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Yellowstone's Killing Fields

May 31st - 13:53pm | phillip

Apparently ranchers and politicians alike and the so called enviorimental-conservations activist have all lost their minds.Simple solution herd the bison back into the destinated area,or simply allow nature(god)to do his work.test the bishon and come up with an anitidote.merly by the time a solution is so called figured out there won't be no more catte,bison,elk,wildlife in general or even human b

May 31st - 07:36am | Sally

Hey Jimmy...they are ANIMALS.... I say agin...Yeeeeeeee-hawwwww! Round 'em up, rawhide!!

May 31st - 03:21am | Jim Macdonald

update on story: There's been a delay in the slaughter. Of course, that means that they'll try hazing one more time, as if hazing is all right, leaving us happy that at least they're not dead. What a hopeless charade. I can't feel good about any of it.

May 30th - 23:00pm | Sally

Yeeeeeeeeee-hawwwwwww! Round 'em up cowboys!! Buffalo steaks!!!!

May 30th - 19:26pm | Snowbird

This is clearly a policy to appease the so called happy rhinestone cowboy types and there gun loving buddies. Remember, a happy hunter is some one with a huge gut pile. Enjoy your slaughter!

May 30th - 19:05pm | matt

Ah, the brucellosis boogeyman strikes again!

May 30th - 15:57pm | Jim Macdonald

Much of this has been precipitated by the discovery of brucellosis in a herd of cattle in far off Bridger, Montana. The entire herd of cattle is to be destroyed. No one believes that bison caused this. Of course, the slaughter might have happened anyhow since bison are still outside of Yellowstone's boundaries after a certain date.

Park Overflights: A Problem Out of Control

May 30th - 23:02pm | Sally

Hey birdie...listen to the wind whisper thru your ears!!lol....

May 29th - 20:03pm | Snowbird

I thought that beautiful and sacred places like the Grand Canyon are lessons to be learned that "silence is golden". I miss the whisper of the wind!

Big Cypress: Wilderness or ORVs?

May 29th - 09:24am | Shannon Esteno...

Protecting the Addition Lands, one of the largest tracts of rapidly vanishing landscape, is essential to ensuring the long-term health of the greater south Florida ecosystem.

May 13th - 10:02am | Tom Hanson

Having grown up in the Big Cypress even before it was a national preserve, I find it very frustrating that people that know nothing about the area or it's history submit comments for consideration and this information is used by the NPS planning departments. Swamp buggies have been used for over 50 years as necessary for travel in the Everglades.

May 11th - 16:15pm | repanshek

Richard, I appreciate the time you took to comment. There is always more than one side to an issue; often there are at least a good half-dozen. And there also are many sets of "facts."

May 11th - 14:59pm | Richard Harvey

Kurt,I read your article and must say I disagree with alot of your opinions.My family and I have been visiting Big Cypress Bear Island unit for many years and have not seen buggy ruts like your picture shows.We have traveled down every trail and for the most part they are kept clean of trash and people are obeying rules.I have seen deer,panther and many other animals in the same area over and over

May 11th - 11:14am | c.mogelvang

Retired Physician, lover of outdoors,WITH endangered species concerns. Take away the sense of freedom and the ability to be familiar with sometimes risky activities(e.g: exposure to panthers and even rattlesnakes), as well as being comfortable with guns, from our citizens, and the YOUNG PEOPLE they take with them to the rugged outdoors, and eventually you take away our means of national defense.

May 9th - 09:59am | Wayne Jenkins

The above comments were posted by Wayne Jenkins, not Bruce Ward. I don't know how the error occurred.

May 9th - 09:53am | Wayne Jenkins

Once again, instead of of all user groups working together to allow everyone to protect and enjoy their favorite recreation, we have a group pushing their agenda with mis-representation of the facts.

Park Concessionaires Growing Desperate for Workers

May 28th - 11:07am | Jim Macdonald

Judy, this is about seasonal workers for the private concessionaires in the park. This story has me absolutely irate for a million reasons. When I cool down from that and my 96-mile bike ride, I want to say more.

