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Wouldn't It Be Nice If the National Park Service Resumed the Distribution of Park Window Stickers?

Jun 20th - 10:30am | Gaelyn

Maybe this would be a good idea for the NPS' centennial in 2016. But please don't replace the park's newspaper. Instead encourage visitors to Actually read the paper and learn about all the Cool things they can see and do at the park. Plus keep the map handy so they know where they are. Maybe that's asking Too much.

Jun 20th - 07:09am | Jay

YES! That is a great idea.

Want a Horse? Theodore Roosevelt National Park Will Auction About 90 Wild Horses Oct 23

Jun 20th - 00:32am | Mulekist

I understand these wild horses are not protected by the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 (The Wild Horse Annie Act) and many do wind up being purchased by "kill-buyers" who will bring them to Canada or Mexico to slaughter. Does anyone know what percentage of these auctioned horses actually go to good homes?

Updated: Attempt To Trap Young Grizzly in Yellowstone National Park Leads To Its Death

Jun 19th - 20:46pm | B.Grant

And another one - this is really sad - both for the bear and the wife of the man killed. Sounds like the bear was tranquilized for research, and the man was hiking by when it awoke. Thus its probable adrenaline rush.

Mule Packers from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Prove They're Among the Best in the Business

Jun 19th - 17:09pm | Jim Burnett

Sarah - Thanks for the additional background on the packers. They and others like them perform a valuable service in a number of parks, and it was nice to be able to give this group some well-deserved recognition.

Jun 19th - 13:31pm | Sarah Fiske

Mr Burnett, Thank you for the article. That is my son in the picture. A little story for you. 11 years ago, DJ wrote a letter to Dick Marten, who was the superintendent at the time, to see if their Park could compete in Mule Days. The first year they had to use Yosemite mules and horses. That was quite a deal when it came to the pack scramble, not knowing your mules.

Sea Turtle Hatchlings Set Free At Padre Island National Seashore Despite Tar Balls

Jun 19th - 14:12pm | Traveler

Those turtles are so beautiful...

Jun 19th - 12:47pm | Andrew N. Guthrie

Dear Readers: I had submitted a plan to the White House by mail two weeks ago that would help at least mitigate the loss of Kemp's ridleys due to the Gulf oil spill. My idea: have BP hire 20 or 30 idle shrimp boats and crews in Louisians; staff them with college students 2 or 3 to a boat, especially students studying marine biology; put children's wading pools with clean water on each boat.

Your Own Eastern National Park Road Trip

Jun 19th - 13:30pm | Danny Bernstein

Hi: One day in the Smokies? Yikes. Spend a week in the park and you've only touched the surface. And please... Smoky (the park) doesn't have an "e". Smokey with an "e" is from Smokey the Bear which was a western U.S. Forest Service icon. Thank you!

Jun 18th - 14:17pm | Anonymous

Better plan way ahead on making reservations at Mt. Pisgah. We were there one august day when the fog was so thick as to barely be able to see past the car's hood only to be told those Asheville folks come up in any weather = nothing available.

Creature Feature: To Save the Mission Blue Butterfly, You Have to Save the Lupine

Jun 19th - 11:03am | Wade

I have been birdwatching in a field of late located in Aptos California, I have sighted the MMB here daily. Sadly it's a site that will be bulldozed and converted into retail space. Im trying to get a picture of them but they are highly elusive little buggers.

Let's Stay Safe In the National Parks This Summer, Okay?

Jun 19th - 10:33am | Bogator

Let us not forget the danger of blindly following your GPS. Two recent stories highlight this danger: /2008/06/gps-unit-leads-couple-trouble-near-glen-canyon-national-recreation-area and /2009/08/heat-claims-youngster-stranded-five-days-remote-corner-death-valley-national-park.

Midnight Mission Plucks Climber off Mount McKinley in Denali National Park and Preserve

Jun 19th - 08:20am | the Bat

@ Lamadriver: A climbing bond might be a real good idea to help defray costs, but if you want to complain about all the useless and wasteful things the US taxpayer pays for, like bridges to nowhere and wars started for bogus reasons, I should think that a Denali rescue wouldn't even make your list.

Jun 18th - 17:56pm | Lamadriver

Once again the US Taxpayer is being saddled with the cost to rescue forigin nationals on McKinley. How many more times is this going to happen and what costs are being incurred before the US requires forigin nationals to put up a climbing bond that covers rescue costs. You can't climb in Europe without a guide and a climbing bond for rescue.

First Piping Plovers, Now Sea Turtles Descend on Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jun 19th - 08:09am | Anonymous

OMG!!!! What is your problem?!?! Please if you care that much about these so called "Endangered Species" then take them the heck away!!! Let us enjoy the beach while we still can!!! URG!!!!!!!!!!!

Creature Feature: A Lightning Whelk Knows What to Do With a Clam

Jun 18th - 14:50pm | azborn

very cool guys...thanks.

