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kiliki
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PostWed Jan 17, 2018 10:35 am 
I think the full text of the resignation is worth reading. To: Secretary Ryan Zinke January 15, 2018 Department of Interior From: Tony Knowles Chair of the NPSAB 2010-2017 Governor of Alaska 1994-2002 I am submitting my resignation as Chair and member of the National Park System Advisory Board. It has been an honor and privilege to serve on this Board for the last seven years with remarkable individuals who have committed their time and talent to ensure the stewardship our National Parks and prepare them for the enjoyment of future generations. We worked closely and productively through 2016 with dedicated National Park Service employees, an inspiring Director and a fully supportive Department. We engaged over a hundred volunteer national experts in education, science, history and anthropology, and park management and planning to help design the right path to meet the challenges and changes for the second century of our National Parks. We emphasized scientific research and mitigation of climate change; engaging young generations; evolving a more diverse culture of park visitors, advocates and employees; bringing our schools to our parks and our parks to our schools; stressing park urbanization; protecting the natural diversity of wildlife; and so much more. These are the matters on which the Board wanted to brief you and your staff. We also wanted to present evidence of the overwhelming support and participation all across America for the National Park System and this agenda during the 2016 NPS centennial celebration. For the last year we have stood by waiting for the chance to meet and continue the partnership between the NPSAB and the DOI as prescribed by law. We understand the complexity of transition but our requests to engage have been ignored and the matters on which we wanted to brief the new Department team are clearly not part of its agenda. I wish the National Park System and Service well and will always be dedicated to their success. However, from all of the events of this past year I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside. I hope that future actions of the Department of Interior demonstrate that this is not the case. The following National Park System Advisory Board member share the thoughts stated above and join me in tendering their resignations. Gretchen Long, Paul Bardacke, Carolyn Finney, Judy Burke, Stephen Pitti, Milton Chen, Belinda Faustinos, Margaret Wheatley

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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Jan 17, 2018 2:49 pm 
Sad, so it goes shakehead.gif You don't know what you had till it's gone.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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joker
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PostThu Jan 18, 2018 11:09 am 
I heard a statement from Zinke's office read on NPR yesterday in which they responded with (I'm paraphrasing) "glad they resigned since they weren't able to do anything useful about sexual harassment in the department during their tenure" type deflection-of-attention-attack. They had Knowles on the air and he gave a very good and reasonable response to this bit of nastiness. The statement also claimed that Zinke had reached out to schedule a meeting which Knowles laughed at and flatly denied. Who do you find more trustworthy here? These people are a special sort of something to be sure. I'm pretty confident that sending them our thoughts is completely useless (e.g. see how the tide of comments was ignored in the Monuments process, but how a few miners and ranchers were cozying up to Zinke on his "listening tour" on which he refused to see many locals who like the Monuments...). Time to lawyer up - that's where some of my $$ have been going...

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cascadeclimber
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PostThu Jan 18, 2018 3:42 pm 
joker wrote:
"glad they resigned since they weren't able to do anything useful about sexual harassment in the department during their tenure"
That's true, they didn't. They also let Jarvis keep his job after an ethics violation. But that's also on a weak interior sec, Sally Jewell, and Obama, who didn't seem to give much of a hoot about the Parks. And...Zinke hasn't done dinkus about the culture issues in the NPS either. So it's a whole bunch of ineffective, unaccountable, money-wasting incompetents tossing insults as far as I'm concerned.

If not now, when?
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gb
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PostThu Jan 18, 2018 5:16 pm 
cascadeclimber wrote:
joker wrote:
"glad they resigned since they weren't able to do anything useful about sexual harassment in the department during their tenure"
That's true, they didn't. They also let Jarvis keep his job after an ethics violation. But that's also on a weak interior sec, Sally Jewell, and Obama, who didn't seem to give much of a hoot about the Parks. And...Zinke hasn't done dinkus about the culture issues in the NPS either. So it's a whole bunch of ineffective, unaccountable, money-wasting incompetents tossing insults as far as I'm concerned.
Where do you get this crap - make it up. If you educated yourself you would have found that the Obama administration brought all stakeholders to the table on a whole variety of Interior and environmental issues. What we have now is like watching a 50 cent Western with no rhyme or reason other than listening to the deplorables. It is this bunch of losers that is trying to push Park fees to make parks less relevant. This is a fringe group that is pulling the strings.

