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Endangered Battlefields

Mar 15th - 11:16am | Glenn Scofield...

Your point, Jim, finally comes down to activism. If we wish to preserve these places because they have a value to the collective culture (which seems in part a good summary of the NPS mission statement), the only way to do that is for individuals to gather and fight for it. In a way, the parks gather value through the same sort of representative democracy through which our laws "gather value".

Mar 14th - 19:53pm | Jim Macdonald

I once had the distinct experience reading George Santayana one night, reading "Scepticism and Animal Faith" of finding myself for a moment feeling as though I was stripped of all my beliefs. Then, I woke up the next day and thought the better of it.

Mar 14th - 19:01pm | Snowbird

Retreadranger, great input...something else, that might touch the heart and soul of most Americans...our architectural heritage! Some of those old and beautiful structures in are National Parks should always be preserved, and those gracious looking buildings in Yellowstone National Park, may they always be standing from one generation to the next.

Mar 14th - 17:27pm | retreadranger

The eloquent George Santayana said it best: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." With that in mind, I would submit that preserving tangible remains of historic events is crucial to preserving their memory; there are things that cannot be taught in books or on a monitor screen.

Mar 14th - 17:12pm | Jim Macdonald

I don't believe that you are correct that we preserve things for "our collective value"; I think we protect things based on the collective value of those in power, or the private value of those who have the money, which is exactly why we oppose development - because it's not a collective decision.

Mar 14th - 16:25pm | Glenn Scofield...

What makes one thing worth preserving over another is our collective value of it. To those people on the Oregon coast, that lighthouse held a significance culturally to the group. To them, it is worth preserving.

Mar 14th - 14:02pm | Jim Macdonald

Well, I'm unconvinced or at least don't understand the principle. I am thankful, for instance, that someone has saved certain books from the past that might otherwise be lost. I am thankful for anything that can trigger my memory. And, memory does need something tangible, even if a scrap or a word.

Mar 14th - 12:58pm | kath

Thanks, Snowbird. Lincoln said it best: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot's grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet again swell the chorus of Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Mar 14th - 12:42pm | Snowbird

If one can remember Ken Burn's famous historical documentary of the "Civil War", which was very well put together...I can deeply respect Kath's and Glenn's sentiments. Just envisioning Ken Burn's saga, I've learned to treasure these famous National Park battle fields and it's historical significance, and how it impacts our nation as a whole...and Kath explains this respectfully well.

Mar 14th - 10:55am | Glenn Scofield...

I'm unsure of the value of deciding which is more important: the land or the history. Both are so intrinsically linked that separating their values is, I believe, an artificial exercise.

Mar 14th - 07:56am | kath

The fact that thousands of men perished on the site of the battlefields is THE value. Seeing the field of battle as it was is THE value. For history lovers, it means being able to picture the movements of the troops on the site and get that sort of understanding in a way that reading a book never can.

Mar 14th - 04:39am | Jim Macdonald

Ross, I have a degree in history and outside of my passion for philosophy, my passion for history is still my favorite intellectual past-time. I want to preface that before you make assumptions about the question I'm going to ask you.

Mar 13th - 17:11pm | Ross Brown

It is absolutely vital to save these spaces for the battlefields. Why? Because believe it or not, its not so easy to visualize a battle's movements when your imagination is competing with a row of houses or a nearby fast food restaurants. Case in point, Fredericksburg.

Mar 13th - 15:46pm | Jim Macdonald

I don't know if this is related to the development at Gettysburg. I went there a few years ago when I was teaching at Mt. St. Mary's (very close by just inside Maryland) and saw a number of trees slated to be chopped down not far from the battlefield. I had actually seen where some people were trying to take the ribbons down that were slated for removal in an attempt to protect them.

Centennial Listening: First Impressions

Mar 15th - 07:21am | Anne Mitchell ...

Thank you, Owen, for this very interesting and detailed account of the Smokies "listening session." And thank you for standing up for government support of park operations and for raising a voice of caution against over-reliance upon private funding. This is crucial for Kempthorne, Bomar, Bush, and Congress to hear.

Mar 14th - 14:40pm | jersu

Owen, thanks much for the detailed comments. I hope they allow more 2 minute statements at the remaining listening sessions. I can understand the need to prevent grandstanding on pet issues, but getting the chance to hear how others envision the Centennial Initiative is important. I am glad to read that both Bomar and Kempthorne were actively listening to their constituency.

Mar 14th - 10:14am | haunted hiker

Owen! Glad to see you and your wise voice was there. Even if only for 2 minutes. Keep up the good work. I'm relieved to see that someone has taken up the cause for Elkmont. I remember visiting there when I was a kid. I discovered the sad state of Elkmont and the Wonderland Hotel while I was researching my book. The situation disappointed me, to say the least.

