#US national park service

[awanderingcanadian]

The Start of the Road Trip

Thursday we headed out for a 28 day road trip. When you live on an island, off of another island, getting to the mainland is always the first big step. Thursday was our first night of 4 nights ‘off the grid’, although in the spirit of full disclosure, we spent it in a casino parking lot just north of Seattle. We enjoyed a restaurant meal, stocked up on some fruits and vegetables, and even had a little retail therapy…so much for roughing it!

The next two nights were spent in Hip Camps: the first just outside of Spokane, Washington, the second outside of Bozeman, Montana. Both were great in different ways, and both had small challenges. Unfortunately, I only took a photo at the first one. It was a farm, and our site was deeply rutted, but we made it work. The young man who owned the property gifted us a dozen fresh eggs! The second one was beautiful: cement pads for the trailer, a flush toilet, a solar shower, and two of the spaces even had electrical hook ups. Unfortunately, it was RIGHT off of both I-90 and the long distance rail lines, so if you were a light sleeper, this wouldn’t be the place for you.

Our last day ‘off the grid’ was at Madison campground, just inside of the West gate entrance to Yellowstone National Park. After a big mix up, where somehow they’re reservation system put both our site, and our friend’s site, (who were arriving 2 days later), under our friend’s name, (although I had booked all of them and had a printed confirmation in our name), we were permitted to stay. Our site was super tight: we had to position our trailer between two trees for our slide, but overall, it was a beautiful location.

[shutterandsentence]

Autumn rainbows in South Dakota.

Photo: Badlands National Park, South Dakota

[caldrive]

The (very affecting) Soul Consoling Tower (I-Rei Tō) at Manzanar "Relocation Center" cemetery, Manzanar, California (October 2023). I keep coming back to Manzanar — decades ago when I started looking for the camp it was harder to find, but now it's part of the NPS system — and wonder if we'll ever have the courage to officially call it (and its sibling camps) what it was, a concentration camp. I'm always struck by the contrast between the (harsh) beauty of the natural setting (so familiar to me) and the ugliness of what was done here.

[humming-fly]

This 4th of July I’m stealing the patriotism euphoria that’s usually associated with assholes idolizing the worst attributes of this country because fuck ‘em I live here too and remembering the things this country actually got Right is an important exercise when trying to rally anyone to want to defend it in November SO putting my money where my mouth is I’ll start easy and say I really like National Parks!! It’s rad how many of them there are and how they’re actual set up to preserve some of the most beautiful wild areas in our country while still letting people visit to enjoy and experience nature!! (Less important but I love how they put national parks on the quarters I think that’s real fun)

Feel free to add on if something speaks to ya!

[mapsontheweb]

Administrative regions of the National Park Service.

[reasonsforhope]

"When President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Tuesday establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, it marked the fulfillment of a promise Till’s relatives made after his death 68 years ago.

The Black teenager from Chicago, whose abduction, torture and killing in Mississippi in 1955 helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, is now an American story, not just a civil rights story, said Till’s cousin the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr.

“It has been quite a journey for me from the darkness to the light,” Parker said during a proclamation signing ceremony at the White House attended by dozens, including other family members, members of Congress and civil rights leaders.

“Back then in the darkness, I could never imagine the moment like this, standing in the light of wisdom, grace and deliverance,” he said.

With the stroke of Biden’s pen, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, located across three sites in two states, became federally-protected places. Before signing the proclamation, the president said he marvels at the courage of the Till family to “find faith and purpose in pain.”

“Today, on what would have been Emmett’s 82nd birthday, we add another chapter in the story of remembrance and healing,” Biden said...

On Tuesday, reaction poured in from other elected officials and from the civil rights organizing community. The Rev. Al Sharpton said the Till national monument designation tells him “that out of pain comes power.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies said the monument “places the life and legacy of Emmett Till among our nation’s most treasured memorials.”

“Black history is American history,” he said in a written statement...

Till-Mobley demanded that Emmett’s mutilated remains be taken back to Chicago for a public, open casket funeral that was attended by tens of thousands of people. Graphic images taken of Emmett’s remains, sanctioned by his mother, were published by Jet magazine and fueled the Civil Rights Movement...

Altogether, the Till national monument will include 5.7 acres (2.3 hectares) of land and two historic buildings. The Mississippi sites are Graball Landing, the spot where Emmett’s body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River just outside of Glendora, Mississippi, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Emmett’s killers were tried...

