[at-l] National Parks and Snowmobiles

[Russ E. Boltz" <russboltz@hotmail.com (Russ E. Boltz)]

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Cliff Haynes makes some good points about hikers, lodges, roads and the lik=
e. Unfortunately, he is TOO correct.

-- Backcountry human waste IS a problem. That's why the NPS is increasing t=
he use of composting privies, and encouraging (and, in some parks such as t=
he Grand Canyon Natl Pk river trips REQUIRING) that human waste be packed o=
ut. When I took my Scout Troop to do Isle Royale National Park, we carried =
"honey sacks", which are a growing business, that permitted us to "pack it =
in and pack it out".  We're not alone, either.
-- Development IS being reduced. A major village in Yosemite NP has been "e=
rased", and other parks recognize that buildings and development ARE harmfu=
l. More and more National Parks (and not just in Alaska) are being develope=
d on a "no buildings" basis.
-- Roads ARE being closed, and that was one of the major "wins" of the envi=
ronmental movement in the waning days of the Clinton Administration, when r=
oad construction in National Forests was largely suspended. (Did you know t=
hat the National Forest system has more road mileage than the rest of the U=
nited States combined?)
-- Some parts of the National Park system ARE so fragile that, as Cliff sar=
castically notes, "in order to preserve wildlife and places for the future,=
 it is necessary to keep people out entirely" although he wants, apparently=
, free access to ALL parts of parks so they can be "shared". I don't have a=
 lot of problem staying the hell out of the south end of North Manitou Isla=
nd in Sleeping Bear National Seashore, so that the Piping Plover can breed =
each year. My presence (and probably Cliff's) would scare a lot of birds st=
erile!

Try this out for size, folks: What location has the highest consistent "smo=
g" levels of any place in an Eastern-Seaboard state?





See my website at www.mediate.com/russboltz
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