Fresh from a stint as superintendent of Yosemite National Park in California, Michael Finley will take over the helm at Yellowstone in early fall. When Finley, 47, replaces Robert Barbee, who has been in charge for 11 years, he will inherit a wide range of management controversies including the proposed Noranda gold mine adjacent to […]
National Park Service
Posted inJuly 25, 1994: 'Unranchers' reach for West's state lands
Strangelove Park
Strangelove park Tourists on South Dakota’s Interstate 90 may soon visit more than just Mount Rushmore, Prairie Dog Town and the world’s largest drugstore, Wall Drug. Some of the nation’s 1,000 Minuteman missile silos are ripe for historic preservation, says the National Park Service, which is looking at two launch sites adjacent to Badlands National […]
Posted inJune 13, 1994: A doomed species?
Could a treaty block a mine?
Although international treaties are best known for settling wars, a treaty could affect an underground gold mine proposed just outside Yellowstone National Park. Under a 1972 international treaty known as the World Heritage Convention, ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1973, Yellowstone was deemed a “world heritage site.” The 136 nations that approved the treaty […]
Posted inMay 30, 1994: Can mining come clean?
International park draws fire
Supporters of an international park said, “Nature knows no borders,” but protesters at a recent Seattle conference didn’t agree. Two hundred park demonstrators marched and chanted, “What do we want? No park!” while United States and Canadian park representatives talked about joining recreation areas and parks in the 11 million-acre North Cascades ecosystem. Protesters fear […]
Posted inMay 30, 1994: Can mining come clean?
Is “natural regulation’ leading to unnatural results?
Karl Hess Jr., in Rocky Times in Rocky Mountain National Park – An Unnatural History, raises ethical questions about the future of Rocky Mountain National Park, “a unique, irreplaceable wonder, a shimmering blue strip of hope on the prairie horizon.” Combining eloquence and detailed research, Hess calls for drastic changes to ensure that good stewardship […]
Posted inMay 16, 1994: Babbitt is trying to nationalize the BLM
National Park Service is put on a starvation diet
During the week of May 22, America is to celebrate “National Parks Week,” ” a creation of new Park Service Director Roger Kennedy. But some Park Service employees may not be in the mood to join the celebration. The new director is driving the agency headlong into a sweeping reorganization that may include job cuts […]
Posted inMay 2, 1994: A struggle for the last grass
At Glacier: Keep off the grass, or else
GLACIER PARK, Mont. – Another bit of the Old West became history last month when Glacier National Park’s 12 law enforcement rangers hung up their six-shooters and strapped on semiautomatic handguns. The new handguns hold more bullets than the six-shooters, and with more and more criminals packing automatic weapons, rangers don’t want to be outgunned. […]
Posted inApril 4, 1994: Who speaks for the Colorado Plateau?
New policy pits seasonals against parks
ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah – Michael Parshall wondered how much longer he’d be able to build trails for the National Park Service. His problem wasn’t with his job at Zion National Park, but with an advanced and crippling case of colitis. “I knew that I was getting sick in 1989, but I didn’t go to […]
Posted inMarch 21, 1994: On the borderline
Hammering out “ecosystem management’
Lynx, grizzly bear and salmon could be the winners in a new plan to link the current patchwork of parks, national forests and recreation areas in Washington’s North Cascades. Along with the National Park Service, groups like The Wilderness Society, the National Parks and Conservation Association and the Canadian Earthcare Society will host a three-day […]
Posted inMarch 7, 1994: Pay as you waste, says EPA
New plans for Yellowstone
Managers in Yellowstone National Park just released a plan that could leave the park’s 2.2 million acres of backcountry a little more organized. The draft backcountry management plan suggests classifying the park into three management zones. Most people would visit the threshold zone, which surrounds roads and developed areas in the park. It would have […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 1994: Can she save ecosystems?
Canyonlands backcountry plan
In an attempt to preserve the wildness and solitude of eastern Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, the National Park Service wants to restrict camping, backpacking and mountain biking in heavily used and ecologically important areas of the park. In a 66-page environmental assessment, the agency lays out five alternatives for managing backcountry use of the 337,000-acre […]
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
Yellowstone
Introduction to the lead stories on Yellowstone NationalPark. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Yellowstone.
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
Barbee must apply for his job
Bruce Babbitt elevates the rank of superintendent for several national parks. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Barbee must apply for his job.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
Custer Association’s last stand
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Custer Association’s last stand.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
Is the Jackson Hole airport “doomed’?
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Is the Jackson Hole airport “doomed’?.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
Critics say big jets and national parks don’t mix
Proposed expansion at Jackson’s stimulates discussion of FAA regulations for flying over national parks. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Critics say big jets and national parks don’t mix.
Posted inAugust 23, 1993: Timber theft: Logging firms rob a lax agency
Free the paper pushers!
Park Service seasonal tries to cut the bureaucracy from his job. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Free the paper pushers!.
Posted inMarch 22, 1993: The dam that won't die
Speak to Capitol Reef
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Speak to Capitol Reef.
Posted inFebruary 22, 1993: The continuing saga of New Mexico's Gray Ranch
Two underground resources clash in New Mexico
Oil and gas exploration threatens a pristine cave system. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Two underground resources clash in New Mexico.
Posted inJanuary 25, 1993: Can Bruce Babbitt make Interior hum?
Conspiracy destroyed a Vision for Yellowstone
A Bush administration conspiracy destroys a plan for environmental protection in Yellowstone and costs a Park Service official her job. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Conspiracy destroyed a Vision for Yellowstone.