The Illinois site is Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Emmett’s funeral was held in September 1955...

Mississippi state Sen. David Jordan, 90, was a freshman at Mississippi Valley State College in 1955 when he attended part of the trial of the two men charged with killing Emmett. As a state senator for the past 30 years, Jordan, who is Black, spearheaded fundraising for a statue of Emmett Till that was dedicated last year in Greenwood, Mississippi, a few miles from where the teenager was abducted.

On Tuesday, Jordan praised Biden for creating the Till national monument.

“It’s one of the greatest honors that a president could pay to a person, 14, who lost his life in Mississippi that’s created a movement that changed America,” Jordan told the AP."

-via AP, July 25, 2023

[bizlybebo]

insanely random post but im attacking you all with what it kind of looks like to have astygmatism (image on the right) made by me cause i love complaining

[trifoliate-undergrowth]

I went to a thrift store after work in my NPS uniform and a little old lady asked me if I worked there. At the thrift store. The National Parks Service manages your local Savers

[ravenzer]

National Park Service valentines from instagram

Description in alt text

[rabbitcruiser]

The United States National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916.

National Park Service Founders Day    

The National Park Service was created when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act on August 25, 1916. The anniversary of its creation is known as National Park Service Founders Day, or simply as Founders Day, and is celebrated by all national parks. They offer free admission and host special programs, both in-person and virtual. The celebration happens to take place during National Parks Month.

According to the Organic Act, "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations" and their "purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This is not too far removed from the National Park Service's current mission statement: "The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world." The National Park Service is a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is led by a director who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The first national park was Yellowstone National Park. It was established on March 1, 1872, with the Yellowstone Act, "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Yellowstone was administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, as were other early parks and some monuments, while other monuments and historical areas were administered by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. When the National Park Service was created on today's date in 1916, it managed 35 parks and monuments. With an executive order in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt brought 56 national monuments and military sites administered by the War Department and the Forest Service into the National Park Service. This move brought areas of historical, scenic, and scientific importance together. For a new park to be created, there must be an act of Congress. But, on account of the Antiquities Act of 1906, the president can proclaim national monuments on lands under federal jurisdiction.

By the 2020s, there were over 420 national park sites, or units, in the National Park System, covering over 85 million acres of land, located in every state, in the District of Columbia, and in a number of US territories. Collectively they are referred to as parks, although there are many naming designations, such as National Battlefields, National Military Parks, and National Historic Sites. There are also "related areas"—these are not managed by the National Park Service, but "are linked in importance and purpose to places managed directly by the National Park Service by preserving important segments of the nation's natural and cultural heritage." Examples are National Heritage Areas, Affiliated Areas, and trails in the National Trails System. The National Park Service employs about 20,000 people, and has almost 300,000 volunteers! With such an expanse of land in its jurisdiction and so many people involved in the land's preservation, it's apparent that the National Park Service's original goal of conservation for future generations is still being met, and this is celebrated today with National Park Service Founders Day!

How to Observe National Park Service Founders Day

There are numerous ways you could celebrate the day:

Visit a national park or other location managed by the National Park System. Remember, there is free admission today! If you can't visit in person, you could do so virtually.

Get the NPS app.

Check out the National Park Service's "Games and Challenges."

Read a book about the national parks.

Watch National Parks: America's Best Idea and read its companion book.

Learn about the past directors of the National Park Service.

Volunteer or work for the National Park Service.

Follow the National Park Service's social media accounts.

Source

[awanderingcanadian]

The Demise of America's National Parks

I wanted to write this while I was away, but it would have been full of emotion. Of course, I can't guarantee it still won't be, lol.

When I first started dating my now husband, he took me to Yosemite National Park for a couple of nights of camping. Full disclosure: at the time I thought, "really? I live in a beautiful place surrounded by mountains: what's going to be so special and different about this place?", but because we were dating, of course I humoured him. Reality: Yosemite is spectacular! Amazing! Incredible! But it's one of many national parks that is looking tired, and a bit tawdry at times.

America!!! These parks are legacy pieces. They are treasures. They are a gift to all of your people. However, from what we saw in two of them, (Olympic and Yosemite National Parks), they are almost on their knees as the cheapo third party contractors who now run them are making their money and letting things fall into disrepair. If you are a wealthy person, you can stay at the Awahnee Hotel, (which is being updated and maintained), but if you're an average Joe, (as we are), the campgrounds are falling apart. Here are our experiences:

We booked into Sol Duc Hot Springs and "Resort". We couldn't find the campsite that we paid $63.00USD/night, (so almost $100CDN/night) for, but we kept driving by what was obviously an overflow area for those poor people who couldn't get reservations. We finally stopped at the hot springs to ask where it was, and lo and behold, the place we thought was for overflow, was our "resort".

