| Page 1368 | National Parks Traveler

"Science" has has been wrong more often than not and always evolving. remember the earth used to be flat? there is much to know that humans have far to go in figuring out. nobody really knows about the "real science" they spout off about. there is alot of disagreement about "global warming" and if it really is happening.

Aug 23rd - 11:02am | Kurt Repanshek

No word about the renaming effort heard here, but on the other issue, there is a difference between weather and climate. Plus, just because you have one good winter doesn't mean the long-term trend isn't pointing to a warming trend. Frankly, I'd venture that those who are concerned about climate change would be more than happy if the science were wrong.

Aug 23rd - 09:10am | Anonymous

Previous posters need a wake up call and not for Rush Limbaugh. Question, why is there talk about renaming the park because all the glaciers will be completely gone in 20 years???? Oh wait, 1 year we opened late yeah that's right no global warming - too funny...

Aug 23rd - 03:55am | Anonymous

man is so egotistical to think afer billions of years of the earth taking care of itself the humans can destroy it in a few 100 years. what t joke. solar flares are 90% of the ozone depletion and so called 'global warming'. [This comment was edited to remove unacceptable language.]

Black Bears Racking Up Property Damage In Yosemite National Park

Aug 23rd - 14:43pm | Anonymous

Please be responsible with your food and trash. It's not always convenient but bears lives and the safety of campers is not to be taken lightly.

On Politics, Bureaucracy, and "Glamping" In the National Park System

Aug 23rd - 13:42pm | Diane

Is anybody surprised that when we need a hands-on director, Mr. Jarvis' confirmation is going to be buried in an avalanche of paper? I'm ever amazed that Washington ever gets anything done.

Aug 23rd - 12:29pm | CivilWarBuff

As a Civil War re-enactor, I often get incredulous looks when I tell people that yes, we actually sleep in those tents, and yes, we actually cook on the fire. And no, they didn't have i-pods or cell phones during the Civil War, so we can't have them either (one of the true joys of re-enacting, if you ask me!).

Aug 23rd - 09:39am | Bat

Boy, that picture says it all! And what is that square thing on the tent directly to the left of the doorway? Is that an AC UNIT???? I went to the site mentioned above, and found that for a mere $200 a night I could get the complete experience in Joshua Tree, only 10 minutes from the National Park.

Aug 23rd - 09:05am | Anonymous

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn should be embarrassed along with every member of the state of Oklahoma. Holding our National Park System hostage while he plays politics. You give every good republican a bad name. Step aside and allow TRUE Americans to take over and resue our park system for future generations.

Updated: Hiker Killed In Fall at Glacier National Park

Aug 23rd - 11:40am | Anonymous

More likely a hiker than a climber.

How Far Should You Move a Nuisance Rattlesnake? At Great Basin, Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Aug 23rd - 09:04am | Bruce W. Bytnar

While working in one of the densest population areas of timber rattlers in the east, we were made aware of the study noted in the above message conducted in North Carolina. We started to relocate rattlers found in visitor use areas much shorter distances.

Aug 22nd - 11:39am | Bob Janiskee

I'm not sure what the issue is with Great Basin snakes, but I assume it's similar to problems with longer translocations of nuisance rattlers alluded to in a 2001 study Relocation of Nuisance Rattlesnakes: Problems Using Short-Distance

Surf Is Decidedly Up At Cape Hatteras National Seashore Thanks to Hurricane Bill

Aug 22nd - 23:09pm | ahrcanum

damage report? where on 12?

Aug 22nd - 00:10am | dapster

Sadly, this ol' "Gnarly Surfer Dude" is land-locked 250 miles from shore, but such is life... I will add this bit of GREAT news that precedes this storm:

"Bad Times" Aren't Always All Bad – These Two Ideas for "Improving the Parks" Fizzled

Aug 22nd - 20:29pm | robmutch

Steel also wanted to build an elevator from the Lodge to the lake shore and the NPS director at the time, Horace Albright, called Steel's, within-the-rim, road idea, "chimerical." No doubt, Steel was feeling his oats after having attained money from Congress for the first survey project of a rim road (in 1907) at Crater Lake and then money for construction of the first rim road.

Aug 22nd - 17:19pm | JimB

Jess - Thanks for the interesting comment. I'd definitely agree that a tramway using old city buses suspended from a cable qualifies as "low budget"!

