The slickrock canyons near Moab, Utah, have already been discovered by four-wheel-drivers and mountain bikers, but now tourists are discovering mesas and redrock bluffs from the air, primarily by helicopter. Last year, two helicopter companies hung out their shingles in Moab and began giving expensive bird’s-eye-view tours of Arches and Canyonlands national parks, as well […]
Recreation
Posted inMarch 21, 1994: On the borderline
Three mountain lions killed at Glacier
Three bold mountain lions were treed by hounds and shot Feb. 10 after they took up residence beneath a vacant home in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Park rangers said they had to shoot the animals, whose under-the-front-porch den was near two occupied houses and within 25 yards of a sledding hill popular with local children. […]
Posted inMarch 21, 1994: On the borderline
Dial 1/800-CANYON for reservations
The Grand Canyon can’t wait for long-term planning to deal with crowding problems, says Boyd Evison, interim superintendent at the park. He has proposed a reservation system for park visitors. It could be set up by 1995 and doesn’t require authorization from Congress. “The only way to maintain a positive experience without trampling the park […]
Posted inMarch 7, 1994: Pay as you waste, says EPA
Roxborough friends fight for park
Local residents who enjoy the relative wildness and beauty of Roxborough State Park near Denver, Colo., are fighting a developer’s plans to build 850 houses along the park’s entire eastern boundary. The development, known as Southdowns at Roxborough, could begin as soon as this March and would destroy wildlife habitat for deer, elk and golden […]
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 inMarch 7, 1994: Pay as you waste, says EPA
A natural vacation
National forests in the Northwest have opened unused fire lookouts, stock stations and maintenance cabins to the public. All can be rented for overnight camping with up to a two-week stay allowed in some places. Because each facility is rented by the national forest in which it is located, two brochures, available at most Forest […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 1994: Draining the budget to desalt the Colorado
Bandelier overrun by hooves
If left unchecked, growing numbers of elk and wild cattle could leave New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument eroded and overgrazed, park officials say. Nearly 30 cows and over 2,000 elk now trample the park’s fragile hillsides and brittle archaeological ruins and, according to an environmental assessment released Jan. 13, the cattle herd could double in […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 1994: Can she save ecosystems?
Babbitt takes a fall
At Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, Jan. 21, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt tripped on a rock and fell on his face, requiring several stitches on his head at a local hospital. Barely an hour later, he was back at the monument, telling the press that he was ready to negotiate with Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez […]
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 inFebruary 7, 1994: Can she save ecosystems?
A battle for turf on a flat-top mountain
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The aspen and conifer forests that cover most of Grand Mesa just east of here look peaceful from a distance. But up on top of the world’s largest flat-top mountain, recreational vehicle drivers are engaged in a protracted war with other forest visitors. It’s feet vs. machines. Hikers, skiers, hunters and […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 1994: Can she save ecosystems?
Judge tells wilderness outfitters to decamp the Frank
The Forest Service will no longer allow outfitter camps in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to feature propane refrigerators, wood cookstoves or piped water. These changes stem from rulings issued last fall by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas F. Hogan in response to a lawsuit filed by the environmental group, Wilderness Watch. […]
Posted inJanuary 24, 1994: Turmoil on the range
Lift construction suspended
Lift construction suspended Yellowstone National Park has suspended improvements on a small ski area in the park. Last month, workers began installing a used poma lift at Undine Falls ski area, five miles east of Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyo., to replace a rope tow that was considered unsafe. But after receiving phone calls and letters […]
Posted inJanuary 24, 1994: Turmoil on the range
Bullet holes in bungalows
Bullet holes in bungalows In Prescott, Ariz., living near a national forest can be dangerous. Stray slugs from target shooters have pockmarked residents’ hot tubs, porches, roofs and patio furniture. “They think they’re out in the middle of nowhere and they can just shoot,” says Carol Brownlow, a Prescott homeowner, in the Arizona Republic. On […]
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
No driving in Zion?
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline No driving in Zion?.
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
Firms milk park’s ‘wildlife’
National Park managers deliberate over whether or not theyshould charge biotechnical firms for extracting microbes fromYellowstone. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Firms milk park’s ‘wildlife’.
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 inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
Park to scientists: Shut up!
Park Service scientists charge that the park suppressed research on grizzlies and elk foraging. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Park to scientists: Shut up!.
Posted inDecember 13, 1993: Jack Ward Thomas: Hail to the chief
Wanderlust West
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wanderlust West.
Posted inDecember 13, 1993: Jack Ward Thomas: Hail to the chief
Put her at the top
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Put her at the top.