Posted
Thursday - March 30, 2000
New
Rules Limit Grand Canyon Tourist Flights
Babbitt
Unveils New Yosemite Plans
Government
Drops Plan to Burn Nuke Waste Near Parks
GOP
Group Supports Land Protection
Supreme
Court Upholds Rock Climbing Limits
Parks
Service Sets Jet Ski Limits
Yellowstone National Park At
Risk
Lodges At Grand Canyon Are Environmentally
Conscious
Clinton Eyes Sequoia Protection
INDEX
OF PAST ISSUES
New
Rules Limit Grand Canyon Tourist Flights
(Reuters)
President Clinton on Tuesday announced limits on tourist
flights over Grand Canyon National Park in an effort to
make the area quieter for other visitors.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000328/pl/clinton_canyon_1.html
Tuesday,
March 28, 2000
Babbitt
Unveils Yosemite Plans
(Associated
Press) Nearly 95 percent of Yosemite National Park,
more than 704,000 acres, is wilderness. Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt wants more.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000328/pl/yosemite_plan_2.html
Tuesday,
March 28, 2000
Government
Drops Plan To Burn Nuke Waste Near Parks
(Associated
Press) The U.S. government has dropped plans to build
a nuclear waste incinerator 100 miles upwind from the
scenic Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, the nation's
oldest and largest.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000328/us/nuclear_incinerator_1.html
Monday,
March 27, 2000
GOP
Group Supports Land-Protection
(Associated
Press) President Clinton's willingness to protect
federal lands by declaring them national monuments has
gotten the attention of Western Republicans in Congress,
a group normally opposed to land-use restrictions but
now offering their own protections.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000327/pl/gop_land_protection_1.html
Monday,
March 27, 2000
Court
Won't Nix Rock-Climbing Limits
(Associated
Press) The Supreme Court today let the National Park
Service discourage rock-climbing on the Devils Tower National
Monument in Wyoming when American Indians hold sacred
ceremonies at the 600-foot butte.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000327/pl/scotus_rock_climbing_1.html
Wednesday,
March 22, 2000
Park
Service Sets Jet Ski Limits
(Associated
Press) Vacationers looking to skim across the water
on Jet Skis may find a problem this summer in some national
parks or seashores as the government imposes new restrictions
on the popular watercraft.
Read the full story:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000322/pl/jet_skis_3.html
Thursday,
March 2, 2000
Yellowstone
National Park At Risk
(NPS
wire) Yellowstone National Park officials announce
the availability of The State of the Park report, developed
in response to concerns expressed by Congress. For many
years, Congress has been asking the National Park Service
for a comprehensive accounting of exactly what is done
with the money appropriated to the parks. Superintendent
Michael Finley stated, "We have taken their concern
to heart and have produced this report in order to provide
that information to them and the American people."
The
State of the Park report is intended to be a candid appraisal
of the state of Yellowstone's natural and cultural resources
and the ability of the National Park Service to properly
manage and protect them. The park's progress toward the
recovery of threatened and endangered species and the
continuing preservation of many other animals and their
habitats are assessed. While there have been positive
achievements, some disturbing trends are also pointed
out, such as the escalating encroachment of alien plants,
animals, and disease organisms. There is also concern
about the future of the park's geothermal systems and
bison and pronghorn populations. This report documents
shortages of staff and funding needed to manage these
complex and often controversial natural resources.
The
report describes the cultural resources protected by Yellowstone,
which range from outstanding archeological sites to nationally
significant historic structures and the information, artifacts,
and collections preserved in the park's library, museum,
and archives. While some progress has been made in managing
and preserving cultural resources, large elements of the
program are still below Congressional and Department of
Interior standards for adequate stewardship.
Providing
for the enjoyment of the park by the public is one of
the park's primary missions. Some important progress is
noted, such as new informational exhibits, enhanced medical
training for park personnel, expanded educational programs,
and major improvements in concession services, including
new visitor accommodations at Canyon and Old Faithful.
