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Updated: Hiker In Yellowstone National Park Died From Grizzly Attack

Aug 30th - 14:42pm | Lee Dalton

NBC News and the Today show this morning were sounding the alarm about evil bears.  It's a shame the parks have such a difficult time getting the full story out to the public.  But they did show the clip of the griz encountering a whole road full of humans that was featured a day or so ago on Traveler.  It was a great opportunity for the news crew to do a little educating, but they let it pass.

Aug 30th - 12:31pm | Dave Harmon

Folks: Please don't assume that John Wallace made any mistakes that were responsible for his death, at least until the full investigation is complete.  I knew John: he is from our local area here, was a friendly acquaintance, and worked at our local library.  He was a very experienced outdoorsperson and hiked often.

Aug 30th - 09:09am | justinh

Well said, Kirby.

Aug 30th - 08:21am | Kirby Adams

Pointing out the poor decisions this unfortunate hiker likely made is quite productive if even one person that reads this thinks twice about making the same mistakes. It's not about blame, it's about pointing to the apparent facts. Sometimes humans do dangerous things, either with full knowledge or abject ignorance of the peril.

Aug 30th - 07:01am | Connie Hopkins

What I'm assuming, is that Park visitors need to take responsibility for their own actions! I'm certain that many people NEVER read the materials handed out to them as they enter the Park. We were there just last month and if we hadn't have already heard about the Grizzly fatality (in July) before we got there, we certainly would have known once we entered the Park!

Aug 29th - 19:27pm | Wind Change

The blame game has been/is very much in vogue now days.  Taking the place of something much more productive.  

Aug 29th - 18:56pm | Anonymous

You are assuming this man read the same thing you did. Never fails, there will always be at least one comment seeking to lay blame on the human.

Aug 29th - 13:14pm | Connie Hopkins

Dave and I hiked a small portion of the Mary Mountain Trail last month on our vacation. In our guide book they list Bear sightings, as "very likely". While I am sorry for this gentleman's family for their loss why anyone would hike alone and apparently without bear spray is beyond me!

Congresswoman Bachmann Would Support Drilling For Oil In Everglades National Park

Aug 30th - 14:38pm | Lee Dalton

Anon or ec, it's not at all hard to find examples of MB's misstatements. 

Aug 30th - 13:27pm | Anonymous

I love the term "environmentalist". What does it mean? Some people use it like its a dirty word. Oh, you're an environmentalist. Oh, you care about clean air and water for you and your children - Da!!! The people who do not care are the ones to worry about. Its well documented that terrorists would love to find a way to harm america by destroying their way of life.

Aug 30th - 13:15pm | dennis p lima

I'm certainly no expert at horizontal drilling, but don't we have the ability to put the oil rigs 40 - 60 miles away, and then drill horizontally under the park? Don't we already do this out west? I don't imaging she is advocating placing the actual oil rigs in the park.

Aug 30th - 12:45pm | Rick B.

Personally I can't stand her - I think she is a mouthbreathing theocratic malignancy.

Aug 30th - 12:43pm | Volpe

Many years ago there was a bumper sticker that said “lost your job, eat your foreign car”.  Now the Great Recession and high unemployment and I can’t help but remember that bumper sticker and the jobs that have left our country.

Aug 30th - 12:22pm | Dick Gutierrez

Why not try to get us off the oil fix instead of trying to wring every last drop of oil out of the ground?? If we really wanted to do it we could find an alternative to oil-- there's just not the will yet

Aug 30th - 11:05am | justinh

ecbuck wrote,   "She would consider it after looking at the facts." Given so many of her statements in the past, I'm troubled by what she undertsands to be a "fact."

Aug 30th - 10:58am | rdm24

Whether it's the Constitution or a National Park, is there no national treasure the woman won't desecrate?

Aug 30th - 10:54am | ecbuck

Ramon - I am sure that Bachman does as well.  But, she also knows they aren't mutually exclusive.

Aug 30th - 10:43am | Cliff Leverette

Makes good sense. Might cut down on war due to oil, our sons might not have to get killed and mutilated as often just so we can have the oil to get our cars, trains, planes to take us to see (but not touch) the national parks.

Aug 30th - 10:38am | Jeff

In a lenthier article, Bachmann decried the use of "scientists" or "environmentalists" to decide what would or would not be a "responsible" use of the Everglades. In other words, she'd get the expert opinions of BP et.al. Anon... there's no "open mind" when MB speaks.

Aug 30th - 10:14am | Ramon

Oil or water. Which one is more important for human survival? I know the answer. I'm not sure that Michelle Bachman does.

