the ban on guns in national parks doesn’t mean you’d all of the sudden be defending yourself against a rock or knife or any other object. You can’t count on a bank robber to have a firearm permit.

Feb 9th - 15:45pm | Joel

I don't know how the point gets missed on every story that comes up about guns. There are an extreme minority of citizens that actually posses a "Concealed Carry Permit". There is no such thing for private citizens to obtain a National Concealed Carry Permit. In some states it's regulated by the local sheriff's office. In other states it requires a written explanation.

Feb 9th - 10:08am | Jim M

I know that some readers on this website are going to say I'm naive because I feel safe in National Parks without a loaded gun, but here's the note that I sent Sen. Coburn several days ago:

Feb 9th - 09:17am | Barky

Internet polls are the lamest way of either finding public opinion, or of making decisions. Senators should know better.

Feb 8th - 20:28pm | Bill Roberts

Don't think the bill goes far enough. It should supercede state laws to the point where it allows CCW license holders (concealed weapons licensed holders) from any state to carry a concealed weapon in any NP. Under the current proposed bill, as I understood it, would permit the Republik of Kalifornia to enforce it's laws over federal laws. Something is not right with that picture.

Dinosaur National Monument Cutting Paleontology Staff

Feb 12th - 20:29pm | Dan

Mt. Rainier works with the US Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, WA. They don't need their own NPS volcanologist--USGS does a great job.

Feb 12th - 14:22pm | Bill Wade

In all likelihood, this is another example of cutting essential programs that is derived from the "core operations" process - the brainchild of Mike Snyder, the Regional Director in the Intermountain Region of the NPS, in which Dinosaur NM is located.

Feb 12th - 10:25am | Marylander

I've been to Dinosaur only once, but the trip is still vivid in my memory. I live near D.C. and get to visit the best museums that the country has to offer any time I want to, but it is no comparison to actually being in Dinosaur and seeing the massive jumble of bones in the rock.

National Park Visitation Debate -- Here We Go Again

Feb 12th - 17:59pm | repanshek

I never considered Sylvan Pass a trail, although once it surely was.

Feb 12th - 17:49pm | Frank N

Kurt, I was thinking about the howitzers used for avalanche control on Sylvan Pass when I wrote that. That's interesting about the pack animals, I didn't know that.

Feb 12th - 17:39pm | Steve Sergeant

From my own perspective, I think two data points on backcountry and wilderness use might be more telling than over-all park visitation statistics. (Note: These are not "official" numbers. They were given to me by anonymous staff of these entities without official vetting by their media relations office.)

Feb 12th - 17:20pm | repanshek

Frank, While I've never heard of rangers using explosives to keep trails open, I do know the Forest Service employs them to , essentially, disintegrate pack animals that die in the backcountry so their carcasses don't attract predators....

Feb 12th - 17:06pm | Frank N

OK. OK. Though these numbers are discouraging, because it is difficult for the general populace to care about outdoor issues if they don't spend any time in the outdoors; and it is difficult to recruit conservationists, wildlife biologists, botanists etc.

Feb 12th - 12:14pm | dwulfman

It just makes a good story -- that's all. If the fortunes of our little travel business are any indication, there are still plenty of families willing to trade a couple of weeks in front of their TVs for a wholesome National Park experience. Dan Wulfman, Founder Tracks & Trails - Western Driving Adventures

Feb 12th - 04:49am | au79scorpion

Do like the military, develop a "free" on line game that sparks interest and teaches "real" out door skills and the park system will be there for folks to try them out.(this will implant the seeds into a newer generation) and the next time this "cycle" again hits,the results may not be as severe.

Feb 11th - 19:21pm | Barky

I have a hard time envisioning reduced attendance at the parks. Seems to me that yes, a lot of teens are hooked on video games, but it also seems that a lot of young adults are also hooked on adventure, rock climbing, hang gliding, surfing, snow boarding, and other outdoor activities.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Feb 11th - 14:34pm | Mookie

I've visited Bryce several times, but never in Winter. That photograph is absolutely stunning, and makes me want to get on the next flight to Utah before the snow melts!

Help Ken Burns Chronicle the Parks

Feb 11th - 12:10pm | repanshek

John, Sounds like you have some great footage. While the deadline was last August, you might try to contact the folks at WETA in Arlington, Virginia. Good luck!

Feb 11th - 11:59am | John Correia

I have 8mm film of our family's trip to Yosemite National Park in the Summer of 1954. What's intersting about this film is that while we were there Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and crew were filming scenes form their 1954 movie the Long Trailer. You can clearly see Lucy in this film (from a distance) you can't miss her red hair.

Cycling at Haleakala National Park Given "High Risk" Rating

Feb 11th - 09:50am | Kath

I really hope that the NPS doesn't ban bike tours down the Haleakala road. This trip was the high point of our trip to Maui. Our tour company and our tour leader gave very clear and graphic warnings of the need to keep the bike under control, and pointed out the places where people had been killed.

Feb 10th - 14:48pm | Somewhere in SD

I am truly deeply sorry for the loss of the person who died riding down Haleakala. I too have done this ride down the side and it was awesome!!! Our instructor was very thorough and very safe and I too look at it as one of the best experiences I had in Maui. I think that it is sad that you can no longer experience such an awesome ride!

Feb 10th - 07:40am | Bob Janiskee

NOW they tell us! When Sandy and I took this bike ride down Haleakala in 1992, it was a lot of fun and seemed quite safe, even for us relatively inexperienced riders. Some pretty slick advertising had enticed us to sign on for the bike ride -- and get out of bed to board the the shuttle van at a god-awful early hour.

NPS Retirees Oppose Carrying Guns in National Parks

Feb 10th - 18:53pm | Anonymous

What about that young girl what was brutally murdered while walking the Appalachian trail a few weeks ago? The animals are not what I fear while transverse the back country, it’s the two legged critters I don’t trust. I am a gun owner and CCW licensee, but I don’t hunt . My creed is , “don’t kill it or bother it, unless you fully intend to eat it”.

National Park Service Claims to Have Added New Map Feature to Web Sites

Feb 10th - 10:48am | Mookie

I have to say that the NPS has upgraded their website in the past 20 months or so, from horrendous to almost mediocre. There's still lots of improvement they could do, but they are trying. Adding the maps is a huge help, even if they aren't topos.

Feb 9th - 20:36pm | Gary Robb

Sorry-- I just noticed that all parks DO NOT have the maps. Check out Valley Forge as an example of one that does.

Feb 9th - 05:57am | MRC

Could any of you print the maps into a file? I got an "unknown error" each time I tried. I'd prefer to to se that feature, as I can edit the map then much better than on paper.

Feb 8th - 20:54pm | wonderly00

It is a really great feature. Before--and still--the way to find maps was under "Directions," which was not as clear as a link to a map on the front page. It did take me a while to find the link, though, since it blends in with the rest of the page.

Feb 8th - 20:53pm | repanshek

Hey, thanks for pointing it out, Anon. Not sure I like the color coding...it blends in too well, but I sure like the feature.

Feb 8th - 19:21pm | Anonymous

It's in the green banner displaying the park name at the top of the page. I really like this feature, thanks for pointing it out.

Support Journalism about National Parks!

National Parks Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Donate Now!

The Essential RVing Guide

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.

National Parks Traveler

Search