Jun 18th - 14:19pm | Bob Janiskee

Interesting stuff, Dick. Thanks for sharing.

Jun 18th - 14:06pm | Dick Gutierrez

Something alot of people might not know about the whelk is that is was extensively used by early Native Americans for food and also for tool and ornament making .The shell middens here in Florida are littered with the shells-usually with a small hole knocked in the side so the Indians could "break " the seal and extract the animal for dinner.Many beautiful shell pendents where made from the cen

Can U.S., Mexico Forge International Park Along Texas Border?

Jun 18th - 14:35pm | Dick Gutierrez

I think it would be a great idea-- I would certainly visit it. The Waterton- Glacier park is wonderful-- my family and I visited it two years ago and really enjoyed it. Shows the concept can work.

Jun 18th - 13:26pm | Dave Hensleigh

My experience with groups in Copper Canyon is that it is perfectly safe. Other guides and locals concur. Perhaps more tourist activity willl forge some bonds and bring much needed revenue into the country. The murder rate in South Africa is 3 times that of Mexico- I think they are having some little event there now...

Jun 17th - 09:29am | Kath

A national wildlife refuge at the Arizona-Mexico border is already closed to US Citizens because it's too dangerous due to illegal drug and human smuggling. Until border parks are safe to visit there's no point establishing another one.

Jun 16th - 18:31pm | Rick B.

And don't forget widespread paranoia about the 'Brown Menace', currently widespread in Arizona. I think it's a great idea.

Jun 16th - 16:08pm | Dick

Not a good idea. Just another avenue for illegal activities.

Jun 16th - 11:42am | Kirby Adams

A beautiful idea, as the Chihuahuan Desert is a treasure worth protecting, not to mention worth worth exposing to more people that may appreciate it.

Survey Says National Park Service Is Far from the Best Government Agency to Work For

Jun 18th - 11:42am | haunted hiker

Check out this excerpt from the most recent issue of PJ Ryan's hilarious and often brilliant Thunderbear... which he labels THE OLDEST ALTERNATIVE NEWSLETTER IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT http://www.workingnet.com/thunderbear/284.html...

Jun 17th - 21:57pm | NPS Anonymous

Nepotism is at work like never before. It literally cripples operations and the ability of those that value education, are highly skilled and have tireless work ethics from being able to do their jobs. Management, what management? Leadership, is there such a thing here? Independent flotillas drifting aimlessly along, lost.

Mark Your Calendars: Acadia National Park's Night Skies To Be Celebrated in September

Jun 18th - 09:28am | Kurt Repanshek

Sept 17-21 was last year's festival dates, Anonymous. If you look closely at the poster on the park website you'll spot the "2009."

Jun 18th - 09:21am | Anonymous

Need some clarification--the NPS website lists the festival dates as From September 17 to 21, the festival website says Sept 9-12. Sure would hate to get there a week late!!

A Section of the Appalachian Trail Designed for Wheelchair Access Opens in Vermont

Jun 18th - 09:26am | Anonymous

Merryland should try spending two days in a wheelchair. Just try getting in an out of the grocery store and over curbs in the local community. I spent the first 12 years of my life in one and now I am back in one unable to walk five feet due to weakness in my legs.

Too Many Deer Has Valley Forge National Historical Park Officials Turning To Sharpshooters

Jun 18th - 00:14am | Learn more

Sharpshooting is dangerous especially so close to populated residential areas. There is also doubt as to whether the Park Service's plan is really warranted. Find out more at http://keepvalleyforgesafe.org. Learn more about it!

Off the Blue Ridge Parkway and into Shenandoah National Park

Jun 17th - 21:48pm | David Scott

You will be pleased to know that buckwheat pancakes are back on the menu at both Skyland and Big Meadows. We talked with general manager Nick Smith at Big Meadows Lodge and told him there appeared to be a groundswell of public demand for buckwheat pancakes.

National Park Mystery Photo 18 Revealed: The Wright Brothers Memorial

Jun 17th - 19:09pm | Tom

The Wright Memorial has a wonderful National Park Service visitor center with many more historical photographs and history of the Wright brothers. In addition, the Memorial overlooks Wright-Patterson AFB and the Huffman Prairie where the Wrights perfected controlled flight in the years after Kitty Hawk.

Yellowstone Poacher Loses Hunting Privileges for Life

Jun 17th - 17:41pm | Anonymous

Ya'll would be surprised to hear that he didn't actually serve 5 years. That is what he was sentenced, but not what he ultimately served. So, all the kudos to the law enforcement is unwarranted. Saying that he deserved more than he got is more true that what you think.

Brucellosis Solution: Kill All Elk and Bison in Yellowstone National Park

Jun 17th - 16:43pm | Bob Janiskee

Kyle, Yellowstone wolves began killing bison about two years after their reintroduction and have since killed quite a few. In fact, some wolves have become specialists in the task of killing bison during winter when they are most vulnerable. They do not just kill injured bison.

