Acadia National Park:
Eco-resort proposed near Acadia
A developer's interest in developing an eco-resort near Acadia National Park has park stewards concerned.
By Mainebiz news staff
http://www.mainebiz.biz/daily_stories.html?id=663From livestock ears to Acadia National Park ...or a brief history of bringing home the bacon
David B. Offer
Back in the 16th Century, farmers made cuts or marks in the ears of sheep or cattle to show ownership. They had no idea that the practice -- called earmarking -- would become a political term five centuries later.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/4864850.htmlRedlands astronomer studies light pollution in national parks
(Note: this article applies to many of our NPs)
Press Enterprise.com
Tyler Nordgren is eight parks and eight months into his paid vacation, sort of. The University of Redlands physics and astronomy professor has big plans for his yearlong sabbatical, with an endgame plan of hitting 12 national parks in 12 months.
http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE_Fea_Daily_D_nordgrenprofile.2ca2309.htmlBig Bend National Park:
Big Bend National Park: Great walks, ranger talks and more
Kansas City.com
About the park
Big Bend National Park comprises more than 800,000 acres in Far West Texas and is significant for, among other things, its combination of desert, mountain and river environments.
http://www.kansascity.com/270/story/550513.htmlPark seeks comments on walking trail
Alpine Avalanche.com
Special to the Avalanche
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK - The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a proposal to construct a walking trail to allow Big Bend National Park visitors to see the historic Dorgan and Sublett farm site, located near the Rio Grande between Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon. The proposal is contained in a Draft Environmental Assessment available for public review and comment.
http://www.alpineavalanche.com/articles/2008/03/20/news/news12.txtDeath Valley:
One-of-a-kind geologic formations dazzle in California desert
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
By Janet Fullwood
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK -- Hottest. Lowest. Driest. Those words describe Death Valley, but leaving it at that is like describing chocolate merely as brown. You have to taste this storied slice of the California desert to understand its calling. Taste it with your eyes, your skin, your ears, your mind.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/travel/s_559367.htmlWhere to go for wildflowers
OC Register
Rains mean a beautiful - but short - season.
By GARY A. WARNER
Q.Hi, Mr. Warner. I've seen several notices about the wildflowers being especially beautiful this year. I would like to go see them this weekend. Where is the best spot?
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/blooms-park-wildflowers-2006220-flowers-faunaGlacier National Park:
Chas Cartwright is new superintendent of Glacier National Park
missoulian.com
Chas Cartwright, a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of Glacier National Park in Montana, according to Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder.
Glacier National Park plowing underway
Montana's News Station
Crews have begun plowing Chief Mountain Road in the northeast corner of Glacier National Park. Next up, they'll plowing parts of Going to the Sun Road, starting on Tuesday.
Glacier National Park announces 2008 budget
Great Falls Tribune Online
WEST GLACIER (AP) — Glacier National Park officials say the park’s $25 million budget for 2008 includes an increase in base funding, which will allow for the hiring of more seasonal employees, but does not have as much money for special projects.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/NEWS01/80328016Grand Canyon National Park:
Grand Canyon, U.S. seeing more foreign tourists
Sign on San Diego.com
By Amanda Lee Myers
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. – When Steve Meissner of Berlin bought a 1956 butter yellow Cadillac online, he could have simply had it shipped from Arizona to Germany. Instead, he flew to the U.S. with a buddy, hopped in the Caddy and began a road trip that included the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks in Utah, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080329-1222-wst-grandcanyon-visitation.htmlLawsuit Seeks to Block Uranium Mining at Grand Canyon
Environment News Service
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, March 13, 2008 (ENS) - One of the great natural wonders of the world - the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River - is threatened by uranium exploration.Three conservation groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the approval of up to 39 new uranium drilling sites within a few miles of Grand Canyon National Park.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2008/2008-03-13-01.aspGrand Teton National Park:
Are Wolves The Pronghorn's Best Friend?
ScienceDaily — As western states debate removing the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act, a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society cautions that doing so may result in an unintended decline in another species: the pronghorn, a uniquely North American animal that resembles an African antelope.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303145300.htmCycling Camp in the Grand Tetons
All Jackson Hole.com
Geared toward road cyclists of all ability levels, the Jackson Hole Cycling Experience is scheduled from June 29 through July 3, 2008. With long flat loops and challenging hills (mountains too), Jackson Hole offers unsurpassed road riding opportunities. Campers will enjoy the spectacular scenery of Grand Teton National Park and the hospitality of a luxury resort—Spring Creek Ranch.
http://www.jacksonholenet.com/news/jackson_hole_news_article.php?ArticleNum=100913Elk herd prolific in latest census
Jackson Hole News and Guide
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Elk hunters can expect another liberal season targeting elk in the Fall Creek Herd, which Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials say remains above objective.
http://www.jhguide.com/article.php?art_id=2884Grand Teton mandates use of bear-proof food canisters
Montana's News Station.com
Associated Press
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - Backcountry campers at Grand Teton National Park will be required to use bear-proof food containers as part of an effort to reduce interaction between humans and bears.
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=7994583&nav=menu227_2Great Smoky National Park:
Beetle Battlefield
New pest could be added to anti-adelgid arsenal
Knox News.com
By Morgan Simmons
Just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, scientists are using giant, tree-hugging tents to test the latest biological controls against the hemlock woolly adelgid.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/mar/26/beetle-battlefield/The mother of all wildflower pilgrimages
Smoky Mountain News
By Don Hendershot
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 58th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage returns to its traditional five-day format this year with more than 150 programs crammed into five fantastic days from April 23 through 27.
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/03_08/03_26_08/out_naturalist.htmlWhile 2007’s record drought washes away, ET still feels effects of below-normal rainfall.