Aug 22nd - 11:23am | jessstryker

Tramways aren't always successful, either. One was eventually built at Mt Hood, going from the town of Government Camp up to the famous Timberline Lodge. It was a low budget setup, and used old city buses suspended from a cable as tram cars (really!) It was also a failure, only lasting a couple of years.

Aug 22nd - 08:27am | tahoma

Thanks for the interesting piece, Jim. I'd never heard of the Crater Lake tunnel idea before. These administrative histories found on most unit's websites make fascinating reading. I would encourage anyone passionate about their parks to check them out.

Planners In "Wilderness Wal-Mart" Matter Oppose Development on Fringe of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park

Aug 22nd - 17:35pm | Bat

anon 3: Could it be that Walmart is "getting religion"? Or is it the pressure of public opinion? Fear of losing market share is a good motive for cleaning up their corporate act. Good move for locating on land no one else wants.

Aug 22nd - 07:33am | Anonymous 3

How many do we need? I'll tell you how many we need. We need to keep building them until they stop making money. It is simple if "people" and I am talking the whole population, not just the loud ones, don't want it then it will be built and fail. I know for a fact that walmart would not build in a spot that they expected would lose money. Did our soldiers fight for a walmart...

Aug 21st - 18:10pm | Anonymous

Dude how many Wal-marts and StripMalls dowe need? Your question is enough's enough well your right when's enough enough?

Aug 21st - 16:57pm | y_p_w

The cell tower issue was handled amicably between Alltel and the NPS. They eventually found a spot north of town attached to an existing water tower. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/04/12/news/20celltowe...

Aug 21st - 16:17pm | STILL hoping "NO"

I do not subscribe to the theory that "just because it's outside the park it's appropriate" I live in Black Hills, on a wooded lot. It's a large piece of property. This does not make it acceptable to build something, say, of this magnitude on the property next door. Even if I am outside the boundaries of the National Forest.

Aug 21st - 15:14pm | y_p_w

I remember that a similar drama was played out regarding something on a smaller scale. There was a proposal to build a cell phone tower in unincorporated Gardiner, Montana. That community just happens to border Yellowstone National Park with the Roosevelt Arch ("For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People") right next to the town.

Aug 21st - 14:56pm | Cajun

If you are so worried about this or any other lands, find a way to buy the land. If not someone will and use it the way THEY see fit, not the way you see fit. In this country land owners still have rights to the land they own. It's simple, buy it or shut up.

Aug 21st - 14:49pm | Bat

Anon one, I am not saying that landowners do not have the right to do what they want with their property. But this isn't just a simple land sale from an owner - Walmart has to petition for a special use permit from the Board of Supervisors.

Aug 21st - 14:07pm | Anonymous

Bat, if I may inform you, Orange County is pro-business and ultra right wing, and saving the environment is the least of there concerns. Trust me...it's living fact! It's always a parking lot first and parks last!

Aug 21st - 13:43pm | Anonymous

I am still not for or against this project, but I can tell you that your entire comment is based on forcing your assumptions onto a situation. Lets put your arguement to the sniff test... Of course development companies are involved with a development, "its likely.." that they will receive incentives to build, have any incentives been discussed offered or approved?

Aug 21st - 13:20pm | Bat

The Supervisors claim that it will bring much-needed business and jobs to Orange County, which is rural and economically depressed. It doesn't pass the sniff test - instead of relief it smells like greed. Walmart's two partners in this venture are development companies - who do you think will be collecting rents on the retail space?

Aug 21st - 13:17pm | Anonymous

O.k. I hear everyone's complaints, and I understand them. and I agree that the wal-mart location is likely to be inappropriate. Just to play the other side for a second from a different view. It's not all about money, it is all about a line on the map. If this land is part of the battlefield then why is it even available for development?

Aug 21st - 12:04pm | One Down, One T...

FANTASTIC - now hopefully the Board of Supervisors will see fit to agree with the planning commission's failure to approve the project & history will be preserved. Mega-lo Mart needs to learn that respect for our national heritage should ALWAYS come before corporate profiteering.

Rare Fossilized Sea Star Turns Up On Beach at Olympic National Park

Aug 22nd - 17:10pm | GlenW

Better researchers than "collectors" who will chisel it out and sell it.

Aug 22nd - 09:51am | Random Walker

“This is indeed fabulous and beautiful and so amazingly unusual.” ...Until, on the advice of the Burke Museum (what did they expect the Burke to say?) it was ripped from the rock where it has resided for the last 20 million years or so.

