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Rush To The Outdoors Has Challenged Recreation.Gov

Oct 15th - 19:46pm | Anonymous

I used to go camping every weak at a COE camp ground in MS, it was first come first served, I could drive up yo gate and pay doe 3 nights and if I felt good 3 more nights, the reason for that is I am 100% DAV, never know when I will have to go home or DR, I haven't camped there in 2 years, made reservations and had to cancel, then when I was ok someone else reserved it for 14 days and didn't sh

UPDATE | Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Expands By Nearly 3,500 Acres

Oct 15th - 19:29pm | Rick B.

Well, almost, but we have some nice consolation prizes for you, Mr Buck. The dictionary function on Wikipedia defines "woke" as "alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism", but it is easy to see how someone who is __insensitive__ to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism would go there.

Oct 12th - 11:35am | ecbuck

If you don't know what "woke" means you are pretty out of touch.  Woke means doing things for appearances and ignoring reality. 

Oct 12th - 11:08am | TL

but what does "woke" mean?  Stop using code tell us what you think with real words.  Oh, and read some honest histories.  they are out there

Oct 11th - 20:03pm | ecbuck

"Yes, NPS has a real and significant responsibility to research and tell American history in full." But not to shape it from what is was to some woke version that some want to believe.   

Oct 11th - 15:56pm | T Lincoln

Feeling insecure are we?  Yes, NPS has a real and significant responsibility to research and tell American history in full.  In many ways historical parks are significant to our identity as Americans and citizens; an identity that has transended Evans and Chivington.  The Honorable Deb Haaland is a god-send to American ideals.

Oct 11th - 15:06pm | Rob Richmond

We live in a culture which wants to judge the past through the lens of today.  But the past cannot be changed.  So the NPS "interpretive" parks can only make people feel bad.  On the other hand, a "historic site" can be an uplifting educational experience.  People can do their own interpretation.  Do we need NPS to tell us how to think?

Oct 9th - 11:30am | Meg Bohrman

While driving through Eads, CO in the fall of 2020 I was gutpunched by the Sand Creek Massacre display at the park. I had never heard of this horrendous crime. It wouldn't leave my head and heart. By the time I reached Kearney, NE this song was finished. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVYRWMBgWvo

Oct 8th - 21:32pm | Eric C

Again, the idea that Ruby Ridge should be a NPS site is perhaps the single dumbest comment ever made here.

Oct 8th - 19:38pm | A. Johnson

Many believe that a hookup bar named Stonewall Inn did not deserve to become an NPS property.   Again, we need to tell the ENTIRE narrative of US history, not just what some may consider ridiculous.

Oct 7th - 18:05pm | chris..

Is a monument to a domestic terrorist ridiculous?  Becuase we have one for John Brown.  The NPS is also looking into monuments for groups like the Black Panthers who killed far more people than died at Ruby Ridge.   Mainly the NPS should stick to preserving and protecting public lands rather than trying to "tell stories"

Oct 7th - 15:13pm | Eric C

Anybody who thinks Ruby Ridge should be a NPS site is ridiculous.

Oct 7th - 12:27pm | A. Johnson

When will the NPS purchase the sites of Ruby Ridge or Mt. Carmel Center (Waco) so that those stories can be told and interpreted?  (just to name a few)   When victims have to fit a mold, and perpetrators have to fit into another, we're not getting the whole story.   

Oct 7th - 12:21pm | A. Johnson

. The events that took place here forever changed the course of the Northern Cheyenne, Northern Arapaho, and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes," said Haaland.  They sure did. "We will never forget the hundreds of lives that were brutally taken here - men, women and children murdered in an unprovoked attack

Yellowstone National Park Lodging Rates Climbing Under Pilot Program

Oct 15th - 18:20pm | ecbuck

You are free to maker your bid ther next time the franchise comes up for renewal.  

Oct 14th - 23:05pm | David Zook

National Parks are national treasures.  They belong to all citizens and  accommodations should be priced so middle class families can afford to enjoy them.  Currently, they are not. Even at half the current prices, many Americans are priced out.  This wasn't always true.  When I worked in Yellowstone during college, rooms were absolutely affordable.