Jun 17th - 15:22pm | kyle

The bison are not prey of the wolf the only bison the wolves eat are the ones that winter kill or are already severly injured i would love to see a pack of wolves take on a herd of healthy bison and actually kill one.

Jun 17th - 15:11pm | kyle

yeah you are right those cattle are grazing on fedral lands but those cattle are what are keeping your costs at your local grocery store down not only that fedral lands are set up for ranchers because in the 30s those were the lands that were not good enough to make a living on. and the government is not supposed to own land anyway.

Jun 17th - 15:05pm | Anonymous

well i guess i figure if it can be transmitted to humans then it must be safe to say it can be transmitted to cattle. not only that yellowstone national park was only supposed to have 350-450 bison on it and now there is over 3000 there, so why not get rid of the ones that test postive and have a clean healthy bunch that dont have to starve to death because of over population.

List of Top 10 Endangered Rivers Includes Two That Flow Through The National Park System

Jun 17th - 11:44am | Anonymous

I live near Callicoon New York.I have been here my whole life.When i cross the bridge i look at the water level and it is not as high as it should be.This water that drains from the farmland is cleaner than it has ever been do to fencing creek lines and collecting barn yard wastes.There are no completed gas wells in Wayne County and no hydraulic fracturing has been done.There is one being drill

The Last Night in Shenandoah National Park

Jun 17th - 09:22am | amwdew

We LOVE Big Meadows Lodge! What a wonderful remnant of the legacy of the New Deal on our National Parks landscape. We've traveled there many times with our children (now 11 and 13) who love that two-adjoining-rooms setup upstairs in those rooms with the eaves and wood paneling and weird little outside door to the fire escape.

Rooms At Yavapai Lodge in Grand Canyon National Park Get Makeover

Jun 17th - 09:19am | Alley Keosheyan

Thanks for posting, especially the photo. The upgrades look great!

Bogus Lawsuit Info Involving Environmental Cases Delights the Gullible

Jun 17th - 08:12am | Lee Dalton

Two comments -- this article needs to have WIDE circulation in as many national publications as possible. And as for my Congressional representative, Rob Bishop -- I'm tempted to say many unprintable things about that clown. But I guess I'll follow my mommy's advice: "If you can't anything nice . . . . . " So now there will be 35 minutes of profound silence.

Still No Resolution In Hunt For Missing Man in Yellowstone National Park

Jun 17th - 07:22am | Anonymous

Yellowstone Park is massive, daunting and also scary with grizzly bears active within the confines of the park. You can drive out 50-75 miles and see nothing but pristine wilderness and it gets cold at night too. A very remote area with no human creature comforts and to be lost in such a rugged part of the country is scary.

Creature Feature: Burmese Pythons Prowl the Everglades, and That’s Not a Good Thing

Jun 17th - 04:26am | Anonymous

Anyone who has ever been in contact with Burmese Pythons knows that there are gentle giants, and much less likely to injure humans than most dogs are; everything else is media frenzy.

Vandalism Leads to Closure of Ramp at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jun 16th - 18:59pm | Ron Saunders

Wheat & Dap Once again I fear you are wasting a good debate. Its the old situation of two people arguing. One sticks to the facts and the other says what ever he feels, and believes if he says it enough that it will become fact. Usually, no one prevails. Here is what I think are the points that matter:

National Park Mystery Spot 12: It Desperately Needs More Paint

Jun 16th - 13:07pm | Bob Janiskee

Somebody at Indiana University's Eppley Institute has hit the nail on the head. Whoever you are, well done. The mystery spot is Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark (aka Kennecott Mines or just plain Kennecott), in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Partial credit to Anon #2, who identified the park, but not the specific site.

Jun 16th - 11:40am | Anonymous

Wrangell-St. Elias???

ReserveAmerica Can't Find a National Park Campground It Likes

Jun 16th - 12:47pm | Anonymous

FYI most of the time these "Top ###" lists are purely pay-for-play, or at least "you tell us if you want to be on the list". The listings are not necessarily based upon objective criteria. I'm a marketing professional, and this is a common practice in the industry.

Jun 16th - 12:09pm | y_p_w

Pinnacles Campground was a privately owned location that was previously outside of the boundaries of Pinnacles NM. It's essentially a KOA style family campground with full hookups and amenities like a swimming pool. While the NPS absorbed it, it's not a typical federal campground that has no hookups.

Photo Collage of Florida's Coastal Seabirds Reminds Us of What's At Stake With Deepwater Horizon

Jun 16th - 12:17pm | Scott G - Pensacola

thanks. I don't see an arrow - it's just white space. Our office server may be blocking the video for whatever reason...so I'll check it from the house. thanks again!

Mountains-to-Sea Trail Weaves Through North Carolina's National Parks

Jun 16th - 10:45am | Joe Veler

Great article, Danny!

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