However, there is concern about the overall quality of
visitors' experiences as reflected in their frustration
with crowds, gridlock, and noise.
A
review of infrastructure and management effectiveness
shows that the needs of the park far outweigh the support
available despite some very important achievements such
as reconstructed road segments, enhanced telecommunications,
an aggressive program for alternative fuels, and improved
employee housing. Millions of dollars are needed for road
improvements and other infrastructure-related deficiencies,
in addition to the increased operating funds necessary
to provide for the proper protection and management of
the park.
Later
this year, a companion document, the park's Business Plan
for Yellowstone's Future, will present standards for the
park's major programs. It will also outline the specific
human resources and financial support needed to achieve
those standards for program success and the long-term
protection and management of Yellowstone.
Is
Yellowstone at risk? "Yes," says Superintendent
Michael Finley. "But it will only remain at risk
if the American public ceases to care, if budgetary needs
are not met, or if the many county, state, and federal
jurisdictions whose decisions affect Yellowstone do not
recognize and act upon our collective interest in safeguarding
essential resources beyond the park's boundary - resources
without which the park itself will be tragically diminished.
The gift this country gave itself and the world when the
Yellowstone idea took hold has multiplied in value a hundredfold,
and its assets will become more precious in the future,
if we let them."
A
limited number of copies of The State of the Park report
are available. If you wish to receive a copy, or if you
wish to receive an executive summary, please contact Superintendent,
Yellowstone National Park, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone Park,
Wyoming 82190. You can read the report on line at:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/stateofthepark.htm
Tuesday,
February 29, 2000
Lodges
at Grand Canyon employ environmentally conscious methods
By Peter
Corbett, The Arizona Republic
At
Phantom Ranch in the depths of Grand Canyon, they're composting
600 cubic yards of kitchen waste per year.
The
lodges on the Canyon's South Rim use low-flow plumbing
fixtures to sparingly use water that's delivered by a
fragile cross-Canyon pipeline.
Amfac
Parks & Resorts, which has 922 rooms at the Grand
Canyon, is among a growing number of hotel operators that
have adopted environmentally minded practices to save
water, energy and reduce solid waste.
Energy-efficient
lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, recycling and less
frequent changes of towels and sheets are among the hallmarks
of environmentally conscious hotels.
"At
first people thought we were being chintzy" in not
changing linens every day, said Papago Inn owner Mary
Lou Wurts, an admitted tree-hugger who drives an electric
car. "But when we explain it to them that we're trying
to save the planet, a lot of people are happy to do that."
"Green
hotels" cut across the spectrum from the rustic Phantom
Ranch to places like Oak Creek Canyon's Junipine Resort,
Tempe's Fiesta Inn and Scottsdale's Best Western Papago
Inn.
All
of the those hotels and Amfac's national and state park
lodges are members of the Green Hotels Association, which
has about 175 member hotels.
Other
hotels have similar environmentally friendly policies.
Most have in-room placards explaining that fresh linens
are available each day if requested, but otherwise sheets
and towels are changed every second or third day.
Amfac
is making the environmental programs a priority and is
trying to improve employee awareness this year, said Bill
Johnston, general manager of Grand Canyon National Park
Lodges.
"Obviously,
besides being good citizens, it's what we should be doing,
representing a concession in the national parks,"
he said.
At
Phantom Ranch, the program takes on added importance because
supplies and refuse have to be shipped by mule or helicopter.
Kitchen scraps are mixed with mule manure in the ranch's
composting heap, Johnston said.
Fiesta
Inn doesn't have that kind of challenge, but it started
recycling four years ago and later added low-energy lighting,
the reduced-linen program and a drip irrigation system,
said Sherry Henry, general manager.
The
270-room Fiesta Inn also uses biodegradable soaps and
bathroom tissue made from recycled products, she said.
The
hotel has not tracked the savings because that wasn't
the driving force for the environmental policies, Henry
said.
But
there is a cost savings, said Patty Griffin, president
of the Green Hotels Association.
