You are here

Home

All Recent Comments

Federal Real ID May (Not) Be Required For Park Visit

Sep 6th - 19:19pm | jsmacdonald

I don't support privatizing the parks, but I find this onerous. It raises other issues in respect to the way laws are enforced in the parks and the general way that parks are managed.

Sep 6th - 18:17pm | Steve Sergeant

"A reliable source" in Lassen Volcanic National Park told me recently that it costs them close to 150% as much to staff the entry and exit gates as they take in admissions revenue. And they only staff those gates in the summer during office hours.

Sep 6th - 13:55pm | jsmacdonald

This is still a point that needs clarity. In some states and the District of Columbia, you are not required to show an ID to anyone for any reason when stopped by a law enforcement official (you do need IDs for verification for employment). In some places, even if you are arrested, you are still not required to show an ID. You will be processed in the system as a John Doe.

Sep 6th - 12:20pm | jersu

Wanted to let folks know, I've made an important update to the original story. We've heard from the National Park Service today. Upon further study, it appears as if revealing a Real ID to park rangers would not be a requirement of admittance into our national parks. More details are at the end of the original article above.

Sep 6th - 08:13am | jsmacdonald

It is whacko; are people serious about organizing a movement not to comply? Why do I get the sense that if this happens and a boycott is organized that people will still find themselves putting themselves through this absurdity? Just brand us now; that would save the government a lot of time and money.

Sep 6th - 02:37am | Dan

I sincerely doubt that anyone actually intends to require ID at all National Parks. All the other examples, federal buildings, courthouses, planes and trains, are secure environments, so we can expect that the ID might be required at similar sites. The Washington Monument, for example, has metal detectors and x-ray machines. The Liberty Bell requires some level of security check.

Sep 6th - 01:27am | Anonymous

Federal law enforcement already has the legal right to inspect your ID at any time while you are out on federal property -- regardless of what you are doing. If you do not have a passport or other federally-compliant ID, then when the so-called "Real ID Act" kicks in, they will also have the legal right to detain you until your identity can be verified.

Sep 5th - 20:48pm | Lone Hiker

Yosemite is not an unusual circumstance, in the staffing of "gated" entry points only during normal business hours, whatever that translates into. It seems as though the definition of normal varies widely across the system in actual practice, irrespective of the printed literature.

Sep 5th - 17:28pm | Steve Sergeant

Even at Yosemite National Park, the entry gates on the roads are only staffed during normal office hours. There isn't the budget for staff to manage visitor entrances and exits at other times.

The Secret Life of Drugs in Parks

Sep 6th - 18:36pm | Steve Sergeant

We did a story in 2005 on what it took a volunteer group to clean up one relatively small marijuana garden in a California state park: The WildeBeat number 19: Restoring a Park Gone to Pot

When Nature Calls, It's Hard to Find a Restroom on the National Mall

Sep 5th - 23:17pm | Sabattis

The lack of restrooms is a definite problem on the National Mall - although I wonder how the NPS will deal with the situation without turning additional restrooms into de facto homeless shelters. The other major problem is that all of the Smithsonians and Federal Buildings surrounding the Mall effectively shut down around 5pm, creating an effective dead space in the heart of the City.

Sep 4th - 06:21am | jsmacdonald

For locals, this can be a deterrent to visiting the Mall, though the biggest deterrent of people I know is a disdain for the crowds of tourists. There are so many other things to do in Washington as well; we've been there and done that.

At Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, The Facilities Seem Almost as Old as the Fossils

Sep 5th - 23:12pm | Sabattis

I too have been to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and have been appalled as well. Its really a shame, as this place has some of the most truly amazing fossils found anywhere in the world - insects so finely preserve in stone that you can even see the veins in the wings! Thanks for bringing this appalling situation to a wider audience!

Sep 5th - 18:46pm | haunted hiker

Kurt...you kill me...in a good way!

Sep 5th - 17:53pm | repanshek

C'mon Frank, look at the tree rings. Obviously it's Sequoia affinis, which is most closely related to today's semprevirens.

Sep 5th - 11:56am | jr_ranger

At least I'm not looking to climb the ladder.....