It Ain't Sexy: Charting The Next Two Decades At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Aug 22nd - 13:36pm | Kurt Repanshek

Diane, You sound like you write copy for the COC;-) Or, more likely, that you love and fully appreciate the islands for what they are and what they offer. The islands are definitely on my list...sounds like a great place for an extended paddle.

Aug 22nd - 13:10pm | Diane

Excellent mind-boggling post, Kurt. You've made the government-written draft easier to wade through.

What Priorities Should The Next National Park Service Director Address?

Aug 22nd - 07:53am | Jim O

I recently joined the National Park Service as a Temporary - working on a special project. I am a retired, senior (70 years old) in extremely good health, have high energy, well educated, held responsible postions in the Industrial World (VP, General Manager of a couple of Global Companies).

Upon Further Review: "Where's the Spare?"

Aug 21st - 20:26pm | Bruce

Good story, well told. I haven't gotten to your Hey Ranger! books yet, but this story bumps them up the reading priority list!

Aug 21st - 15:56pm | JimB

Thanks, Owen - I'm glad to say one of my co-workers handled the tire changing caper...but he never mentioned a thank you note.

Aug 21st - 15:29pm | pkrnger

Thank you Jim for sharing one of many of your true experiences as a national park ranger. Did you ever get a note of appreciation in the mail? Owen Hoffman Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Boat Explodes in Marina at Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Aug 21st - 18:46pm | Wondering.....

By any chance........was this boat ALSO operated by a fireman as was the one at Glen Canyon? Sounds like the fireman here in town whose house was destroyed by fire last winter - because he was using an unapproved heater!!!

Reader Participation Day: So, How Was Your Most Recent National Park Visit?

Aug 21st - 10:41am | y_p_w

Speaking of bathrooms, how many of the men posting here have seen the new "waterless" urinals at NPS sites? So far I've seen them at Muir Woods NM where they had them at the parking lot restrooms a few years ago and recently remodeled their gift shop/snack bar/office complex restrooms. They've also installed them at Point Reyes.

Aug 20th - 18:59pm | Island Paddler

We spent a week tent camping on Death Valley's back roads in March. It was truly spectacular. I found the more well-known sites had too many people to suit me, but the backcountry was five star. We did go to Scotty's Castle, and I thought the ranger who led the tour through was knowledgable.

Final Public Hearings Set on Proposed Wal-Mart Super Center Next to Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park

Aug 20th - 22:01pm | Bat

Governor Kaine recently sent a letter to the Orange County Supervisors urging them to find an "appropriate alternative site" instead of placing it so close to the battlefield. This letter was something the Supervisors were not expecting. I attach a link to an article which describes this in detail, if anyone's interested:

Aug 20th - 15:38pm | d-2

It never has to be a choice of "development" vs "no development." all the tools exist for any local or state government to manage their landscape so that the special character that makes them distinctive is not sacrificed as development proceeds.

Aug 20th - 14:39pm | Anonymous

I understand the need for development, but all too often the opening of a new shopping center only leads to the closing of stores elsewhere. This leaves us with less green space and more empty storefronts.

Young Kayaker Rescued in Glacier National Park, But Not Before A Nap in a Hollow Log

Aug 20th - 21:31pm | kahunna

And he was smart, too. I'm sure the log was able to keep in his body heat to help warm him up. But isn't it a general rule to stay awake if you are suffering from hypothermia?

Top 10 Most Visited National Parks

Aug 20th - 18:42pm | BillH

Rio Grand Wild and Scenic River seems very low, considering that there are rafting companies that operate adjacent to Big Bend National Park. I know that the River levels are low, but I have spoken to several people who had rafted or were going to be rafting on it in 2009.

National Park Geologic Sites Draw Raves and Rants

Aug 20th - 16:39pm | xnpranger

Niagra, Mammoth Cave, LB Tar Pits! You gotta be kidding me! Who's list is this anyway? It completely omits the monocline of the Waterpocket Fold of Capitol Reef National Park, the coastal geology of Olympic, the arches of Arches, the evidence of the immense power of glaciers at Yosemite, and many others. While Mount St.

Search for Human-Habituated Grizzlies in Glacier National Park Ends With Two Dead Bears

Aug 20th - 16:01pm | d-2

In Alaska, I thought the black bears were harder to handle than the brown/grizzly bears. Black bears seemed unrelenting. Perhaps it was because those black bears had been scavingers longer, I don't know. Unfortunately, as brown/grizzly population increases, and as more humans move near or into bear country, bears do become more habituated to people, and that is deeply worrisome.

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