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Yellowstone Officials Prefer Snowmobiles

Nov 22nd - 22:59pm | Raul

Stop the Global WHINING!! Sheesh!! Perhaps y'all should read "State of Fear" by Michael Chrichton...this article sums it up: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=16260 Read some of the "Reviews and Reactions" highlighted in green.

Nov 22nd - 19:33pm | Snowbird

Well Jim, you did express your dark age mentality about global warming (something that the Bush administration tried to ignore and stifle, regarding the Hansen report on global warming for NASA). Yes, catchy words do have impact when it arouses attention to man's degradation of the environment...certainally caught yours!

Nov 22nd - 16:41pm | Alan

Noise, pollution, disturbance. These and other impacts are in opposition to the park's stated objective: preservation of its wild and scenic character. This seems frightfully hard for some to understand. In any case, the taxpayers have now paid for four snowmobile use studies. The Great Falls Tribune just published a straight-on editorial about the issue.

Nov 22nd - 16:05pm | Jim

LOL...you're funny, Snowbird!

Nov 22nd - 07:45am | Snowbird

Jim, I guess your one of those who just can't live without the morass of noise and pollution in the parks. I guess it really upsets those poor snowmobile trottle jockies to know that "global warming" is for real. Yes! the parks were created to serve all, but not to bring every gas guzzling piece of junk into the parks.What's your fear Jim?

Nov 21st - 20:39pm | Jim

C'mon now...the geysers and mud pots emit more greenhouse gases, methane, SO2, CO2, (you name it...they emit it) in a few minutes than 1000 snowmobiles in a full winter! Enviros need to remember that the parks were created to serve all our people in this country...not just the elitist few who constantly cry about the sky falling over a little exhaust.... Now, speaking of hot air....

Nov 20th - 20:01pm | Snowbird

I smell a rat in the hole with this report. The so called park bureaucrats are trying their best to skew any report, or mandate that would restrict the excessive use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.It's not about preservation of Yellowstone, but the preservation of the pocketbook of the recreational industry

Mary's Thoughts on the Parks

Nov 22nd - 22:42pm | Raul

..."fur, feather and fin"...now ain't that so special! You need to read a few of John Stossel's books about how y'all are just a bunch of chicken littles with no science to back it up!

Nov 22nd - 20:04pm | Snowbird

Not angry dear Raul, I just have a lot of fire in my belly in saving a few things that you probably don't care about...like fur, feather and fin...not much left! If you dare to read E.O.Wilson book on "The Creation"! then you will know what mean. Perhaps, your more interested in reading something like "How To Get Rich Quick" or Donald Trumps new book on real estate quick rich schemes.

Nov 22nd - 16:28pm | Raul

It's funny how so many tree-huggers are down on corporations, unless it is the corporation known as the Sierra Club of course.... Do you eat anything bought in a store, made by those EVIL corporations, Snowbird? I don't really care if they wanna brag or not...as long as our parks are protected and funded! "Donate and shut-up"...hmmm...no need to get nasty here...why are you so angry?

Nov 22nd - 08:08am | Snowbird

Jim, the National Parks have enough corporate logo strewn around the parks...just check out the trash bins around the parks. What's wrong having anonymous corporate donors and less fan fare in knowing who they really are...unless some CEO wants to glorify himself in front of a audience and become a braggard and say: see what my company did, and wow aren't we great! Donate and shut up!

Nov 21st - 21:14pm | Jim

THIS is what I'm talkin' about! Thank you J.M. Huber!! NJ Company Makes First Corporate Donation To Aid Save Ellis Island!

Nov 21st - 21:03pm | Jim

We definitely MUST and need to get corporations (with lots of $$$) involved in the business of preserving our parks in public-private partnerships.

Crime in the Parks

Nov 22nd - 18:34pm | Snowbird

Alan, your comments are well taken and I agree with your disdain for former Sen. Allen, and his kiss-butt tactics with the NRA.

Nov 22nd - 16:49pm | Alan

Additionally, the NPCA is correct. The solution to combatting crime in national parks isn't to go about arming every visitor with a pistol but to properly fund the National Park Service.

Nov 22nd - 16:45pm | Alan

In my mind, this isn't about park visitors' safety. It's about George Allen, the now-defeated incumbent senator from the great state of Virginia, kissing the rear-end of the gun-rights lobby. Folks visiting a park like Yellowstone have a greater risk of getting harmed doing something stupid around megafauna than they do of getting mugged or robbed at gunpoint.