Sep 5th - 09:59am | Anonymous

The sentiment is well taken, but I'm not certain that the only tag that draws cross-country trekkers ends with National Park, National Monument, National Preserve, etc. While the majority of state managed facilities are indeed lacking in many areas of grandeur, most notably in their food and lodging aspects, what lies within the boundries of the parks (e.g.

Sep 5th - 05:53am | Merryland

How does "Florissant Fossil Beds State Park" sound?

Sep 4th - 19:54pm | Merryland

I hope you dropped a few bucks in the donation box... every dollar counts. Sounds like a few extra mouse traps could make or break your experience there... ;-) -- Jon Merryman

Sep 4th - 18:25pm | NATPARKLOVER

As a National Park completist, I took the trek from Denver to "tour" Florissant and I was embarrassed by the "visitor's center" and the unfliching pride of the only on-site ranger who put on his best face while enduring the limitations of his position there. This is the shame of the NPS and I could not recommend this park for visitation as it reflects badly on our nation.

Sep 4th - 07:42am | jr_ranger

Sounds like a project for the Centennial if I ever heard of one. But I suppose that FLFO doesn't have any friends with money....

Centennial Projects: Do They All Prepare the National Parks for the Next 100 Years?

Sep 5th - 21:03pm | Lone Hiker

Pardon my puritanical instincts, but I personally don't see the correlation between museum facilities and the NPS budget. On the other hand, if Yosemite is granted a disproportionate amount of the budget as suggested within the Centennial Initiative, all bets are off. I don't care WHO has the deepest pockets, and trust me, Grand Teton has about the deepest pockets you'll ever encounter.

Sep 5th - 19:27pm | repanshek

Now, Haunted Hiker, before you can fix something you have to know what's wrong with it, no? And I agree, the NPS seems to have more than enough bureaucracy in it. But how can you fix something if you don't have a blueprint or know exactly what's wrong with it?

Sep 5th - 18:40pm | haunted hiker

Beamis, You nailed it again. Could Arnberger's statement sound more bureaucratic? By God! This crisis calls for reports, reports and "a series of reports!" Reminds me of a scene in the movie Office Space where there's a bulletin board in the background with a flow chart titled "PLANNING TO PLAN." Would some DOING TO DO be too much to ask for on this go around?

Sep 4th - 21:10pm | amwdew

Dear MRC:

Sep 4th - 12:53pm | repanshek

Mrc, I'm afraid I can't answer all your questions off the top of my head. They will indeed require some research, but I'll see what I can pull together.

Sep 4th - 12:26pm | Mrc

Kurt, can you dig into some archives to find out about the 1966 50-year-anniversary initiative? From my very limited knowledge about the NPS in that time, between 1958 and 66 substantial funding went into many or almost all units, the agency had at that time. Some units, that were neglected for quite some time got their first decent installations.

Sep 4th - 09:53am | Matt

Very nice read, Kurt, thanks.

Sep 4th - 09:30am | jersu

Beamis -

Sep 4th - 07:43am | jr_ranger

Makes me think of No Child Left Behind - good concept, terrible way to go about it.

Sep 3rd - 21:15pm | Anonymous

Beamis, no offense but was there anything that you liked or enjoyed about the NPS? Sounds to me you weren't one happy camper!

Grand Teton Bears, Update

Sep 5th - 17:35pm | Random Walker

Bears let me know when the apples and pears are at their prime. Deer let me know when the strawberries are juicy. Raccoons remind me it is time for a dump run.

Sep 5th - 17:24pm | Alan

Here, here J! This is a HUMAN problem. Problem is these fines aren't big enough. $200.00 is nothing nowadays when folks don't bat an eye pouring 70 or eighty bucks into their SUV's gas tank. Make it $5,000.00 and people might start paying attention!

Sep 5th - 15:50pm | J

How did we, humans, get to be so arrogant? Why do we think that the 'bear' (or any other animal) needs to live with us? We are suppose to be 'smarter than the average bear' and yet we still crowd them out of their habitat, feed them when they have plenty of food of their own and in general, feel we can change them to 'our ways.' I say write those citations!

Yosemite Falls All Dried Up

Sep 4th - 21:42pm | Rick Deutsch

It is typical for the falls to dry up at the end of summer. This year with 25% snow pack, things shriveled up earlier. There are no aquifers to feed these streams – all we see is snow melt. Bridal Veil Falls usually runs longer due to its larger watershed (mentioned above) AND the fact that the snow fields feeding it face more north and thus melt slower.