May 28th - 09:07am | Judy

I have always wanted to work in the Park Service. It is not a livable wage.

Glacier And Waterton Celebrate 75 Years as a Peace Park

May 26th - 19:41pm | Snowbird

It's a shame that we don't have more international parks dedicated to world peace...especially after what's happening in Iraq and in the Middle East. Maybe this can all happen in 2008!

Some Thoughts on the Centennial Initiative

May 25th - 07:37am | Anne Mitchell ...

This is a great piece -- sensible and measured yet ambitious and inspiring. Let's hope it gets read widely!

May 24th - 12:52pm | Julie Fanselow

Kurt, Thank you for this report and a wish list for the parks. As an Idahoan, I'd be pleased to see that our former gov might go down in history as one of a few (very few) bright spots in an otherwise disastrous administration. Then again, we know how to grow interior secretaries here. See: Andrus, Cece.

A Dearth of Posts?

May 22nd - 12:27pm | retreadranger

Go, Yanks! Nice to see A-Rod popping another one into the stands last night. Will be interesting to see how much of a boost Clemens provides to their pitching staff.

Climbing Rainier: Not for the Meek

May 20th - 19:49pm | Juno888

I thought this mount everest, this all nice post i love it/.

May 19th - 22:14pm | PODO

Great info, thanks a lot!!! I wish I will have such a writing skills.

Fall on Mount McKinley Kills Two Climbers

May 20th - 08:10am | Nat

Two more died in an avalanche while climbing Mt. Barrille. Article in the ADN. http://www.adn.com/outdoors/story/8903007p-8802964c.html http://www.adn.com/front/story/8902915p-8802831c.html

Back on the Lewis and Clark Trail

May 17th - 17:11pm | Nick

Interestingly, at least a few of the books that would have been pulled and shredded would have come from the bookstore at Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail headquarters. Glad they found an amicable agreement.

Acadia Is Streaming

May 16th - 09:33am | Jeff Blaylock

Big Bend National Park offers an RSS feed of its recent news: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/photosmultimedia/newsfeeds.htm You can see it in use on the Big Bend Chat community home page: http://www.bigbendchat.com/index.php

Channel Islands' Eagle Cam

May 15th - 09:16am | tom

It's definitely worth waiting to see the eaglet. When I tuned in one of the parents was milling about, blocking the view of the eaglet -- which did look like discarded fuzz in the middle of the nest. Then the fuzzball came to life and started moving around. Amazing stuff.

Don't Stand in the Way of NPS and Its Logos

May 14th - 19:06pm | matt

Back when I was going through USFS FPO training, the Special Agent liked to tell story about how someone in the city was renting an imitation Smokey Bear costume for birthday parties and other events. Someone rented the costume for a party in a town park, apparently got drunk and behaved somewhat inappropriately.

May 14th - 13:00pm | Claire Walter

I wouldn't have imagined this particular scenario, but why am I not surprised by the general wrong-headedness that seems to accompany almost every government decision these days? Elected/appointed officials are loose cannons more often than not, while the bureaucrats become increasingly bureaucratic.

May 14th - 11:56am | retreadranger

I saw this article this morning, by way of the NPS retirees' listserv, and commented on my own blog. It's a sad day when the Service seems to be more interested in "protecting its intellectual property" than in promoting awareness and appreciation of park resources.

Bryce Hoping to Give Visitors View of the Cosmos

May 13th - 15:09pm | jr_ranger

Backpacker magazine just did a article on the NPS's Nigh Sky Team. Check it out in the June 07 issue of the magazine.

Santa Barbara Newspaper Capsulizes Yosemite Fight

May 11th - 14:42pm | Lindsay Buhles

The Santa Barbara Independent story provides a great overview of this issue.

Fee Creep Reaches Olympic National Park

May 11th - 12:52pm | Onca NOCA Ranger

Historically, roughing it in the backcountry has been the preferred--and usually free--alternative for many younger visitors visiting parks. I've always considered this a good incentive--it helps scouts and others develop a strong lifelong appreciation for nature and our parks.