Nov 22nd - 09:15am | Snowbird

Relax Kath! I'm a professional "park nut" and enjoy every minute of it.Besides, poking fun and jest may open dialoque for honest communication, and debate. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 22nd - 07:41am | kath

If the NP law enforcement rangers don't want it, then I'd concur with their opinion. They are the closest to the issue. (I still don't like calling anyone a 'nut'. I wouldn't like being called an 'enviro-nut' or 'park nut'. It just doesn't contribute to a two-way dialogue.)

Nov 21st - 16:52pm | Snowbird

Oh come Kath! Stop being so politically correct and righteous. I believe in saying like it is and especially when the other side wishes not to have a honest debate and dialogue. Have you ever tried to get a point across to a "gun nut" from the NRA? I have and it usually doesn't work! Anyway, I respect your opinion.

Nov 21st - 16:18pm | repanshek

Kath, Since Sen. Allen's legislation was just recently introduced (Nov. 16, I'm told), and was not reported out of committee, the NPS's FOP chapter has not taken a stand on it.

Nov 21st - 13:57pm | kath

It's frightening when minds are closed either way. The question of whether it would increase safety of park visitors or decrease park safety needs to be studied before anyone can say anything. And name calling of 'gun nuts' doesn't really further the conversation.

Nov 21st - 11:43am | Snowbird

Senator Allen is a another Richard Pombo, wearing a three piece suit in cowboy jack boots. Sen. Allen represents a mole into the National Park Service for the gun lobby. Simple as that!

Nov 21st - 11:04am | Snowbird

Why can't you gun nuts leave your little water pistols at home, instead of bringing them into the National Parks and start causing more problems...and possible harm. Stick to your toy gun ranges and have your fun. Adding more well paid and trained rangers will subside the crime in time. Adequate funding is paramount!!

Nov 21st - 10:23am | Rick Smith

Kurt-- It looks like the gun lobby is alive and well. Your posts have drawn the expected ire of those who see any reasonable limits on the carrying of weapons as a threat to what they consider to be "the American way of life." You have got it right. Parks are a lot safer because visitors cannot carry concealed weapons than parks would be if they could.

Nov 21st - 10:10am | Dave Yates

Not her again... Taylor-Goodrich is one of the major reasons that Allen introduced S4057 to begin with, and Jim Webb promised the same. She's the mouthpiece of the National Park Service and accordingly she will do as any public relations or press staff will - SPIN.

Nov 21st - 09:59am | kath

What is the position of the National Park Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police or law enforcement park rangers in general? I don't know whether permitting the carrying of weapons in national parks would decrease or increase crime, but it does appear that crime in the backcountry is increasing.

Pennsylvanians Don't Want Gambling Near Gettysburg

Nov 22nd - 16:57pm | Alan

Pennsylvania is opening casinos under the stated banner of reducing citizens' property taxes. Most independent analyses show a whopping $200 tax reduction for most folks in the state. There are lots of good arguments against gambling in general (and let's call it what it is, gambling, not "gaming").

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Nov 21st - 20:31pm | Jim

The nonchalant look of the kids (not paying much attention to the bison) leads me to believe that this is a zoom shot...the bison are actually much further away than it appears....

Guns in the Parks: A Bad Idea

Nov 21st - 14:36pm | David

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Our forefathers knew what they were talking about.

Nov 21st - 08:24am | kath

The comment about just a few stagecoach robberies in Yellowstone in the olden days was not only flippant but ill informed.

Nov 21st - 08:23am | kath

Then there was the 1992 'incident' in which an escaped convict from the Arizona state pen hid out on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, kidnapping and robbing tourists along the way to make his getaway.

Nov 21st - 06:51am | kath

Another 'incident' not mentioned is the murder of a national park volunteer in Yosemite a few years ago.

Nov 21st - 05:15am | dutch

Kurt. This law enables law abiding people to carry. The criminals already are (they don't obey gun bans). Therefore, the "pistol packing hiker" is not going to "take you on" unless you are going to rape him.

Nov 20th - 21:46pm | Dennis Olson

I think it would make more sense to ban cars from all national parks since more people are killed and injured by cars than guns. Maybe it's time we understood what threats are real and what are not.

Nov 20th - 20:31pm | Jon Carruthers

Does anyone find it odd that of all the posts so far in response to this blog...NOT ONE AGREES WITH THE AUTHOR...?? I, for one, am loving it.

