The Parks are ruined

[Jason Kefover]

Hey Don Hutton..."naive"?

They are called taxes moron. We spend quite a bit of them in Iraq. The problem is humans don't know what is really important and what is not. So we spend lots of money on the wrong things and not enough on the right things.

Besides, if there were not all the infrastructures in the parks and access were limited...what would they cost? I guess there might be some trail maintenance..that will not cost too much.

Jason Kefover

[Saulius]

From the NPS web page:
"...to promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1.

I have to agree in part with Jason. Some of the parks seem to have roads with huge parking lots to allow easy acess to some of the most wonderful vistas in these parks. Going to some of these awe inspiring vistas with mobs of people contstantly coming and going does take away from the experience. In trying to accomodate people the NPS has in part failed part of it's mission which is to to leave the parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. I personally wish they didn't have so many permanent structures, like luxurious sleeping facilities, the multitudes of visitor centers cramed with goodies for the tourists etc. Luckily they havn't built a tram down into the Grand Canyon...yet.

That being said as others have pointed out you can still get that "wilderness" experience with some forthought and sometimes luck. If you are willing to forget car camping for instance at Glacier NP in Montana and grab your backpack and hit some of the 700 miles of trails you will quickly leave the throngs of people behind. Two summers ago I did a day long hike which I saw plenty of people well into the day but as evening approached I had it all to myself, along with another photographer I happened across as well as a much too close encounter with a grizzly. On my first ever visit to Yosemiti some 12 yrs ago I was lucky to find a campspot. It was Thanksgiving weekend and it was just mobbed with people. However come Monday morning it seemed 99% of them had left and the valley had a whole different atmosphere that we all look for.

I agree that one solution could be to limit access. As pointed out some parks have already done this to certain areas but there is no easy solution. With funding being cut and the human population ever growing this is an issue that will not go away. Things could be better but all considered we are lucky to have them as they are.

[Dan Fromm]

Hi, Paul.

Thanks for the sage advice re gators. I treat them with great respect.

An 18-incher at the Cleveland Aquarium bit me lightly many, many years ago, and that was enough for me. Short version, I was finding out for myself whether holding a gator upside down and stroking its belly puts it to sleep. That myth doesn't work. Little bugger went limp but as soon as I relaxed my grip it nailed me.

[Paul_5410]

Hey Dan, that was real dedication there to your scientific research but I thought we agreed to end the sacrificial part!!!

[John Cook]

Jason,

Amen!

Even though I have not lived in the West in 35 years, I suspect you are experiencing what I observe here in New England.

The other day I ran across the old dictionary I used in high school during the 1950's. It states that the population of the USA is 140 million. So we have more than doubled in size since I graduated.

Last week CNN did a piece on increased traffic since 1980. Their figures show that the number of vehicles is up by almost 50%, the number of miles driven by each vehicle up by nearly 90% and road capacity up by only 5%.

In my youth, only half the families in my suburban neighborhood had cars. Almost all either walked or rode the bus to work. Normal mileage was 5000 or fewer per year. Women didn’t drive at all. Who would watch the kids while they were gone? Hubby was at work at the factory. Actually manufacturing something!

In spite of all the negative talk about the horrible Bush economy by liberal media, my observation here in the Rust Belt is that people now have more money, more credit, more vacation time, and take more trips than ever before in my nearly seven decades on this planet. It must be even crazier in the Sunbelt where things are “better”.

The lawns of “poor” people are cluttered with boat trailers, ATV's and snow mobiles. Motor-home dealerships are booming. Once quiet country roads are choked with convoys of SUV’s out for a drive in the country. And the local airport is jammed with long lines of people, children and pets embarking on frivolous excursions, at the drop of a hat, to some far away theme park.

So it’s no surprise that many of our newly-acquired affluent fellow citizens are trampling the national wilderness areas to death.

What ever happened to simply sitting in the back yard, drinking iced tea and listening to the ballgame on the portable radio while watching the kids run through the sprinkler?

No wonder I prefer living in the past.

Are we there yet?

[Paul_5410]

To John Cook, Thanks, now I know why I no longer enjoy driving!!!

[tim atherton]

"What ever happened to simply sitting in the back yard, drinking iced tea
and listening to the ballgame on the portable radio while watching the
kids run through the sprinkler?"

You might want to move north John... we had friends travelling through and did exactly this with my 14mth old and 4 year old running through the sprinkler (although we were listening to cricket via the internet and the ice teas eventually turned into G&T's...)

[Glenn Thoreson]

John Cook, welcome to my world. That's why, in my retirement years, I chose this remote little town in Wyoming. They still drive cattle down Main Street when moving to different pastures. After 8:00 P.M., it's hard to find a car on the streets. The simple life, the way things were. It suits me just fine.

[John Cook]

Glenn, it would be extremely poor form to inquire where you are.

So, being a gentleman, I won't.

Places like yours should definitely not be published under any circumstances. My family originated in backwoods Penobscot, Maine. Now polluted with condo's owned by what the natives call "strap-hangers" from NYC.

But don't be surprised if I show up in town one day...

[Paul Butzi]

I believe that there is an organization called the Nature Conservancy.
http://nature.org/

that does just that. It buys up land for the exclusive purpose of saving it for the future. No one can use it for anything after that.



There was a time when that was what the Nature Conservancy did. Back in those days, I gave them money. These days, alas, it's no longer the case.

I'd urge anyone considering giving money to The Nature Conservancy to first check out this story thoroughly: www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A9888-2003May3&notFound=true

Perhaps they've reformed. I don't know - I don't give charities a second chance. Once they screw up, they're off my list permanently. It's not as if there's a shortage of worthwhile charities, as far as I'm concerned.