Monday, July 31, 2006
ARE OUR PARKS FOR SALE ?
Budget Shortfalls Reign
.
.. What will the National Park Service do in the face of a diminished money supply? The topic is not new. The question remains. How can the parks operate with a $800,000,000.00 shortfall?
<- Fran The Civilian
nps photo
.. With the resignation of Fran, and Dirk in place; what's the outlook? Sean Smith (who knows about these things,) has a note in The Oregonian and presents some of his thoughts.
.. The NPS has already sold advertising. They have already increased fees. They have cut staff. What's next?
.. The continued exclusivity policies of the National Park Service are, in part, responsible for the current budget crunch. By raising fees, encouraging guided tours, and cutting staff, the NPS is allowing only the wealthy to visit the parks.
.. The wealthy don't make good friends of the parks. They don't need services - they bring them with them. They don't need interpretation - they buy it. They don't blink at raised fees - it keeps the riff-raff out. They encourage buildings rather than services. Buildings are visable, can have a plaque on them and last for the donor's lifetime. Let the NPS maintain them.
.. The trend will continue, and commercialization will continue. Just how objective can guides and interpreters be when they are hired by concessionairs? There will be more. Just wait and see.
.
.. What will the National Park Service do in the face of a diminished money supply? The topic is not new. The question remains. How can the parks operate with a $800,000,000.00 shortfall?
<- Fran The Civilian
nps photo
.. With the resignation of Fran, and Dirk in place; what's the outlook? Sean Smith (who knows about these things,) has a note in The Oregonian and presents some of his thoughts.
.. The NPS has already sold advertising. They have already increased fees. They have cut staff. What's next?
.. The continued exclusivity policies of the National Park Service are, in part, responsible for the current budget crunch. By raising fees, encouraging guided tours, and cutting staff, the NPS is allowing only the wealthy to visit the parks.
.. The wealthy don't make good friends of the parks. They don't need services - they bring them with them. They don't need interpretation - they buy it. They don't blink at raised fees - it keeps the riff-raff out. They encourage buildings rather than services. Buildings are visable, can have a plaque on them and last for the donor's lifetime. Let the NPS maintain them.
.. The trend will continue, and commercialization will continue. Just how objective can guides and interpreters be when they are hired by concessionairs? There will be more. Just wait and see.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
YELLOWSTONE ON FIRE
.. again
.. As Usual
.. NOT TO WORRY
.. WATER STILL RUNS DOWNHILL
<- nps photo
.. Once again people in the news business, the blog business, the tourism industry, the postcard industry, the photography industry, and the environmental movement are pretending that a fire in Yellowstone National Park is news worthy and note worthy.
.. It may be note worthy - but just barely. It is no more unusual than pine trees growing. How many blogs about pine tree growth in Yellowstone are there? How many headlines are generated because water is running downhill in Yellowstone?
<- Water Running Downhill
.. The Magpie Fire is generating print as if this was the end of the world. It's not. Fires are one of the last bits of wilderness left in Yellowstone. They are to be cherished as the creators that they are.
.. They build a vegetative mosaic that is healthy and necessary for the diversity that Yellowstone is known for. They poke holes in the "Lodgepole Desert," that dominates the park. They let in light for grasses and bushes and flowers. They provide for a rejuvenated ecosystem. They don't sell postcards.
<- nps photo
.. Fires should be celebrated rather than decried in print. The administrators of Yellowstone National Park have fallen prey to the panic mentality too. They issue daily press releases as if the little fire was news. Imagine the following as a press release: "Water still flowing downhill in Yellowstone Rivers." That should make the wire services!
.. There is a fine map of the location of the Magpie Fire, HERE, if you are interested. Yellowstone has produced a Wildland Fire Document. And, References & Links for those people interested.
.. When fires occur in Yellowstone, people want to talk about 1988. If you are one of those folks, there is a giant body of information about that regeneration event HERE.
.. With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth; we are reminded of a guest editorial on a related topic in New West. The editorial pointed out how neo-environmentalists unthinkingly embrace science for some things and not others. The quote that sticks in our mind is: "Their angst is a mix of neo-Luddism, Marxism, and ascetic environmentalism."
.. These are the same folks that hate snowmobiles and love diesel tour busses. These are the same folks that believe the National Park Service should concentrate on the exclusion of people rather than the inclusion of people. These are the same people who don't understand the difference between a wilderness area, a national park, and a national forest - and the function of each in our society. These people want to visit a postcard. They also want to own the postcard.
.. Fire is important to The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It rejuvenates and cleanses the system. It needs a social equivalent in the National Park Service & the Emotive Environmentalist movement.
_____________________
OTHER FIRE RESOURCES
-
.. FAA no fly zone for Magpie Fire
.. Northern Rockies Fire Coordinating Group
.. MODIS Large Incidents Map
.. MODIS Web Mapping (find your fire)
.. National Fire News
.. NASA Earth Observatory
.. The world is always on fire,
MODIS Rapid Response System
.. Forest Fire Screen Saver
_____________________
.. As Usual
.. NOT TO WORRY
.. WATER STILL RUNS DOWNHILL
<- nps photo
.. Once again people in the news business, the blog business, the tourism industry, the postcard industry, the photography industry, and the environmental movement are pretending that a fire in Yellowstone National Park is news worthy and note worthy.