Nov 20th - 17:35pm | Rod Adams

All I desire is the ability to protect my family and self from predators while enjoying the scenic beauty within our Nation's parks. The predators I describe include both wild animal and un-lawful human bent on causing harm, or worse, death.

Nov 20th - 16:36pm | LeeA from VA

Posting a "No Firearms" sign is like posting a "Helpless Victims Here" sign. Criminals by definition DO NOT obey the law! They (criminals) are like preditory animals. They attack the weak. You will not see a lion attack a full grown healthy elephant but if the elephant is sick, wounded or a baby he becomes lunch.

Nov 20th - 14:35pm | MikeB

I had the courtesy of riding home with a senior level member of the Nat'l Park Svc a year ago and discussed safety in the Nat'l Parks. I was told that there is a lot of crime that goes unreported...and that criminals, like pedophiles and violent criminals, who have been shunned by society are now seeking refuge in National Parks.

Nov 20th - 14:31pm | Day Hiker

Month after month, article after article, right out of the National Park Service Morning Reports: Man arrested for Rape in Park Murder Suspects Arrested Attempted Homicides Fatal Shootings Assaults on Visitors Homicide Investigations Kidnapping Felony Drug Trafficking Animal attacks The life threatening list goes on and on. As a law abiding citizen I have the right

Nov 20th - 14:02pm | kath

According to the NPS website, guns are permitted in some Alaska national parks.

Nov 20th - 13:16pm | Tim Hartle

"Do we really want to legalize toting guns around in national parks? " We most certainly do. And you SHOULD worry about the next person you encounter packing heat in a park. Right now there's an excellent chance he's a bad guy looking for a defenseless target. If you choose to be one of those targets, that's your right. I prefer to be prepared to defend myself. That should be my right.

Nov 20th - 11:17am | Gabe

If "No Guns" sign actually worked, I'd wear one. Since they don't, I wear my gun instead. Criminals are just that, criminals. They don't care what the law says and they certainly don't care what a sign says. Shouldn't the author of this blog want criminals to afraid of robbing/killing/raping/etc... not encouraged?

Nov 20th - 10:55am | Joel M

The National Park System comprises 390 areas covering more than 84 million acres and has 1400 permanent law enforcement rangers, adding an additional 500 during peak season (2002 statistics, it's probably lower now since they've suffered budget cuts every year). Even at 1900 law enforcement rangers that works out to 44,210.5 acres per ranger. That sure makes me feel safe.

Nov 20th - 10:04am | Rick Povich

Don says," I had two incidents with firearms in a park as a Ranger. In one case, two off-duty cops had their service weapons, as required by their department. They apologized when they recognized the rules outside their "territory"." So you gave them a special break just because they were law enforcement? Well they violated the regulation and you knew it.

Welcome Gun Owners!

Nov 21st - 07:49am | Dave Yates

Quote------ Under most of the counterarguments offered, the general thinking seems to be that to protect ourselves we all should be carrying our own gleaming, semi-automatic, or perhaps even automatic, pieces to ensure safety in society. Frankly, folks, I don't see how that's going to accomplish much beyond an increase in the number of shoot-outs. Quote------

Nov 20th - 16:38pm | Steve Sergeant

Here's an audio documentary about the work it takes to restore a pot plantation after the growers have been busted and the plants removed by law enforcement: http://www.wildebeat.net/shows/outings/E019.html This is a big job that has to be done by volunteers, because none of the parks can afford the labor to do it.

Nov 20th - 12:52pm | kath

Here's the article on the bust in Point Reyes. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/06/POTFARMS.TMP

Nov 20th - 12:30pm | kath

Unfortunately, the majority of people think that smoking pot and by extension growing marijuana aren't serious crimes. There needs to be some sort of public educational spots showing the damage to the parks it causes and linking that directly to those who think that smoking pot is a harmless diversion. "This is your national park on drugs" comes to mind.

Nov 20th - 11:09am | Rick Smith

Kurt-- You are getting the standard reaction from the "guns don't kill people; people kill people" crowd. Visitors don't need guns in parks and these places are a lot safer because people are not carrying weapons. Legitimate hunters break down their weapons before transporting them across parks.

Nov 20th - 10:13am | repanshek

Kath, There are nearly 400 units in the national park system and I am one person with a keyboard who runs this blog when I'm not trying to make a living. In other words, there's no way I could possibly stay atop of every news story in the park system.

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