"Our National Parks in Peril?"

[halftime]

Link below is is to an interesting article in September issue of "National Geographic".


http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/n...re2/index.html

The following paragraph cptured my attention:

Campaigning for the presidency in 2000, George W. Bush pledged that, if elected, he would wipe out the huge 4.9-billion-dollar backlog in deferred maintenance of the national parks' crumbling infrastructure. Given the fallout from 9/11, among other things, it was not to be. This year, in its budget request for fiscal 2007, the White House proposed cutting the Park Service's budget by 5 percent, or a hundred million dollars. Most of those missing dollars would come off the top of the service's construction and major maintenance funds, prompting the New York Times to suggest in a lead editorial that such deliberate cuts "could create the necessary cover for opening the parks to more commercial activity."

[Sly]

No surprise here.... Welcome to Halliburton/Yellowstone Natural Gas & Mineral National Park. Internet Bison, Bear and Elk hunting coming soon...

[Rain Man]

... prompting the New York Times to suggest in a lead editorial that such deliberate cuts "could create the necessary cover for opening the parks to more commercial activity."

Hmmmmm ... makes me think of No Child Left Behind, designed to provide necessary cover for butchering public education to switch funds to religious schools.

RainMan

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[bfitz]

Well since engineering and management are what's necessary to keep the backcountry somewhat preserved, well managed, money generating commercial ventures may be a boon by generating cash to pay for it.

[fiddlehead]

No surprise here.... Welcome to Halliburton/Yellowstone Natural Gas & Mineral National Park. Internet Bison, Bear and Elk hunting coming soon...

With all the profits (of course) going to their Bahamas home office.
yeah, this shouldn't surprise anyone. Just another way for the present regime to show how to lose all the credibility America has built up.
One thing i've been told over and over: you may have some screwed up politics in your country but you sure have nice national parks. (well these clowns will show you how to screw that up too)

[halftime]

[quote=halftime;258951]Link below is is to an interesting article in September issue of "National Geographic".


http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/n...re2/index.html


Additional Links pertaining to the feature article: Both are videos interviews with the journalists. Once linked click launch video to view each of 5 parts.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/n...e2/video1.html

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/n...e2/video2.html

Interestingly the photo illustration in the Michael Melford interview (video 2)is if of Clingman's Dome area of SMNP. This photo can also be viewed in the photo gallery page along with others. This particular photo illustrates the devestation of the forest area by insect infestation. I have not been there to see this but many of you may be familiar with this situation.

[Sly]

Well since engineering and management are what's necessary to keep the backcountry somewhat preserved, well managed, money generating commercial ventures may be a boon by generating cash to pay for it.

Squawk, Polly wanna cracker!

[hopefulhiker]

I have seen the serious demise of whole areas of eco systems, especially at the salt marshes of the barrier islands of NC. I agree with the author of this article that Enjoyment of our National Parks does not equal the preservation of the Parks. The Smokey Mountains have become one of the most polluted areas in the country now. The old time Park Rangers blame the Secretary of the Interior and the current administration for outsourcing the park maintenance to the lowest bidder, cutting the budget in the face of huge maintenance demands, and opening the parks up to destructive types of recreation. The only reason the old time park rangers are hanging on, he says, is the hope that the coming elections will bring a change of leadership at the federal level.

[Rain Man]

... The Smokey Mountains have become one of the most polluted areas in the country now. The old time Park Rangers blame the Secretary of the Interior and the current administration for outsourcing the park maintenance to the lowest bidder, cutting the budget in the face of huge maintenance demands, and opening the parks up to destructive types of recreation. ...

Hopeful, I agree with what you said, except that I think most of the pollution and damage in the GSMNP comes from outside the park in the form of air pollution, acid rain, smog, etc. The problem can't be solved in the park alone.

The Kyoto Treaty would have (does for other civilized nations) addressed some of those insidious trans-border types of pollution in a meaningful manner. But alas, Thank You, Mr. Bush.

RainMan

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[BlackCloud]

So I guess the next Democrat in the White House will sign the Kyoto Treaty (Clinton refused b/c he read it - have you?), up NPS funding to full levels, and will rekove all timber, oil and gas mining permits on public lands, just like every other Democratic President of the 20th Century has.

You people act as if the NPS was doing just fine before 1994 when the god aweful Republicans took the Congress and then the White House. The maintenance backlog has been materially reduced, albeit at the Interpretation Division's expense.

So go ahead, blast me away......