.. It may be note worthy - but just barely. It is no more unusual than pine trees growing. How many blogs about pine tree growth in Yellowstone are there? How many headlines are generated because water is running downhill in Yellowstone?
<- Water Running Downhill
.. The Magpie Fire is generating print as if this was the end of the world. It's not. Fires are one of the last bits of wilderness left in Yellowstone. They are to be cherished as the creators that they are.
.. They build a vegetative mosaic that is healthy and necessary for the diversity that Yellowstone is known for. They poke holes in the "Lodgepole Desert," that dominates the park. They let in light for grasses and bushes and flowers. They provide for a rejuvenated ecosystem. They don't sell postcards.
<- nps photo
.. Fires should be celebrated rather than decried in print. The administrators of Yellowstone National Park have fallen prey to the panic mentality too. They issue daily press releases as if the little fire was news. Imagine the following as a press release: "Water still flowing downhill in Yellowstone Rivers." That should make the wire services!
.. There is a fine map of the location of the Magpie Fire, HERE, if you are interested. Yellowstone has produced a Wildland Fire Document. And, References & Links for those people interested.
.. When fires occur in Yellowstone, people want to talk about 1988. If you are one of those folks, there is a giant body of information about that regeneration event HERE.
.. With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth; we are reminded of a guest editorial on a related topic in New West. The editorial pointed out how neo-environmentalists unthinkingly embrace science for some things and not others. The quote that sticks in our mind is: "Their angst is a mix of neo-Luddism, Marxism, and ascetic environmentalism."
.. These are the same folks that hate snowmobiles and love diesel tour busses. These are the same folks that believe the National Park Service should concentrate on the exclusion of people rather than the inclusion of people. These are the same people who don't understand the difference between a wilderness area, a national park, and a national forest - and the function of each in our society. These people want to visit a postcard. They also want to own the postcard.
.. Fire is important to The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It rejuvenates and cleanses the system. It needs a social equivalent in the National Park Service & the Emotive Environmentalist movement.
_____________________
OTHER FIRE RESOURCES
-
.. FAA no fly zone for Magpie Fire
.. Northern Rockies Fire Coordinating Group
.. MODIS Large Incidents Map
.. MODIS Web Mapping (find your fire)
.. National Fire News
.. NASA Earth Observatory
.. The world is always on fire,
MODIS Rapid Response System
.. Forest Fire Screen Saver
_____________________
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
YELLOWSTONE THREATENED BY GLOBAL WARMING
Can This Be True?
WHAT'S A POOR PARK TO DO?
.. A note in the Jackson Hole News & Guide suggests that global warming will affect America's first National Park in devastating ways. The governmental response to this, and the population response, as well, will be something that our grandchildren will know by rote.
.. Then, again, it might not be such a bad thing; after all video games are impacting the parks almost as badly as 30' motor homes and non-English-speaking concessionaire employees. Statistical analysis suggests that per capita park attendance is down, and that interest in national parks is waning.
.. Even so, the parks will all burn down and make way for alpine meadows and steppes similar to those in central Asia. Global warming will contribute to more fires, larger fires, longer burning fires, and an increase in viewscapes from roads. This will allow the visitors that are left to see more of the park from their giant motor home and use their towed SUV less. Obviously a conservation trend in the making.
.. At least the elk and bison that are eating the park down to the dirt will have some more fodder. Then, the hunters who use Yellowstone as an incubator for semi-domesticated elk, and genetically selected docile bison will have easier targets.
.. Maybe the Yellowstone Park Foundation, ConnocoPhillips, and the NPS can step in and build a hermetically sealed dome to protect the park. Funding would be a snap. Maintainance would be the problem; what - with diminishing budgets and all.
.. The good news is that the international community still sees Yellowstone as a news worthy and valuable place.
WHAT'S A POOR PARK TO DO?
.. A note in the Jackson Hole News & Guide suggests that global warming will affect America's first National Park in devastating ways. The governmental response to this, and the population response, as well, will be something that our grandchildren will know by rote.
.. Then, again, it might not be such a bad thing; after all video games are impacting the parks almost as badly as 30' motor homes and non-English-speaking concessionaire employees. Statistical analysis suggests that per capita park attendance is down, and that interest in national parks is waning.
.. Even so, the parks will all burn down and make way for alpine meadows and steppes similar to those in central Asia. Global warming will contribute to more fires, larger fires, longer burning fires, and an increase in viewscapes from roads. This will allow the visitors that are left to see more of the park from their giant motor home and use their towed SUV less. Obviously a conservation trend in the making.
.. At least the elk and bison that are eating the park down to the dirt will have some more fodder. Then, the hunters who use Yellowstone as an incubator for semi-domesticated elk, and genetically selected docile bison will have easier targets.
.. Maybe the Yellowstone Park Foundation, ConnocoPhillips, and the NPS can step in and build a hermetically sealed dome to protect the park. Funding would be a snap. Maintainance would be the problem; what - with diminishing budgets and all.
.. The good news is that the international community still sees Yellowstone as a news worthy and valuable place.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Mammoth Terraces Are Growing
The Mystery Is Solved
.. Want to know how the magnificant terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs are formed?
.. Read about it HERE.
.. Want to know how the magnificant terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs are formed?
.. Read about it HERE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)