Knox News.com
By Marti Davis
After a decade of stingy rainfalls topped by a record drought in 2007, the Tennessee Valley has worked up a thirst that isn't being slaked by a few spring storms.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/mar/30/pour-more/Mount Rainier National Park:
Body of missing hiker found on Mount Rainier
The Seattle Times
A classically trained flute player and instructor apparently lost his way in the snow while hiking in Mount Rainier National Park but nearly made his way to safety before dying, apparently of exposure, authorities said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004290919_apwamissinghiker.htmlDebate on carrying guns plays out at Mount Rainier National Park
The News Tribune
by JEFFREY P. MAYOR
A debate on allowing firearms in national parks splits local residents like the icy fissures that crease the flanks of Mount Rainier. People such as Jim Williams and Jim McAfee, longtime National Rifle Association members, see it as a Second Amendment issue.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/292/story/319182.htmlOlympic National Park:
Olympic National Park gets ready to receive visitors
The News Tribune
Olympic National Park crews continue to make progress in clearing debris and repairing damage from last fall and winter’s storms.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/319282.htmlPark management plan finally finalized
The News Tribune
The final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for Olympic National Park was released last week.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/319283.htmlPinnacles National Monument:
Pinnacles National Monument celebrates 100th anniversary
The Monterey County Herald
Pinnacles National Monument will celebrate its 100th year with a centennial weekend March 28-30, 2008.
http://www.montereyherald.com/breaking/ci_8663042Pinnacles' centennial celebration continues this weekend
The Weekend Pinnacle Online
By Laurie Lemmerman-Castaneda
Stories are etched into the sides of the cragged peaks of Pinnacles National Monument.
http://www.pinnaclenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=239451Rocky Mountain National Park:
Group sues over Rocky Mountain National Park elk-culling plan
By The Associated Press
DENVER — An environmental group is suing the federal government because it says releasing wolves wasn’t seriously considered as a solution to reducing the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park.
http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080325/UPDATES01/80325025Snowmelt to raise Lake Powell by 50 feet, open shortcuts
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says the Rocky Mountain snowpack will raise half-empty Lake Powell by 50 feet, opening a crucial shortcut for boaters for the first time in five years.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0329lakepowell-ON.htmlSaguaro National Park:
You can't hide 'over the hill' anymore -Changes coming to Avra Valley, Picture Rocks
Tucson Citizen
RYN GARGULINSKI
The cactus-clad landscape of the Avra Valley and Picture Rocks communities, a scant 25 miles northwest of downtown Tucson, has long been a haven for peace, privacy and freedom from the restraints of city life.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/81106.phpShenandoah National Park:
Students Help With Park Cleanup
The Valley Banner
by Ted Hayes
SHENANDOAH — Thirty-seven students from the University of Minnesota, a part of the national group “Students Today, Leaders Forever,” made a stop in Shenandoah last week to help clean up litter.
http://www.dnronline.com/vb_details.php?AID=15827&CHID=44Yellowstone National Park:
Bison protesters arrested at Yellowstone National Park
Montana's News Station
by Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Two women protesting the slaughter of bison at Yellowstone National Park have been arrested after chaining themselves to a stairway inside a park visitor center.
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=8074989&nav=menu227_7Gray wolf: Still endangered?
CNN
By Dan Simon
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Montana (CNN) -- The gray wolf was officially removed from the Endangered Species Act's "threatened" list Friday after three decades -- a decision that has stoked controversy among environmentalists and ranchers.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/03/28/gray.wolves/Minor quake rattles northeastern Yellowstone
Sign on San Diego.com
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – A minor earthquake rattled remote northeastern Yellowstone National Park early Tuesday.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080325-0715-wst-yellowstonequake.htmlPrairie Home Companions
Once slaughtered close to extinction, the buffalo roam again across the fields of Yellowstone National Park. Now they have a ghost of a chance.
Washington Post.com
By William Booth
THE FLIGHT FROM LAX DROPPED INTO BOZEMAN, bucking and jerking the whole way, through a night sky whirling with snow. On the ground, the plows were shoveling deep furrows on the runway. It felt like landing on a pillow. The guy at the Hertz counter said, "It's really coming down," and recommended against the economy model.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/28/ST2008032800246.htmlYosemite National Park:
Court Halts Yosemite National Park Construction Plans
Environment News Service
PASEDENA, California, March 28, 2008 (ENS) - The National Park Service cannot proceed with more than $100 million in construction projects now on the drawing board for Yosemite National Park because the developments could illegally ruin the park's sensitive ecosystem, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2008/2008-03-28-091.aspMoving to cooler ground
Beloved fixtures of the Sierra may be forced up, or out, as the climate warms (Not Solely Yosemite NP specific)
By Mark Grossi / The Fresno Bee
The 2,000-year-old giant sequoias east of Fresno have survived warm spells lasting centuries, but in just 100 years, global warming could snuff them out -- along with many Sierra Nevada species.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/490412.htmlOutdoors: These rangers aren't ready to come in from the cold
SF Gate (Home of the San Francisco Chronicle)
The vision of living in high-country wilderness with no one else around for five months of winter may sound like a movie. Maybe even a mix of "Into the Wild," "The Shining" and "Jeremiah Johnson."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/29/SPVSVRKC1.DTLSnow is no deterrent to enjoying Yosemite National Park
Courier Mail.com - Fran Metcalf
THERE was nothing to do but head to the pub. The snow had started falling the night before, lightly at first but then in a deluge that just kept coming.
By first light, a thick, white blanket covered the ground and the branches of the towering ponderosa pines bowed under the fallen snow.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23408078-17102,00.html