The "Real" Cost of Visiting a Park

May 11th - 10:43am | MS Kennedy

Seems like the general public's lack knowledge of other public lands (at low or no fee levels) is part of the problem. NFS and/or BLM lands surround many of the "crown" parks and have myriad free or low-cost options for recreation.

May 10th - 12:16pm | kath

Done that. Requires a back country permit which at busy times you have to get well in advance. There can be no spur of the moment trips anymore to Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sequoia etc. So you won't see me shedding any tears over dropping visitation levels.

May 10th - 09:39am | Snowbird

Kath, I do sympathize and I do know that feeling...try lite back packing in a few miles and see if your luck changes. You be suprised at the empty camp sites. Most vistors and campers don't venture off the beaten trails less then a few miles anyway. Good luck!

May 10th - 09:07am | kath

Speaking for one nuclear family that would like to visit the parks more, I'll tell you our experience. With work and school our times to visit are limited to summer and weekends. For that, in Yosemite and Sequoia, we have to reserve lodging six months in advance. I've tried in recent weeks to reserve space for spring break or Memorial Day --impossible.

May 9th - 20:18pm | matt

Kurt, I know this isn't the response people like to hear but it really is out of Kemp's and Bomar's hands. Until the President and Congress choose to adequately fund the NPS instead of pushing private investment there really is not much they can do - other than resign in protest, which I doubt either of them plan on doing.

May 9th - 14:51pm | repanshek

I *knew* that'd get a comment from you, Jim;-) Sadly, I'm beginning to wonder if it's too late to have this discussion regarding the parks. Is the concrete already set? The larger societal issue you allude to has a much longer, more intricate, life than the one now involving the parks, and I'll leave that for others to debate.

May 9th - 13:48pm | Jim Macdonald

Geez, Kurt, "literary cyber-portal"? LOL...

Canaveral Seashore Charges for Turtle Tours

May 11th - 06:47am | Rick Smith

Kurt--

Visitation Trends

May 9th - 22:28pm | Ranger X

The Chaco Canyon visitation decline makes me want to visit tomorrow. Wait. I can't afford the gas.

May 9th - 07:33am | Snowbird

I don't think it's the user fees for the decline in the National Parks attendence....but a general lack of interest in our natural and cultural heritage...I don't see the Bush administration taking a deep interest in the National Parks.

May 9th - 06:07am | Jim Macdonald

I think it's very, very difficult to show a cause from a statistical correlation. It takes a lot of research and experiments on a lot of different variables. And, let's say that user fees are in part a cause of declining park visitation. A lot of people will still wonder, "So what? Weren't you all just complaining that the parks were being loved to death?"

May 8th - 21:34pm | matt

How much of the decline is due to fees and how much is due to social and cultural changes? People work more and recreate less compared to five or ten years ago. Doesn't it stand to reason that they will have less time to visit national parks? Its easy and convenient to pin the blame on fees, but I believe there is a lot more to it than that.

May 8th - 13:29pm | kath

Visitor traffic to Channel Islands National Park has been up and down since '97. And there's no fee to enter the visitor's center and no NPS fee to visit the islands. Redwoods NP visitation went down after '96 but they have no fee. And in fee-charging parks the record isn't consistent either. Yellowstone went up in '98 and then leveled off to roughly '97 levels.

Some Restraint, Please

May 9th - 12:34pm | Owen Hoffman

As a frequent NPT reader who is interested in open discussion of issues related to national parks and the National Park Service, I find National Parks Traveler to be an outstanding outlet for information and opinion. Thank you for announcing your editorial intention to keep it that way.

Woman Dies in Fall From Angel's Landing

May 8th - 21:56pm | Wade Lippman

I am rather afraid of heights. Would it be possible to run a rope from a climbing harness around the chain and back to the harness with a carabiner? Would that somehow disrupt things for other people?

Is Wilderness Designation near For Rocky Mountain?

May 8th - 21:26pm | matt

Its not everyday that all of the major cities, towns, and/or counties all support designation... Musgrave and Dullard should get out of the way and let it happen.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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