The
482-room Inter-Continental Hotel in New Orleans recovered
from its trash about $1,000 per month in hotel property
÷ silverware, napkins and wash clothes ÷
when it started recycling. The Westin Peachtree Plaza
in Atlanta decreased water usage 2.6 million gallons per
month and saved $500,000 a year in energy conservation,
said Griffin, who started the Houston-based association
in 1993.
Friday,
February 16, 2000
Clinton
Eyes Sequoia Protection
WASHINGTON
(AP) ÷ Seeking to protect forever California's
remaining giant sequoia redwoods, President Clinton is
considering setting aside as much as 400,000 acres of
federal forests in central California as a protected monument.
The
president asked Agriculture Secretary Daniel Glickman
on Tuesday to explore the idea of using the 1906 Antiquities
Act to protect the giant trees and report back to him
within 60 days.
``I
want to ensure that these majestic cathedral groves ...
are protected for future generations to study and enjoy,''
Clinton wrote the agriculture secretary, whose department
controls much of the land on which the last of the giant
redwoods stand.
Environmentalists
for years have campaigned to impose greater protection
to the sequoia trees ÷ about 70 groves in all ÷
that are located in Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite
national parks and nearby Sequoia National Forest and
other government land in the Sierra Mountains of central
California.
While
about a third of the groves are protected within the national
park systems, the rest ÷ except for one privately
owned grove ÷ are in the national forest or other
government land and they could be endangered by future
logging or other development. Environmentalists fear that
while the trees themselves are forbidden to be cut, nearby
logging could threaten their long-term existence.
The
president's action ``is a recognition that there is a
major gap in the protection of this very, very important
and majestic species. That gap needs to be filled,'' George
Frampton, chairman of the president's Council on Environmental
Quality, said in an interview.
The
sequoia redwoods ÷ not as tall as the California
redwoods, but with massive trucks as much as 100 feet
wide at the base ÷ are among the oldest living
things on earth. Many of the remaining trees are several
thousand years old. They once were scattered across much
of the Northern Hemisphere, but now grow only on the western
slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California.
Frampton
said the intent would be to protect 330,000 to 440,000
acres of land as a national monument, or about a third
of the Sequoia National Forest, to ensure permanent protection
of the ecosystem that surrounds the giant trees. He said
the monument designation would protect 70 remaining groves,
including 35 groves in the Sequoia National Forest, as
well as 25 groves in the nearby national parks and the
rest on other federal land.
``It's
a fabulous thing,'' said Sierra Club executive director
Carl Pope. ``These trees are very vulnerable to any kind
of disruption. This is an incredible big gain for everybody.''
``Creation
of (such a monument) would be a world class gift to the
American people,'' said Nathaniel Lawrence, an attorney
for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He called it
``a world class gift to the American people'' and said
``this swath of sequoia country should have been permanently
protected long ago.''
Clinton
has used the Antiquities Act before to carve out land
for special protection, each time meeting strong criticism
from some western lawmakers and local officials.
Last
month, Clinton used the backdrop of the Grand Canyon to
announce the designation of a million acres of cliffs,
desert and scenic areas adjacent to the canyon as the
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. He also extended
monument protection to 71,000 acres of American Indian
ruins north of Phoenix and to hundreds small islands up
and down the California coast. Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt has a list of about a dozen more contenders for
monument status.
Three
years ago, Clinton raised a firestorm when he used the
1906 law to establish the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante
Monument in southern Utah. Some Utah officials called
it a federal ``land grab.''
The
1906 law allows presidents, without congressional approval,
to safeguard objects of historic and scientific interest.
President Theodore Roosevelt used it to set aside the
Grand Canyon in 1908 and President Carter invoked it to
establish large sections of Alaska wilderness in the 1970s.
Over the years, only Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush
declined to use the law.
BONUS
COVERAGE: MSNBC'S SPECIAL SEQUOIA SECTION - videos,
color photos, great links and background info
http://www.msnbc.com/news/370766.asp#BODY