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MyFootHurts
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PostThu Jan 18, 2018 5:29 pm 
gb wrote:
What we have now is like watching a 50 cent Western with no rhyme or reason other than listening to the deplorables. It is this bunch of losers that is trying to push Park fees to make parks less relevant. This is a fringe group that is pulling the strings.
There already are park fees and have been for decades. The only person I see pushing for an increase is this Zinke character.

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markh752
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PostMon Apr 02, 2018 8:09 pm 
Americans tell Interior to take a hike over proposed national park fee increase. Washington Post article

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Malachai Constant
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PostMon Apr 02, 2018 8:46 pm 
They already have busted The geezer pass😡

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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zephyr
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PostTue Apr 03, 2018 8:25 am 
Malachai Constant wrote:
They already have busted The geezer pass😡
Please explain what you mean by "busted". Are the current passes revoked? Thanks, ~z

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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Apr 03, 2018 9:47 am 
Just went from $10 to $100 not revoked yet

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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zephyr
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PostTue Apr 03, 2018 3:03 pm 
Okay. Thank you. ~z

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Bernardo
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PostTue Apr 03, 2018 5:19 pm 
Lifetime senior pass is $80. I'm no spendthrift, but that seems ok to me given life expectancies. https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/senior-pass-changes.htm?utm_source=feesandpasses&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=senior_pass

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grannyhiker
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PostTue Apr 03, 2018 7:02 pm 
You can also get the Senior Pass on sort of an installment plan, by paying $20/year until you reach the $80 total for the lifetime pass. That makes it still cheaper per year than the NW Forest Pass, for which it substitutes. As an eternal cheapskate, I'm thankful I got mine back when it was $10 for the lifetime pass. It's still valid! I haven't kept track, but in addition to the Forest Pass savings, I've gotten family into national parks and Johnston Ridge Visitor Center at Mt. St.Helens free. I've also stayed at lots of USFS campgrounds at 50% off, the latest being for last summer's eclipse.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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graywolf
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PostThu Apr 12, 2018 2:33 pm 
The only easy day was yesterday...
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PostThu Apr 12, 2018 3:40 pm 
Thursday April 12, 2018 15:22 PDT Olympic National Park News Release Olympic National Park Changes Entrance Fee to Address Infrastructure Needs & Improve Visitor Experience PORT ANGELES, WA – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Olympic National Park will modify its entrance fees beginning June 1, 2018 to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs that enhance the visitor experience. Effective June 1, 2018 the park entrance fee will be $30 per vehicle or $25 per motorcycle. An annual park pass will cost $55. The NPS last October proposed a plan to adopt seasonal pricing at Olympic National Park and 16 other national parks to raise additional revenue for infrastructure and maintenance needs. The fee structure announced today addresses many concerns and ideas provided by the public on how best to address fee revenue for parks. Revenue from entrance fees remains in the National Park Service and helps ensure a quality experience for all who visit. Here in Olympic National Park, 80 percent of entrance fees stay in the park and are devoted to spending that supports the visitor. We share the other 20 percent of entry fee income with other national parks for their projects. “Entrance fees are a critical source of revenue for the park in fulfilling our commitment to providing a quality experience for all visitors,” said park superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “The rehabilitation of our main park visitor center was funded largely through entrance fees. We look forward to addressing deferred maintenance projects including aging wastewater treatment systems with the additional revenue.” The additional revenue from entrance fees at Olympic National Park will fund projects such as the replacement of the Log Cabin and Barnes Point wastewater treatment plants at Lake Crescent, Kalaloch water system improvements, rehabilitation of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and installation of new interpretive exhibits, road improvements to reduce congestion at Heart O’ the Hills entrance station on Hurricane Ridge Road, and improvements to comfort stations and campsites in campgrounds across the park. National parks have experienced record breaking visitation, with more than 1.5 billion visitors in the last five years. Throughout the country, the combination of aging infrastructure and increased visitation affects park roads, bridges, buildings, campgrounds, water systems, bathrooms, and other facilities. Maintenance deferred on these facilities amounts to $11.6 billion nationwide backlog. Entrance fees collected by the National Park Service totaled $199.9 million in Fiscal Year 2016. The NPS estimates that once fully implemented, the new fee structure will increase annual entrance fee revenue by about $60 million. Olympic National Park has had an entrance fee since 1987. The current rate of $25 per vehicle has been in effect since 2015. The park is one of 117 in the National Park System that charges an entrance fee. The remaining 300 sites are free to enter. The price of the annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass will remain $80. The National Park Service has a standardized entrance fee structure, composed of four groups based on park size and type. For more information about visiting Olympic National Park, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/olym. -NPS-

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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