Of Wolves and Moose on Isle Royale

Mar 13th - 08:48am | Greg

Kurt - these would be the same wolves and moose that got quite a bit of publicity recently with the story and photos from a researcher in the park of one of the wolf packs killing one of the moose.

Sequoia, Drugs, and Rangers

Mar 12th - 12:10pm | kath

One of the most active marijuana growing areas in Sequoia is accessed via the Mineral King Road. The NPS now has a 24 hour gate at that entrance. It seems that checking vehicles on the access roads would be better way of stopping marijuana growing that finding the fields, by which time the damage to the land has already been done.

Mar 12th - 11:20am | Carol

The marijuana problem exists not just at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks but also Sequoia National Forest, the Sierra National Forest, the Los Padres National Forest, etc. And the National Forests seem to have even less money and less resources to deal with the problem... ugh.

Mar 10th - 16:15pm | retreadranger

Having not set foot in Sequoia-Kings since my seasonal days in the 1970s, I have no idea whether this reallocation of resources is a good idea or a bad idea. However, I do know that selectively deploying one's resources to deal with the most pressing problems is what law enforcement management is all about. In this Bushite era of depleted staffs, the choices have become especially difficult.

Mar 10th - 10:40am | L.J.

Let's keep using federal funding and resource to round up and deport illegal immigrant workers, and handcuffing seven year old American Citizens, like the incidents in San Rafael and Novato California instead of pursuing drug cartels and abusers of our National Treasures.

Mar 10th - 09:50am | repanshek

Good question, Green. The short answer is that DEA doesn't have the manpower needed to tackle each and every incident across the country.

Mar 10th - 09:36am | green

How come Swed is not receiving/demanding the necessary resources from the DEA? Back country rangers should be focused where primary Park use occurs not battling large drug plantations. That should be the focus of the DEA. Both organizations undergo significantly different training and offer different skills to the public.

Mar 10th - 07:14am | kath

I'm curious as to how these drug lords get access to the park. Are there that many roads into the chaparral areas? Why doesn't the park or the DEA set up checkpoints on the roads, looking for vehicles carrying fertilizers, irrigation equipment etc. Or are all these things being packed in on foot?

Mar 9th - 18:46pm | Ranger X

You had me at hello. For a second there, I thought someone tipped you off about my time at Sequoia. Just kidding :) But seriously, this is yet another reason to decriminalize.

Mountain Bikers to Seek Access Through Listening Sessions

Mar 12th - 07:38am | repanshek

Your criticism sounds oddly familiar to that espoused by snowmobilers, who would have you think snowshoers and cross-country skiers also are elitist or "egocentric," as you put it. But under your logic, the parks' trails should also be open to dirt bikes, ATVs and ORVs, and their lakes to personal watercraft and ski boats.

Mar 11th - 18:24pm | Ellis G.

Single track is attractive to mountain bikers for the same reasons hikers prefer it. Delegating "cyclists" to dirt roads reeks of a system of class whereby hikers get the choice trails, and cyclists get something less. Egocentric logic if you ask me. Share the trail people.

Mar 10th - 18:35pm | Jim Macdonald

Hell, don't diss the coffee and fingerfoods; that's the only reason to go to any of these things; in this town, if you wear a suit, trust me, you'll never go hungry. All you need is a daybook and an appetite for BS. There's no real reason to have these sessions anywhere near the big parks; that would only give them even more of a veneer of legitimacy.

Mar 10th - 13:16pm | Alan

Let's see.

Forget FY08 Budget, Look at Things Now

Mar 11th - 15:34pm | Sylva Blackstone

Re all the hoopla about 'new' & 'increased' funding apparently promised by the centennial initiative, if Memory serves, the parks have been steadily losing funding, and have deferred maintenance and personnel shortfalls. What is normal funding and staffing? Does the proposed 'initiative' merely add window dressing for the centennial Party, like putting make-up on a corpse?

Grand Canyon Skywalk Moved into Place

Mar 11th - 11:50am | Ranger X

I may have misspoken. Technically, isn't the Haulapai a sovereign nation? So that isn't really the same thing as private land. I think. Could be wrong. If so, the US has no business telling other sovereign nations what to do, but clearly, that matters little to Americans who allowed the government to invade a sovereign nation four years ago.

Mar 10th - 07:06am | kath

Like the government doesn't put environmental restrictions on private land. This tourist trap is akin to the proposed casino close to Gettysburg or the proposed Disney Americana theme park close to Manassas. Both, thank goodness, were voted down. They would have been on private land but would have degraded the area around a National Park.