Aug 30th - 09:59am | Ryan

Parks are supposed to be, and should be, off limits to any resource extraction, hence the reason they are parks.  If we take away the parks protection, what's the point of having established the park in the first place? Why not open all parks to resource extraction?

Aug 30th - 09:18am | justinh

Anon,

Aug 30th - 09:13am | ecbuck (prior anon)

Justin - I don't have any problem at all drawing a conclusion from her statement.  She would consider it after looking at the facts.  Unlike those (such as you) that dismiss it outright.  If you aren't an "environmentalist" or "against oil".  Why would you outright dismiss drilling in the Everglades without knowing anything about the proposal?  Looks like clear uninformed bias to me.

Aug 30th - 08:57am | ecbuck (prior anon)

Lee - I never have worked for any coal, oil, gas or related company. But not surprised that would be your counter argument - attack the person not the points.  Perhaps you would like to identify some of the other things "of this sort" that Michelle has "gone off on".

Aug 30th - 08:47am | Lee Dalton

Anon -- This wasn't the first time Michelle has gone off on something of this sort.  It's part of a much larger pattern from her.  Which coal or oil company do you work for?

Aug 30th - 08:38am | Anonymous

You guys are a hoot.  Bachmann makes a perfectly sensibile statement and you anti-oil "environmentalist" go nuts.  Contrary to the title of the article, Bachmann didn't say she would support drilling she said she 'wouldn't automatically rule the park off-limits".  In otherwords, she wants to see all the facts and not just kneejerk reach a conclusion without consideration of all the facts as you

Aug 30th - 08:35am | Lee Dalton

Congresswoman Bachman and sanity don't mix, either.

Aug 30th - 08:28am | Kirby Adams

"Congresswoman Bachmann needs to understand that oil and drinking water do not mix.” There are a couple layers of subtle sarcasm in that comment, whether intentional or not.

Aug 30th - 07:36am | Bruce

You have to love that term "responsibly," as in "Of course we will do this responsibly.  We love the Everglades."  Then, of course, we find out that the word meant nothing because, either it was not said sincerely or intelligently or, guess what, stuff does happen after all.  Then we have a Gulf oil spill type disaster under the Everglades.  People like Michelle Bachmann make themselves scarce

A Short History of the Flat Hat's "Lemon Squeezer" Pinch

Aug 30th - 13:51pm | Karen Guenther

Thanks for the information about the hat!  I was asked about the "Smokey the Bear" hat when I worked as a seasonal ranger, as well as about the military-style uniform worn by rangers (which was quite different from--and less comfortable than--the costumes I wore as a seasonal costumed interpreter). 

Bear Watching Mayhem In Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Aug 30th - 12:37pm | Dick Gutierrez

Just returned from Yellowstone and was lucky enough to see a wolf( Soda butte) and four grizz. It's true the tourists from outside of the US are really something. Unfortunatly it seems the Asian being the worse. Very poor manners--- one actually pushed my wife almost to the ground butting in line for ice cream at the Old faithful Inn.

Aug 30th - 11:20am | Anonymous

Folks, Yellowstone is NOT A ZOO! there are no fences between you and the animals and the animals are WILD. You are intruding into their habitat and they see you as a threat to their survival. So many people deserve to become bear food these days, no wonder we hear of deaths all the time in our National Parks.

Aug 29th - 20:50pm | stormy

I've said it before & I'll say it again...it's not Disneyland and those are NOT audioanimatronics!   I have a very healthy respect for the wildlife in our Parks.  From squirrels (cute, but may carry plague) to bears/wolves/bison (huge and can really hurt me!).  I am not even tempted to push the envelope & get too close.

Aug 29th - 15:21pm | nottonite

We were there this summer and I watched in amazement as a father led his daughter up the hill to see a bear up close.  They got within 15 feet of the grizzly, and could not possibly make it to safety if the bear decided to charge.  It was like watching a father take his child to slaughter.  Som thing about fresh air makes adults get really stupid.

Aug 29th - 13:03pm | Wind Change

It's as interesting to me to see the incredulous comments about park visitor behavior as it is the visitor actions.

Aug 29th - 11:16am | Anonymous

people have a huge misconception about the animals in the park. my family was at yellowstone earlier this year when the couple was attacked, and the man killed by a mother grizzly. a few days later, we were on a trail ride and one of the people riding told the guide, "well they were on a trail". do people really think that the animals don't use the trails as well as well as humans.