Aug 31st - 12:49pm | jersu

Thanks for the info everyone. I had known that it wasn't totally unusual for Yosemite Falls to run dry, but I didn't know that it happened every year. I appreciate all the extra detail you've provided.

Pot Farmers Tilling Ground in Yosemite

Sep 3rd - 20:57pm | Merryland

From the NPS website, 31 August: Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (CA) Grower Arrested In Marijuana Plantation Raid

Black Bear Put Down in Grand Teton. How Many Visitors Ticketed For Providing Food?

Sep 3rd - 03:17am | Anonymous

Why couldn't the bear be relocated or placed in a refuge? The Smoky Mountains National Forest has a bear refuge for such bears...this "put down" was murder...just plain wrong, wrong, wrong. How can they do such a horrible thing when so many alternatives are available?

Sep 2nd - 10:42am | Lone Hiker

It would appear that, opinions to the contrary regarding Darwin's hypothesis, evolution is indeed strictly a physiological phenomenon. It also is evident that behavioral, or intellectual evolution is lagging well behind in the human species.

Sep 2nd - 09:33am | jsmacdonald

Brings back "fond "memories of fighting with people trying to feed marmots at the Sheepeater Cliffs and very aggressive chipmunks at Gibbon Falls. No one of the stupid tourists could figure out why the chipmunks were attacking them when they kept dangling out Doritos and other crap and would get mad at them. So, that set me off.

Sep 2nd - 00:59am | Merryland

Just back from a YELL/GRTE/DETO/BADL/JECA/MORU trip with my son. We had a black bear and cub attempting to raid the dumpster at the Canyon village campsite just a few days ago.. I couldn't help wondering how long before that bear (and cub) get euthanized or perhaps relocated. It's a shame.

Aug 31st - 15:31pm | Lone Hiker

It appears as though our four-legged friends just can't win. Hiker strays into backcountry, is accosted by mountain lion, lion is tracked and put down. Campers wittingly or otherwise subsidize bear's diet, bear is put down.

Aug 31st - 14:02pm | Tom Bremer

This "putting down" of a Teton bear is not an isolated incident, but has a long history that has seen a variety of attitudes over the decades. In fact, questioning the Park Service's enforcement of food storage regulations is a significant development in that history.

Should the NPS Be Given Mount St. Helens?

Sep 1st - 12:56pm | Anonymous

THANK YOU, Mr. Williams. I absolutely agree.

Sep 1st - 06:35am | Mrc

@Frank: "Leaving land to recover naturally ("preserving"?) needs no funding". This is quite simplified, because there is substantial research and documentation but let's say it were true. But a National Monument (even more a potential National Park) at MSH is about access to the recovering landscape and interpreting the processes to the interested public.

Aug 31st - 16:16pm | Glenn Scofield ...

MSH, because of its easy access to the public and science affords a unique ability to watch the natural processes of regeneration - a regeneration process which requires park status protection.

Aug 31st - 15:08pm | jr_ranger

I think it's a little harsh to say that Steamtown isn't 'nationally significant' because it and Golden Spike are the only 2 NPS units that I am aware of that preserve our nation's railroading history. Without railroads, the West wouldn't have been opened nearly was quickly. That being said, there are many NPS sites that are worthy of protection, but aren't nationally significant...

Aug 31st - 10:55am | repanshek

Lone Hiker makes some good points and raises some good questions that should be explored.

10 Best Lodges in the National Parks

Aug 31st - 15:12pm | jr_ranger

Got to be Charit Creek Lodge in the heart of the Big South Fork. It's an old homstead that is now a walk/bike/horseback-in hostel at the confluence of Charit Creek and Station Camp Creek abot 2miles from the nearest trailheads. Head a mile from the lodge over in one direciton and you come to the Station Camp Crossing in one of the most remote parts of the Big South Fork Gorge.

Interpretation on the Tallgrass Prairie

Aug 31st - 14:13pm | pkrnger

MJ, I did not know about the differences between flint and limestone before I took the guided bus tour last Saturday. This tour was conducted through a portion of the Flint Hills of Kansas (within which the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is situated).

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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.