The Trail Leading To Grizzly Giant In Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Oct 15th - 16:48pm | chuck j

We were there a few weeks ago and even though the Big Trees were magnificent, it was a bit shocking to see how many trees were destroyed. I understand there was a fire last year and hurricane winds earlier this year the damage is astounding.

Minus 148 Degrees: First Winter Ascent Of Mount McKinley

Oct 15th - 11:21am | Jerry Sinkovec

I was to be on the first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley as Gregg invited me to join them. I was going to accept, but then I realized the company I had just started, Edelweiss Ltd., and the time and work I had put into it would all go down the drain.

Drought Prompts Supplemental Water For Tule Elk At Point Reyes National Seashore

Oct 14th - 13:17pm | Ken Bouley

"Attempts by the public to intervene by adding water to the former cattle stock ponds may disturb and create dangerous conditions for tule elk and conflict with the wilderness experience of other visitors."  But if not for public pressure, the park service would be doing absolutely nothing for these poor, captive animals. It's way past time to take down the fence. 

Yellowstone's Flood-Damaged Northeast Entrance Road To Reopen Saturday

Oct 14th - 08:36am | Loui

Very impressive.  I vote to keep all new roads and repaired roads in national parks unpaved where possible, if possible.

"Pig War" Commemorated With Bronze Pig At San Juan Island National Historical Park

Oct 13th - 08:58am | A. Johnson

Interesting event.

The Ahwahnee Hotel At Yosemite National Park To Undergo Extensive Upgrades

Oct 12th - 08:21am | chris...

So they are upgrading the services for the ultra rich that can stay at the majestic hotel.  This benefits a private for profit company and the people in the visitors list above like.   Not exactly for the people

Study Contends Wolf Management Plans Are Skewed Towards Livestock Interests

Oct 11th - 20:34pm | WaltD

Unless and until wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are again placed on the ESA, like all other wolves, the same thing that happened last year in Montana will continue each hunting season.  Cattle and sheep ranchers simply lie about their losses to wolves.

Interior Officials Urged To End Use Of Lead Shot And Tackle In National Park System

Oct 10th - 16:36pm | Loui

My first question is would such a ban only relate to "recreational" fishing and hunting as addressed in the article or to subsistence harvesting as well?  There are people in Alaska who need to fish and hunt in Nat'l Preserves in order to live. The banning of lead fishing tackle is easy as the alternatives are as numerous as they are affordable.  Ammo is another issue.  

Oct 10th - 16:22pm | Michael Kellett

We should ban lead shot everywhere, but this is a good step. They should also reinstate the ban in national wildlife refuges, which was undone by Trump's Interior Secretary Zinke, and also ban lead shot on BLM lands and in national forests. It is crazy that we still allow this toxic ammo and sinkers to be used.

Reader Participation Day: What Do You Think Of Campfires In Park Campgrounds?

Oct 10th - 08:01am | Daniel

The concept of "clean" smoke does not exist in science. The luring nice smell of a campfire might be rooted in our traditions but it's not less damaging for human's health. Fine particulate PM2.5 concentrations can reach unhealthy levels in campgrounds and affect everyone's health.

Are Deer Disappearing from Cade's Cove?

Oct 9th - 19:53pm | Tommy Kirkland

Yes, deer are more active at night; and you will definitely see more deer early in the morning; of course, if a lone coyote is trotting around looking for field mice, this can cause deer to abandon open fields. Also, heat and humidity tend force deer into shaded wooded areas early if you are going in the summer months. A fall acorn crop can also limit your viewing opportunities.

Oct 9th - 06:27am | Paul McClurg

We are currently in Wears Valley and visit the Cove everyday. It is our reason for coming here. Cades Cove is one of the most beautiful places in the US to us. We love to count the deer and have amazing pics of them over the years. When we began coming in 1993, we'd count 100's. Now, and in the past 10 years, we've seen no more than 5-10 each visit. Sad, as we enjoy it so much.

Oct 7th - 21:57pm | Tommy Kirkland

Here is an intersting link and I highly recommend reading the conclusion of the downloaded PDF: Some Population Parameters Of The Cades Cove Deer Herd, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (seafwa.org)

Under The Willows: Beavers Partner With Rocky Mountain National Park

Oct 9th - 14:28pm | Dianne Milliard

Excellent article. Very enlightening.