Mar 9th - 18:57pm | Ranger X

The Hualapai built the tourist trap on their own PRIVATE land. They are not legally bound to the 1916 Organic Act like the NPS. If you're not familiar, that establishing act requires that the NPS leave parks UNIMPAIRED for future generations, and I'd say that all that Disneyesque development at the Grand Canyon is a major impairment.

Mar 9th - 13:36pm | Snowbird

To make this Skywalk even more attractive, charge extra for free base jumping. Just a gruesome thought but who picks up the mess if don't make it...and there's the suicide jumpers to contend with...does the NPS pick the tab on this one? Being cynical of course, but the Skyrink is pure junk and bad medicine for the tribe.

Mar 9th - 11:52am | kath

It's also revealing that not all the tribe wants this Skywalk. And do I think that travelers will drive many miles over dirt roads and pay $25 a head, $100 for a family of four, to spend a few minutes walking on this thing? No. But we shall see.

Mar 9th - 11:23am | kath

So if the Hualapai build a skywalk over the canyon, it's okay. If the NPS were to do it, it's not okay. Yeah, I see the double standard. Do I think that too much development in the park is a bad thing? Absolutely. But it's naive to think that people want to endure the hardships of a John Wesley Powell in order to see the canyon. Some development is necessary.

Mar 9th - 09:21am | Ranger X

"The arhitects of the El Tovar and the other buildings at the South Rim kept the buildings aesthetically in line with the canyon." What a load of crap. The Market Plaza at the South Rim is the size of a K-Mart. Why do we need such a big store in a National Park?

Mar 9th - 08:31am | kath

The facilities the National Park Service built at the Grand Canyon are, for the most part, necessary in order for people to visit the canyon. Not many people could or would visit if there were no place to stay, no place to eat and no railroad or road to get there. The arhitects of the El Tovar and the other buildings at the South Rim kept the buildings aesthetically in line with the canyon.

Mar 9th - 08:07am | Casey

It does. Doesn't mean it *should*, but more than not, it does.

Mar 8th - 18:35pm | Ranger X

"Should economics trump spiritual beliefs?" You can't eat spiritual beliefs. Peyote aside of course.

Mar 8th - 17:39pm | Alan

I think Claire's analysis is correct. "Should economics trump spiritual beliefs?" I can't pinpoint another documented case at the moment, but my gut tells me the answer is yes. And more than a few times. And not just in the West. At a national park.

Mar 8th - 14:25pm | Claire Walter

When it comes to sacred versus profitable, sacred sometimes takes a backseat and becomes profane. In a sense, I can't fault the tribe though. The river has been dammed, parts of the the canyon have been mined and ranched, railroad tracks have been laid practically to the rim, and most/much of it is now federal land that an approved concessionaire makes money from.

Public Lands Fees PushBack and Pork

Mar 10th - 14:07pm | jersu

By the way Kurt, for your readers in the State of Washington that are interested in this particular issue, there is some immediate help that is needed. The Chairman of the Rules Committee in the State Legislature has put a hold on this bill, for unknown reasons.

Mar 10th - 14:00pm | jersu

It's not just the State of Washington which is crafting this type of message to Congress. In just the last couple years, Alaska, Montana, Oregon, and Colorado have written similar resolutions. You can read the text of these bills from the Western Slope No Fee website: http://www.westernslopenofee.org/NoFee/resolutions.php

Listening Session Two-Step

Mar 10th - 06:11am | Jim Macdonald

Well, Kurt, as I also mentioned, actually Washington, D.C., is close to many parks run by the NPS, several battlefields, Great Falls NP, Shenandoah, and of course the city parks of DC. We have a whole different experience with the NPS here, and they are definitely noticed due to the very complex and overlapping law enforcement jurisdictions. But, I get your point.

How Will Parks Cope With Climate Change?

Mar 8th - 21:07pm | Snowbird

The most important issue pressing mankind on earth...and such very little response...and we talk about a little rink hanging over the Grand Canyon. No wonder mother earth is falling apart!

Cubans Use Parks to Come Ashore

Mar 8th - 07:56am | kath

Clearly illegal border crossers using the national parks as trash dumps and dope growers turning the parks into marijuana farms are a major problem for the NPS and those of us who love the National Parks. Meanwhile the national media is virtually silent on the damage done to the parks by illegals.

Mar 7th - 19:35pm | Snowbird

Whatever the case, we have very porous borders that will continously be a problem with illegal immigration. The question is, how do we stop the rich from reaping the wealth off of cheap labor: no workmens comp. to worry about, no benefit packages or health care concerns for the dirt poor illegal. Just pay them a cheap pittance!

Mar 7th - 18:28pm | kath

The law treats Cubans differently because they are escaping from a brutal repressive dictatorship and are not coming solely to make more money.

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