national parks
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Park Service hacks down some trees in Pa.
This is sorta effed. The National Park Service is cutting down hundreds of acres of trees on the Gettysburg Battlefield to restore historical accuracy. From NBC News in Pennsylvania: The National Park Service is starting another phase of its efforts to return Gettysburg Battlefield to how it looked in 1863, during the Civil War. The […]
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What global warming could do to national parks
The National Parks Conservation Association released a new report last week, “Unnatural Disaster” (PDF), which explores the impact of global warming on national parks, and as you’d expect, the news is pretty grim. From the intro: The gradual, accelerated warming of our planet will have disastrous consequences for America’s national parks. Glaciers in the national […]
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Vader, Cheney, same same
The brilliant series of pieces on Dick (Vader) Cheney continues with the latest installment about destroying salmon runs for partisan purposes, making the western U.S. look like a pincushion punctured with drilling rigs, and unleashing the hounds of hell (snowmobiles) throughout Yosemite.
Dick Cheney -- truly an execrable almost-human being.
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Oil in the Grand Canyon
A Russian company called Dosko pushing to drill for oil in the Grand Canyon? Find out the details.
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Umbra on whether to visit national parks
Dear Umbra, We are considering a driving vacation this summer with the intent of visiting as many of America’s wonderful national parks as we can — both to enjoy them and to add some money to their coffers, which have been depleted in recent years. But as we all know, burning up lots of gasoline […]
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An interview with risk-taking park ranger Jordan Fisher Smith, author of Nature Noir
If you had to guess which federal agents in the U.S. face the greater danger, who would you put your money on: the officers who wage the endless War on Drugs, or the rangers who patrol the green acres of the national parks? Well, it's the rangers. According to a 2001 study by the Bureau of Justice, nature's security guards are twice as likely to be assaulted on the job as agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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10 reasons national parks need help
The National Parks Conservation Association has launched a new campaign called "Faded Glory: Top Ten Reasons to Reinvest in America's National Park Heritage." Reading the top ten list is eye-opening, if somewhat depressing: Funding shortfalls are hurting education efforts, historical preservation, the war on invasive species and poaching, routine maintenance, the list goes on. Give it a look and then follow their directions to take action.
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Friday in the Park With George
Bush Calls For More National Parks Funding; Critics Remain Skeptical Speaking at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Friday, President Bush asked Congress to commit billions more dollars to the national park system, a move his supporters saw as evidence of his environmental commitment and critics called a pointless PR op. The president […]
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Back to the Yellowstone Age
The Bush administration has asked the United Nations to remove Yellowstone National Park from a list of endangered World Heritage sites. “Yellowstone is no longer in danger,” wrote the Interior Department’s Paul Hoffman in a letter to the World Heritage Committee. There’s just one snag: The park staff disagree with Hoffman, saying Yellowstone still faces […]