[vipahman]

You are right to a large extent BlackCloud. Neither Democrats nor Republicans give 2 hoots for the NPS. Clinton passed a lot of the NPS specific laws on his last day in office. But the Bush presidency just seems extraordinarily incompetent.

How I wish I could resurrect Teddy Roosevelt!

[BlackCloud]

How I wish I could resurrect Teddy Roosevelt!

What are you kidding? The U.S. media and their European lapdogs would tear him apart as an eccentric madman hellbent on unilaterally exerting his ego on the world.

I'd vote for him. His tricking Congress into designating millions of acres of forest land was classic...................

[Hammerhead]

Hmmmmm ... makes me think of No Child Left Behind, designed to provide necessary cover for butchering public education to switch funds to religious schools.

RainMan

.

Exactly! And my wife, who is a school teacher, agrees with you too.

[Sly]

Hmmmmm ... makes me think of No Child Left Behind, designed to provide necessary cover for butchering public education to switch funds to religious schools.

RainMan

.

You'll never guess who sells AV preparation equipment for standardized testing. Give up?


Neil Bush! I wonder where he got the answers!

[Jack Tarlin]

It was obvious that this was going to become yet another Republican-bashing thread, but I seem to remember hiking thru Great Smoky Mountain National Park every year but one between 1995 and 2003 (i.e. either during the Clinton-Gore years, or immediately after them, when their previous budgets/appropriations for NPS were still being spent) and you know what? It didn't look like NPS spent thirty cents on facilities in GSMNP during that time period, and in several cases, places deteriorated; forget about being improved.

Trimming the NPS and Dept. of the Interior budget is obviously bad for our National Parks, but this is not exactly a recent thing; nor does it only happen during Republican administrations.

[halftime]

It was obvious that this was going to become yet another Republican-bashing thread, but I seem to remember hiking thru Great Smoky Mountain National Park every year but one between 1995 and 2003 (i.e. either during the Clinton-Gore years, or immediately after them, when their previous budgets/appropriations for NPS were still being spent) and you know what? It didn't look like NPS spent thirty cents on facilities in GSMNP during that time period, and in several cases, places deteriorated; forget about being improved.

Trimming the NPS and Dept. of the Interior budget is obviously bad for our National Parks, but this is not exactly a recent thing; nor does it only happen during Republican administrations.

Point well made. However, do recall that a Republican Congress had much control over budgets during those Clinton years.

That said: I do aggree whole heartedly that party bashing solves nothing. We should hold all our political leaders accountable for the future of our National Parks and Public Wetlands irregardless of their party affiliation or political philosophy.

The National Geographic article in the original post does raise a big question regardless of one's political views. If the NPS bubget continues to shrink (possibly by as much as 5% in 07 as the article indicates) and services continue to get cut, the door will certianly be open for comercial (for profit) activities. The question then becomes: what will that do for us?

[Rain Man]

Point well made. However, do recall that a Republican Congress had much control over budgets during those Clinton years. ..?

It does seem that Republican apologists do have a problem with those nasty little FACTS, doesn't it? I say if the hiking boot fits, then wear it.

I wonder what party was in charge when the National Trails Act was passed, protecting and funding the AT?

Since the title of this thread is "Our National Parks in Peril," why should we be forced to wring our hands, rather than addressing the problem-- "conservatives"?

On a positive note... I see that Representative Charles Taylor (of the North Shore Road fame) is way behind in his re-election bid!

RainMan

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[Newb]

It does seem that Republican apologists do have a problem with those nasty little FACTS, doesn't it? I say if the hiking boot fits, then wear it.

.

I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. (<---- Republican Apologist)

[hopefulhiker]

I heard where there is a dispute between the state of North Carolina and the Tennesse Valley Authorithy( a federal program) about the air pollution that is affecting the GSNP. I think that the state of NC is bringing legal action against the TVA...

[BlackCloud]

I'll say it again. The NPS was not in a good condition when the Republicans took the Congress in 1994. Nixon, of all people, was integral in the passage of several key environmental laws. All politicians will pay attention to the issues WE MAKE THEM pay attention to. Look @ the immigration issue.

Concession laws seriously limit for-profit activities in National Parks. For example, Shenandoah NP blocked the PATC several years ago from raising its rental rates for cabins within the park. Concession laws only allow rates to be increased by small increments, while PATC weas trying to address a decade of backloged maintenance costs and rate hikes all at once.

P.S. Beleive me, the PATC rate increases were not astronomical. Cabin rental rates for PATC cabins may be the best value for lodging in any National Park.