What's this about the National Parks centennial?

The National Park Service has wasted some money, and sometimes they are bull headed about policies that end up hurting the environment, but I don't think you could ever say they overpaid their people. Seems to me they underpay for the education level of the rangers, for instance. Where they have wasted money is on the usual things that government wastes money on ... I seem to remember a $40,000 pit toilet enclosure somewhere, but I'd have to research that one to really post it as a proof that they have enough money right now. I'll bet there was some requirement that they use only local materials or something that caused the cost to balloon.

I would like to see some sanity brought into the management of Yosemite, for instance, with all cars banned from the valley floor in favor of the bus system, and have it converted to electric or other clean burning fuel (the last time I was there, in the early 1990s, there was smog in the valley and the busses were spewing out clouds of thick, black smoke ... I swore I would never go back, as the land around there, which is privately held by the Edison Company, is still pristine.)

 

It's an unfunded mandate.

There is a list of stuff that they're supposed to do (like renovate a building on Ellis island) and build light rail systems in places like the Grand Canyon and have been given no budget to accomplish the tasks on the list.

 

Funny seeing this post after just returning from a trip which included a visit to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon on Thursday. Everything looked in great shape, I saw plenty of rangers, road work was happening, and the visitor center was undergoing a major redesign and overhaul.

But for Crater Lake itself . . . still beautiful – and BLUE!!!
[attachmentid=4643]
I even managed to see a good sized landslide/rockfall into the lake! (white dust cloud in the middle of picture)

I too worry about the “condition†the parks will be in in the future.
My concern for the National Parks is they will become too commercialized . . .

Welcome to Yosemite . . . sponsored by the new 2012 Chevrolet Dominator SUV. Be sure to visit the Aquafina/Yosemite Falls, the Hilton/Awahnee Hotel and relax at any one of the twenty-five Starbucks cafes conveniently located within view of each other so you will never lose your way.

At one point some morons even proposed a theme park, complete with roller coasters, to be built within Yosemite Valley! :blink:

My greatest hope for the National Parks is they remain true to their original purpose and not become another victim of the “Land of Many Uses†concept. To that end, my wish for Yosemite is the O'Shaughnessy Dam is torn down and the Hetch Hetchy valley returned to its natural state. Shame on San Francisco for perpetuating this large scale environmental rape of a National Park for monetary reasons. As long as the Sierra Club bases itself in San Francisco, I refuse to donate to those environmental hypocrites. Apparently they love the San Francisco environment more than Yosemite.
http://www.hetchhetchy.org/

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Aug 26 2006, 10:45 PM) [snapback]310033[/snapback]</div>

So it has been a while since you have been to Yosemite . . . things have changed.

http://www.dieselforum.org/technology-spot...te-bus-release/

The new diesel/hybrid buses are a vast improvement, but they still don't make the summer crowds disappear. That is why I like winter in Yosemite best . . . besides, it's prettier with snow.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 27 2006, 02:28 AM) [snapback]310057[/snapback]</div>

Have you been back since they got them in April of 2005? Are they still allowing cars into the valley?

I really think there should be bus service from somewhere outside the valley, or a cap on the total number allowed in, as the linked article states that daily numbers range from 17,000 to 23,000. That's way too many people tramping all over everything!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Aug 27 2006, 08:06 PM) [snapback]310346[/snapback]</div>

How about "hybrids only" allowed to drive in the park?

I've always wanted to go to Yosemite and stay at the Lodge there. Especially now that they've renovated it. I've only seen pictures.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 27 2006, 09:21 PM) [snapback]310412[/snapback]</div>

I really think they need to limit the number of people in there, and a good way to do it would be to have a light rail or hybrid bus system that brings people to the valley floor. Making it a bit more inconvenient, while still meeting all the accessibility laws for the handicapped, etc., would go a long way toward preserving it. That would eliminate the people who drive from one place in the valley to another, and I suspect about 1/3 of the people would simply not go if they couldn't drive their cars in.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Aug 27 2006, 11:49 PM) [snapback]310430[/snapback]</div>

Don't you have to drive in or through to get to some of the camp grounds? I seem to remember us driving into and camping in the park when I was a child.

Limiting vehicles to hybrid only would limit vehicles and visitors. If you don't drive a hybrid, you have to park outside and take your proposed bus or light rail. Of course, they do have to have something in place. I don't remember if Yosemite was mentioned for the proposed light rail but I know the Grand Canyon was.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Aug 27 2006, 06:06 PM) [snapback]310346[/snapback]</div>

Yes, I have been on the hybrid/diesel buses. They are a vast improvement! The drivers I spoke with say they like them better too.
http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/edu_k-...mite/index.html

The Park Service does limit the number of cars allowed into Yosemite at any one time, but only when the valley floor (the problem area) reaches such capacity that mobility problems are created. If this happens, it is most likely a Summer holiday or Summer weekend. I have never been to Yosemite where I was not able to reach the valley floor due to hoards of people. Weather and road conditions (washout, landslides, snow ) tend to be what has kept me out, or in . Being so close, I tend to make it to Yosemite once or twice a year, but NEVER EVER on a Summer weekend! My favorites: . . Winter and early Spring for the valley, and Fall for the back country.

If I were King of Yosemite AND being realistic . . . I would not lower the limit on number of cars allowed in Yosemite Valley any more than the Park Service does, BUT . . . I would severely limit the miles one is allowed to drive while in the valley.
- If you are an overnighter: Enough to get to your lodging and back out of the valley.
- If you are a daytripper: Enough to get to the Day Visitor Parking Area and back out of the valley.
- If you have an electric or high mileage hybrid car, no limit on mileage. [Nah, just kidding. Park it too! ]
If you leave the park with more than the allowed mileage, you are charged a severe penalty per extra mile.

If I were King of Yosemite and being unrealistic . . . A Disney style monorail to shuttle people in and out and around the valley. The problems with a light rail system would be snow removal, noise, accidents (with animals, people, other vehicles, rock slides, floods, etc) and a larger footprint on the land compared to monorail.

I have seen too many cases where people forgo the very convenient and free shuttle bus service and use their cars to get everywhere. The worst tend to be the campers who use their cars to make trips for groceries, or daytrippers who think it more convenient to drive everywhere and spend much of their time hunting for parking space. Park it and enjyoy the freedom.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 27 2006, 10:48 PM) [snapback]310448[/snapback]</div>

Well, I might buy the idea if it was expanded to "zero emissions" vehicles rather than just our cars. I'd go so far as to say that any fuel burning car should not be allowed, and only electric vehicles.

The Grand Canyon is another candidate for light rail, but the air quality there isn't so bad ... it blows away rather than being trapped in a valley.

 

It looks as if this is in preliminary stages and funding has not yet been established. It evident to me that this is p.r. rather than a meaningful gesture. Bush hasn't done much to fund or protect our environs throughout his reign. The long duration of this goal, the fact that Bush appointed a former timber lobbyist to a key position in the forest service and the fact that he included the sale (privatization) of our national forests in his 2007 budget are more telling.

I also believe the initial statement that finger pointing between parties is rampant is justified. My governor is a democrat and has cut funding for our natural areas drastically.