Oct 4th - 22:38pm | Mike Painter

More prgress!

Lodge Act Could Help Provide Housing For National Park Service Staff

Oct 9th - 06:59am | Enclave

Waged are based on an entire area, much larger than the park or forest where people work. While parks are in resort and expensive cost of living areas  much like Aspen CO. Resorts often bus employees in, the feds don't.  The current housing system is broken in many areas and has been.

Oct 8th - 20:43pm | Anonymously

You're absolutely right on this score. I've come to think that the reason superintendents and other managers who talk about housing as "the number one" issue facing worker retention and wellbeing is that they are afraid to talk about pay.

Oct 7th - 23:07pm | Anonymous

There's no point in providing more housing if NPS can't also change the formula use to determine rents. Rents for NPS housing in some parts of the country have been driven far past the range of affordability, due to a combination of sky high housing in general (California), made much worse by VRBO-type rentals driving up prices even higher.

Oct 5th - 08:45am | chris...

a johnson- housing IS needed.  But it can be done in house with the NPS being the lead.  In Yosemite for example the majority of employee's who are full time are commuting in from the mariposa region.  A few decades back that used to be mid pines.  A few decades before that - el Portal.  Now few employee's even own houses in the mariposa region.  Had I stayed on and gotten full time work- my cl

Oct 4th - 15:23pm | A. Johnson

Doesn't more and better employee housing contribute to the spiral of  more services offered, then more visitors, then the need for more employees, then the need for more employee housing with more resource damage, then more infrastructure, then more services offered for more visitors, and on and on?

UPDATE | Land Acquisition Adding 9,300+ Acres To Great Sand Dunes National Park And Preserve

Oct 7th - 13:09pm | Gil

Nice sentiment - now where's the map?

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Again Sued Over Mexican Wolf Management Plan

Oct 7th - 12:29pm | A. Johnson

Interesting perspective and information.   Thanks.

Oct 6th - 16:24pm | Jim Heffelfinger

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717312776

In Search Of Wood Buffalo's Northern Lights And Whooping Cranes

Oct 6th - 14:13pm | A. Johnson

Great report! Sounds like a lot of driving though.

Devils Hole Pupfish Population Soars At Death Valley National Park

Oct 6th - 13:54pm | Rob Richmond

Thank you Kurt and Kevin for the more detailed explanation.  Counting all those moving fish must be quite a challenge.  It is good to see that higher temperatures have not reduced the population, but one might expect global warming to be a future stress on the fish, just as it is for most everything else.

Oct 6th - 12:18pm | Kurt Repanshek

Rob, here's a more thorough explanation from Kevin P. Wilson, Ph.D., the park's aquatic ecologist:

Oct 4th - 15:49pm | Rob Richmond

If I read this correctly, the population count increased because the water was made more clear by the September 19 earthquake.  This is not the same as indicating an actual increase in the number of fish.  Also, the fish were observed as  more active, which could make counting them more difficult.

Mystery Photo 67: Thar She Rests

Oct 6th - 01:09am | Tracy Paganelli

On the glacier bay lodge grounds in glacier bay national park, AK

Oct 5th - 18:39pm | Mike Painter

Pt. Reyes Lighthouse is correct, I think. I use Safari but have had no problem with pictures loading ...

Oct 5th - 17:46pm | Gila Monster

Someone mentioned it before, but since a couple of weeks the first pictures of the article doesn't load. I use Safari, it works on Chrome though.

Oct 5th - 06:07am | Troy

Point Reyes National Seashore.  It's near the lighthouse.

Arches National Park To Close Windows Section This Week For Paving

Oct 5th - 14:02pm | Rob Richmond

Edward Abbet was lucky - he got to experience the pristine park.  I was too - I went in the eighties and nineties.  But those days are unfortunately over forever.  No need to ever go back and spoil the memories.

Oct 5th - 11:55am | Loui

Edward Abbey is rolling over in his grave.

The Challenges Of Recreation.gov

Oct 5th - 12:37pm | Campers

They buy them as a group and resell them on fb

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