| Page 1581 | National Parks Traveler

Another rather large herd of Bison reside in Wind Cave National Park (http://www.nps.gov/wica/) in South Dakota. The National Park Service keeps the herd to level that is in tune with the amount of grass and each year has excess animals (I believe they auction them off) that might replace any animals that would be destroyed.

Dec 18th - 09:47am | Jim Macdonald

This sort of stuff comes out all the time; I'm not too concerned about it. As far as bison management goes, there is bureaucratic gridlock, which means that bison die outside of Yellowstone, and more often than not (though not always), they live within it.

Dec 17th - 15:17pm | Rick Smith

Kurt--

Grand Canyon Skywalk: Will It Happen?

Dec 19th - 13:47pm | gcmaven

How good could the engineering be if they can't do the simple math (subtraction) needed to calculate the depth of the view? Canyon floor = approx 2,000' elevation. Skywalk = approx 4,000' elevation. So how far down are you looking? Remember, they aren't providing x-ray goggles so you can look 2,000' through the bedrock.

Dec 18th - 10:37am | kath

More. Because this really boils. The question shouldn't be "Will it Happen" but "Should It Happen". Building what amounts to a thrill attraction on the edge of a national treasure is an abomination.

Dec 18th - 09:35am | kath

A complete eyesore on the edge of the canyon.

Another Park Study Approved

Dec 19th - 08:12am | Snowbird

Yes Kath, I know the pork barrel is full projects and studies like this, but there might be something bigger in the making that the NPS can't refuse. Sort of, you scratch my back and I'll scratch your back.

Dec 19th - 07:55am | kath

The NPS may not even want this. But the Michigan Senators do. Oink.

Dec 19th - 06:57am | Snowbird

This kind of nit-picking study, is just what puts the NPS in a bad light...I would like to see if there's a "rider" attached to this piece of legislation.

Dec 19th - 06:34am | kath

Should be renamed the Pork Barrel Politics National Park

Woman Dies in Fall From Angel's Landing

Dec 18th - 17:13pm | Aunt Jacqueline

I am the aunt of the husband who tragically lost his beautiful wife on Aug. 22nd, 2006 as she fell 1200 feet into the arms of her Savior. Her life, obviously, touched many that justify the "climb" up Angel's Landing. Please pray for her husband and family and friends.

Zion NP Raising Entrance Fees

Dec 18th - 16:10pm | Michael McNamee

Your blog continues to provide useful information, great photos and commentary, and a near endless amount of entertainment value.... Keep up the good work. Kurt, I understand your concern with raising the Parks Pass; but my wife and I felt the $50.00 annual fee was too low, too much value for so much benifit.

Dec 18th - 09:45am | kath

In all the stories and comments on this blog about the National Parks, the big picture seems never to be mentioned. That is: the United States has the best national park system in the world. Europe has virtually no parks. They run railroads to their mountain tops and put beer gardens up there. When they want a wild experience they come here! Poaching is a way of life in Asia and Africa.

Dec 18th - 07:45am | Snowbird

Note Terry! Kurt has done his homework!!

Dec 18th - 07:03am | repanshek

Terry, I repeat, READ what I've written. I haven't come out and said entrance fees should be done away with. And I've also said that even an $80 fee is a BARGAIN. Are you so blinded by your right-wing anger that you can't comprehend the written word?

Dec 18th - 06:53am | Snowbird

Hey Terry, knock off the G.I. Joe crap and stick to the issues, instead of finding ways to browbeat those who disagree with your Bush type war policies and rhetoric...71% of the American people disagree with you! Isn't that what the American people were telling you in the last election. You don't seem to get it!

Dec 17th - 21:59pm | Terry

Wrong...a higher price for an annual pass means that those who buy it will visit the parks MORE often, as they will want to get their money's worth. Don't underestimate the American people...they are not a cheapskate as you and others in this forum...they feel that $80 is darn good investment for the upkeep of our parks.

Dec 17th - 21:56pm | Snowbird

Talk about hitting a nail on the head! Well put Kurt...well put!

Dec 17th - 10:23am | repanshek

Terry,

Dec 16th - 22:52pm | Terry

WAAAAAA!!! I just happened upon this site perusing info on our National Parks.... $80 is CHEAP...how much do you spend on BEER in a year? How about the movies, (theatre or rental)? How much do you spend on cable...where I live it's $70 a MONTH! How about eating out at restaurants?? If you smoke, how much in cigarettes? How about 1 DAY entry to one of our theme parks like Disneyland?

Poll: $80 ATB Fee is Too High

Dec 18th - 07:07am | repanshek

Roger, You're starting to sound like Terry, so I'll give you the same response: READ what I've written. I haven't called for free entry to the parks, I have said the $80 fee continues to be a bargain. Then read Mookie's comment.

Dec 18th - 05:37am | Mookie

I'm a liberal/leftist/socialist and I do think the $80 is a bargain. However, I do feel that the gov't is short-sighted in its thinking that user fees will help offset the budget crunch the NPS is in. Without adequate funding from Congress, there is no increase in fees that will cover the money needed to fund the basic needs of the parks.

Dec 18th - 00:03am | Roger

Your poll only reflects the opinion of liberal/leftists/socialists who visit your page and want everything for free...most good Americans think that $80 is a bargain.

Death Valley Showdown

Dec 18th - 01:09am | MQ

It might surprise you guys to realize this, but human beings are capable of using wilderness areas *even when those areas do not have roads*. Some of us know how to use our own two legs instead of relying on loud, destructive machines everywhere we go. You might try walking somewhere sometime; you'll live longer.