Aug 29th - 09:29am | Randy Gardner

I have seen this exact same thing happen this summer in Yosemite Nat'l park ... In that instance it was also a mother bear with two cubs, and people were approaching within 50 yards of them. I understand people being excited by seeing wildlife but they need to realize that the wildlife do not share their enthusiasm...in fact the wildlife is most likely scared.

Aug 29th - 08:38am | Janes

The tough reality about these encounters, as thrilling as they may be for visitors, is that the bears often wind up losing. Should one charge at folks who venture too close or pose a threat to their cubs, she runs the risk of being caught and put down.

Hiker In Grand Canyon National Park Apparent Victim of Heat

Aug 30th - 12:17pm | Dick Gutierrez

Hopefully the parks won't start restricting what people can do because of these foolish people. At Grand Canyon there are signs all over the place telling about this. If people are going to do stupid things after being warned it's no ones fault other then theirs

Aug 30th - 09:22am | AnonymousD

Yosemite definitely seems to be getting more deaths than usual this year, but GC always gets a few fatalities due to people hiking in extreme heat. It's so sad and so preventable. I tend to believe in signage, but this is one of those situations where lack of caution (to put it nicely) often leads people to think that the rules don't apply to them.

Aug 30th - 08:32am | Lee Dalton

Is it just my imagination or poor memory, or are the number of fatalities in parks increasing by leaps and bounds?  There has been hardly a day without another report of a fatal incident in the Digest or on these pages.

Big Cypress National Preserve Officials Crafting Hunting Management Plan For Addition Lands

Aug 30th - 09:46am | Frank Denninger...

It is very interesting how at this point in time folks with anti-hunting agendas come out to protest hunting in the Addition. They either conveniently forgot, never knew or intentionally don't want to acknowledge that had it not been for hunters - there would never have been a Big Cypress National Preserve (582,000 acres) or the subsequent Addition (147,000 acres).

Francis Beidler’s Long-Ago Decision Saved the Forest that Became Congaree National Park

Aug 30th - 07:48am | Elizabeth

I worked for the Beidler's back in the mid to late 1970's when they were in litigation with the state of SC for the preservation of some land for the national forest. I may have some pictures of the old group I'd like to share with you.

Lightning Strike Kills Visitor at Bryce Canyon National Park

Aug 29th - 18:05pm | Inquisitive Mind

From my experience it would seem safer down IN the Canyon than along the Rim.  Also, I heard something last summer that a grove of Aspens is a safe or safer place than among the Ponderosa's or similar Evergreens.  Please correct me if I'm wrong but have been thinking about it.

Aug 29th - 16:57pm | Jeff

I was there doing on the day of the lightning strike and me and my girlfriend were hiking out of the canyon when the thunderstorm approached, we were amazed how many people kept heading down into the canyon even with the obvious thunder approaching, when sought shelter in our car and waited the storm out, while waiting we witnessed his family searching for help but we didn't find out what happe

National Park Service Issues 5-Year "Call To Action" Plan For Moving Toward Its Second Century

Aug 29th - 15:10pm | Mike Painter

Alfred Runte says: "The cover alone leaves me cold. What do five kids jumping in a lake have to do with the national park idea?" I thought exactly the same thing when I saw the cover in your article. Although you can't tell a book by its cover, it, nevertheless, doesn't bode well.

Study Points To Value Of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem For Future of Wolverines

Aug 29th - 13:07pm | Jason G

I spotted a wolverine this July while hiking in YNP.  It was not far outside of your search area and judging by the amount of scat it most like was taking up residence there.  You can contact me for mor info in wanted.

Sky-High Ginseng Prices Boost Illegal Harvest in Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Aug 29th - 10:26am | Anonymous

They won't let us have wild ginseng seeds. I would replant my areas as well if I could get the seeds. The government needs to relax a little. I hope my grandkids can find root in my patches years from now.

Beware of Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Bears

Aug 29th - 10:14am | ramblefeet

I hike throughout the US and eastern Canada and have had brushes with black bears several times.   Only once did one act aggressively, though that may be the wrong word, as the bear seemed mostly curious as to what I was up to.   I stupidly let myself get boxed in by a lake and a cliff, and had to look big and act fearless while the bear inspected me from arms length.

More Than 105,000 Sign NPCA's Petition In Support of National Park Funding

Aug 29th - 08:48am | Wind Change

Am a Big supporter of these great places and that's why I suggest "individual" contributions now rather than saddle our kids, grandkids and great-grand kids with debt they had nothing to do with.  Not much of a legacy for our children that way.  Their standard of living will be such that they will look at the Parks the way the commoners used to look at the King's Forrest's in England.

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