Our picnic table was falling apart, (we never used it). One early evening went to the hot springs, (you pay extra for them), and watched 3 life guards sitting side by side in plastic chairs, just shouting at people. There are 3 different pools, (a regular pool, and two hot springs at different temperatures), yet not once did these life guards get out of their chairs. They yelled so loudly that everyone was silenced and the "offender" whose crime was sitting on a bench of a fountain that was in the hot springs pool, (and honest mistake), that the poor woman was shamed in front of every single person there. It was horrible.

Moving on to Oregon, we were delighted at the state parks there: super organized, clean, and well maintained. We will definitely be back!

This was Nehalem Bay State Park, and while the Rogue River one by Grants Pass was beside the I-5 and loud, the sites themselves were beautiful!

Onward to Yosemite. Here's my history with this park: my future husband first took me there in 1991 when we were dating, and let's just say it had me at hello! I was so enamored that I returned twice a year until 2003 when we moved back to Canada, (once for a week of outdoor education as a school coordinator, and once for a long weekend in November with friends). We had been back twice in the last 20 years, and I was psyched to get back this year. We were unable to get a camping reservation in the Valley, despite getting up and being online right when the reservations opened for our stay, so we were in Wawona campground. I didn't care: I was excited! It was my birthday when we were there, so we were going to go to the historic Wawona Hotel for my birthday dinner! What could be better? Well...at first glance the Wawona Hotel is still amazing, but the stairs, and outdoor wrap around porch was filthy. I have no idea when it was last swept and washed, but it certainly wasn't done daily, as we went one night to make our reservation, (which they then lost), and then again the next night for the dinner, and the same stains were on the decks. I will say, that after losing our reservation, (which we went and made in person), I was fairly unhappy. They eventually comped us each a glass of wine, but the server made sure to mention that as it needed to be included in our tip amount. The meal itself though was delicious!

The last 3 photos above are of our "campsite". The site itself was blocked off by placed boulders, so you couldn't back your trailer in. Instead you had to park on the road, (in our case we had to drive in the wrong way or our door would open up into traffic). The dumpsters you see was the view from my bedroom window, and the 3, (yes 3), chemical toilets were also in our "site", (you can see the bed of our truck behind the trailer). While the site, (had we actually been able to access it), would have been amazing, (as it was on the river), it was this instead: people dropping off their garbage and using the toilets at all hours. When we asked for different site, (I said that I hadn't driven 1500 miles to camp on the side of a road with a portapotty), we were told that this was a "coveted site" and nothing else was available. Apparently the portable toilets were there because in the spring the regular flushing facilities didn't work, and because they were so expensive to rent, (tens of thousands of dollars), they decided to keep them for the season. Wow.

Yosemite is still spectacular for its views, but I don't feel the same joy at returning again. I do think the American people need to push hard for the money to restore these amazing places. While we were there, the US crashed an F-35 military jet, worth ..."For the air frame and mission equipment only, the Lot 15-17 cost of F-35s ranges “from $70.2 million to $69.9 million for the F-35A, $80.9 million to $78.3 million for the F-35B, and $90 to $89.3 million for the F-35C,” a Lockheed spokesperson said", yet no one freaked out. If you can absorb that cost, then put $70 million, (the low end cost of said jet), towards your national parks, and watch the transformation! I guarantee no one will say you lost a war because you were down a jet. Promise.

And Oregon State Parks: keep up the great work!

[shutterandsentence]

"The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made."

--Psalm 145:9

Photo: Estes Park, Colorado

[gallimaufryish]

[paulpingminho]

[haylanmakesstuff]

Haylan Makes Adventure

I know this space is called Haylan Makes Stuff, but Stuff isn’t the only thing you can make; I’ve also made plenty of adventures and memories. I work as a seasonal park ranger, and go to as many sites as I can. Where available, I do two things; buy a sew-on patch, and complete the Junior Ranger program where it’s available. When you do, you get a free wood/plastic badge or patch, and that’s the only way you can get those items. 

To show off my badges and patches of both kinds, I sew them onto flags every January. Junior Ranger programs usually consist of a workbook to complete, sometimes an activity or ranger talk. 