Fee Creep In the Parks

Dec 16th - 07:36am | Jim Macdonald

Yes, on the Smithsonian...an institution I've lost most of my respect for...if you walk in the Natural History Museum and look at the rotunda, you see the name Kenneth Behring all over the place. Behring gave a lot of money to the Smithsonian.

Dec 16th - 07:24am | Sabattis

The Smithsonians are something of a special case, since the Smithsonians owe their existence to a non-profit foundation that explicitly prohibited the charging of entrance fees. As such, the Smithsonian makes up for the lack of entrance fee with a lot of fundraising and corporate sponsorship. For example, around 73,000 people made "contributing member" donations of $70 each to the Smithsonian.

Dec 15th - 11:07am | Lola

Two people can sign their name to the new $80 pass and not have to be related to one another (unlike the Park Pass or Golden Eagle). So if you have a good friend who visits parks often, go in on the deal together, and share the pass. $40/each ain't a bad deal! Or, head over to a National Park and buy your $50 pass before Dec. 31st, thus putting off the price increase for a year.

Dec 15th - 07:53am | Snowbird

Hey Jim, Did you know that Edward Abbey was also anarchist and a damn good one at that. More power to you Jim! Skoal, Snowbird

Dec 15th - 04:56am | Jim Macdonald

Hey Rex, don't insult me by calling me a liberal. I'm far worse than that; I'm an anarchist. Cheers, Jim

Dec 14th - 23:02pm | Rex

Hey Jim...that sure was a lot of liberal jibberish!

Dec 14th - 14:18pm | Jim Macdonald

Tastes great or less filling? And, that's when anyone bothers to give us a choice at all.

Dec 14th - 08:08am | kath

The Smithsonian has corporate sponsorship of some of its exhibits. If the choice were fees or "This trail brought to you by Coleman Camping Gear", I'd rather have the fees.

Dec 14th - 05:57am | repanshek

This no doubt is an accurate statement. But here's an analogy: There's no fee at all to enter the Smithsonian Institution and its museums (although you will encounter some fees, such as for the Imax Theater at the Air and Space Museum). No doubt it's mighty expensive to operate and maintain these museums. Should entrance fees be enacted at them?

Dec 13th - 20:13pm | Sabattis

Yes, the Parks are not set up to make money - and things like basic maintenance and protection are supposed to be paid from for tax dollars.

Mary Asked to Let Natural Processes Proceed at Gulf Islands

Dec 15th - 08:28am | Snowbird

Rex, I think dune buggies should be kept only in areas like the Mojave Desert in California, were they do the least environmental damage...which is not always the case. There are some loose cannons (fueled with booze to the gills) out there, on these four wheel dirt diggers that really screw up the beautiful cacti desert...I mean literally trashed!

Dec 14th - 22:57pm | Rex

I wrote the director and recommended that a concessionaire ought to be found that would rent out dune buggies and operate sand-travel modified busses.

Dec 13th - 20:21pm | Sabattis

Its hard to see how the benefits of a road to Ft. Pickens come anywheres near the costs of building and maintaining such a road - even before considering the environmental impacts. I almost wonder if the National Park Service could provide a free ferry service for less than the amount of money that has been sunk into that road over the past decade....

Who Are These Guys?

Dec 14th - 19:20pm | Snowbird

These good folks deserve the academy award for worthy outdoor activism! Gray power lives and keep up the good mission!!

Yellowstone Biologists: Politics, Not Science, Likely Will Decide Snowmobile Issue

Dec 14th - 06:03am | repanshek

Again, can't argue with this line of thinking. Times change and bring new thinking as we learn more about our impact on the world, our interests, and our needs. I would predict, though, that with our political system, if Yellowstone were a blank palette, politicians would demand a certain amount of infrastructure, and some of that would impact wildlife.

Dec 13th - 20:18pm | Sabattis

I'll confess to not having followed this debate closely, but after visiting Yellowstone for a second time this past summer, I couldn't help but wonder if Yellowstone National Park were being set aside today, whether the Old Faithful Lodge would ever built, or whether there would even be a "Great Circle Road." Thus, in examining the impact of snowmobiles on the wildlife in Yellowstone, I wonder i

A Little Civility, Please

Dec 13th - 19:57pm | Bob Krumenaker

Thanks, Kurt, for quoting me in your blog, and I appreciate your boldness in raising the entire issue for your readers. I worry that both in the national parks and in society we're losing the appreciation that what makes democracy work is the ability to express different opinions and still retain respect for those that disagree with us.

Great Smokies Studying Emissions

Dec 13th - 11:10am | repanshek

Kath, I don't think it's quite as easy as you make it out. Perhaps I'm wrong, but there would seem to be a wide variety of GHG sources to be considered, ranging from passenger cars, pickup trucks, delivery trucks, buses, late-model vehicles, older ones that pollute more. Also to be factored in, I would think, are traffic patterns.

Dec 13th - 10:45am | kath

Couldn't they just take the U. N. report and similar reports that have come out from EPA in recent years and extrapolate to the park with a statistical analysis? No need to reinvent the wheel. The bigger issue as I tried to elucidate is: what does the park do?

Dec 13th - 10:32am | repanshek

Who would have imagined the leap from national parks to cow farts was so small! Kath is right concerning the UN report. You can find it at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment

Dec 13th - 10:18am | kath

There is a new report out by the U. N. panel on Climate Change. That report finds that livestock, mainly cows, are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than all forms of transport, cars, trucks or snowmobiles combined.

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