When I work as a park ranger one of my favorite things to do is Junior Ranger for kids, and I’ve been lucky enough to create a full program for one Forest. I have a few of my earnings on a Junior Ranger vest, which is fun to wear during activities with the kids. 

Anyone can do Junior Ranger, no matter your age. On duty, my oldest Junior Ranger was 88, and the youngest was 11 months old. Some places have different books/badges available, like Senior Ranger for adults, or Junior Angler, Night Sky, etc. Screw Pokemon, I gotta collect all these. 

The hardest program goes to Bandelier; it took two adults to do it and we still struggled! Did you know about Junior Ranger? Do you have a favorite? Do you collect anything while you travel?

[agentgrange]

I have reason to believe, based on a rabbit hole I went down last night, that there is an ongoing war happening between the National Parks Service and the US Park Police. I take no joy in reporting that the National Parks Service isn't immune from ACAB, with the Park Police being undisciplined dickhead cowboys with unchecked authority in the greater DC Metro area. Even the local county police hate them to the point of leaking evidence the Park Police have withheld from the public and bringing manslaughter charges against Park Police officers following the killing of Binam Ghaisar. Charges that were only stopped by FBI intervention and a proceeding cover up. The legacy of which haunts the organization and colors everything that has happened in the last few months.

There seems to have been what I can only describe as a soft coup by appointing Jessica Taylor as park police chief. The park police union has been eroding the legitimacy of the National Parks Service (otherwise a very progressive liberal institution in comparison to basically every other US government agency) for decades now and I think the wider agency is trying to reign them in even if that means bringing in a rival ex Secret Service hatchet-woman turned EPA auditor. Its worth noting that the Secret Service have a long history of resentment towards the Park Police due to overlapping jurisdictions within Washington DC and their general lack of discipline with their rivalry often breaking out into outright hostility including the assault and detention of a black Secret Service agent. Being a former Secret Service agent, Taylor would be well aware of the Park Police's reputation before her appointment.

Her appointment was rushed through by Park Service’s associate director of visitor and resource protection Jennifer Flynn, seemingly against the wishes of the police union who expected the Park Service to rubber stamp their candidate like previous appointments.

To which I say-- Lol. Lmao even. The Park Police are clearly used to appointing their own oversight and have an incredibly disproportionate amount of power within the NPS that is increasingly at odds with the rest of the agency. All this in mind, it really reads like Flynn brought Taylor in as a deliberate outsider in the hopes of bringing more oversight to the organization that won't immediate fold to the union or engage with their over-up plans every time the Park Police murder someone.

Jennifer Flynn, for her part, doesn't come from the Park Police but instead spent her whole career as a Park Ranger working in various capacities. Maybe its just me but when you see her you think "oh yeah that's definitely what I would expect a park ranger to look like" unlike the hotdog necks at the USPP. While only the associate director, she's been working quietly and smartly to find ways to reign in the park police including amending their jurisdiction over "felony investigations of property crimes, and crimes against society such as serious drug related offenses" under the guise of staffing cuts. To be clear, she unilaterally made the decision that the Park Police may no longer investigate or arrest citizens for non-violent offenses. Again, I can't help but see this as a direct response from sympathetic members of the agency to the Park Police's killing of Bijan Ghaisar to gradually remove the Park Police's authority to carry out law enforcement except when absolutely necessary.

Its an interesting situation to be sure, and while I don't count these two ladies as any sort of socialist heroes on "our side" (they're federal enforcement officers at the end of the day) I'm willing to lend them critical support in their attempts to quietly defang the Park Police. Maybe its wishful thinking but I like to imagine based on everything I've read that there is some sort of concentrated deliberate effort being done here that's successfully circumvented politics by *actually wielding authority to drive positive change* even if they know the limits of their authority necessitates that they do it quietly. USPP clearly thinks of themselves as police officers first and members of the National Parks Service second, and are clearly at odds with the rest of their organization's values. I hope this continues until we see the Park Police be restructured into glorified mall cops with no institutional influence while the bulk of their role is taken over by more responsible organizations within the NPS like the National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers and other special agents that prioritize the safety of the public over brutalizing people over property enforcement & petty crimes.

Why am I posting this here???... Because so much of my writing has to do with the National Parks Service and the Department of the Interior. Here I am with potentially a genuine case of inter-agency intrigue while conducting completely unrelated research. You can't blame me for wanting to dig into this more and see where it goes. Consider this a story, food for thought, when thinking about these organizations.