national park

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Joshua Tree Canyon Closed Over Unusual Graffiti

Rangers say social media could be fueling vandalism

(Newser) - Some 300 acres of California's Joshua Tree National Park are closed to visitors thanks to a rare spate of graffiti. First, park rangers closed an area surrounding a historic dam following the discovery of carved graffiti. Then, this week, the popular Rattlesnake Canyon was closed after words—including "...

A-Bomb National Park Bill Fails
 A-Bomb National Park Bill Fails 

A-Bomb National Park Bill Fails

Manhattan Project bill stalls in House

(Newser) - A bill to create a national park at the sites where the first atomic bomb was created has stalled in the House after failing to get a two-thirds majority. Lawmakers voted 237-180 in favor of creating the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, with 112 Republicans concerned about the cost voting...

Yosemite Might Get Bigger
 Yosemite Might Get Bigger 

Yosemite Might Get Bigger

Park could increase by 1,575 acres

(Newser) - If Congress passes a bill currently on Capitol Hill, Yosemite National Park could get bigger. Of course, that's a big if, since some in Washington see the expansion of government-owned land as a bad thing. Advocates, including the bill's author, Democrat Rep. Jim Costa, are pushing lawmakers to...

Yosemite's New Danger: Plunging Boulders

Park service will close popular attractions permanently over danger of falling rocks

(Newser) - It used to be that you had to watch out for bears, forest fires , or even waterfalls at Yosemite, but there's a new danger at the iconic national park: Falling boulders are now closing swaths of some popular haunts for good. The National Park Service will today announce that...

Mountain Lion Attacks Boy
 Mountain Lion Attacks Boy 

Mountain Lion Attacks Boy

6-year-old Texas boy survives attack in national park

(Newser) - A 6-year-old Texas boy survived an attack by a hungry mountain lion in Big Bend National Park. The boy was walking with his family when the animal pounced, leaving him with puncture wounds and scratches, AP reports. The mountain lion tried to attack another family, but was fended off with...

DC to Occupy: No More Camping

The National Park Service will enforce rules beginning Monday

(Newser) - One of the Occupy movement's longest-standing camps will soon no longer be a place to lay your head: Occupy DC protesters will be banned from camping in the two parks they have occupied since October as of noon on Monday. The National Park Service has alerted the demonstrators they...

7 Little-Known National Parks
 7 Little-Known 
 National Parks 

7 Little-Known National Parks

Want to stay off the beaten path? Start here

(Newser) - If you’ve seen enough of Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon, CNN has an idea for you: Why not visit another of the country’s 397 national parks and monuments, like one of these seven you’ve probably never heard of?
  • Dry Tortugas: You have to seriously want to
...

Grand Canyon Hiker Is Latest in String of National Park Deaths

 Grand Canyon 
 Hiker Found Dead 

Grand Canyon Hiker Found Dead

Man is latest in string of hiker deaths

(Newser) - The latest in a string of national park deaths : On Sunday, authorities found the body of a Grand Canyon hiker who was apparently unprepared for the hike conditions. Two other backpackers ran across the man on Friday, and noted that he looked exhausted, was hiking without a pack, and didn'...

Heat Kills Tourist Couple in Joshua Tree Park

European couple dies after car becomes stuck on dirt road

(Newser) - Authorities in California have stepped up heat warnings after a couple died of exposure in Joshua Tree National Park. The bodies of Dutch music promoter Augustinus Van Hove, 44, and his German girlfriend, Helena Nuellett, 38, were found along a park road after a day in which temperatures soared as...

Body of Yosemite Hiker Swept Over Vernal Fall Found
 Yosemite Hiker's Body Found 

Yosemite Hiker's Body Found

Two companions still missing, both presumed dead

(Newser) - One of the three hikers swept over Yosemite's Vernal Fall last month has been found. Search and rescue workers and rangers recovered David Hormiz's body Saturday, about 240 feet from the base of the 317-foot waterfall, KTLA reports. The bodies of Hormiz's two companions, both also presumed...

Hiker Plunges to Her Death at Yosemite

Hiker Hayley LaFlamme was descending Half Dome

(Newser) - Less than two weeks after three hikers were swept over Vernal Fall , another woman has died at Yosemite National Park. Hayley LaFlamme, 26, had reached the Half Dome summit—a treacherous hike that can take as long as 12 hours to finish—and was descending Sunday when she reportedly lost...

Park Rangers Face Deadly Threat: Other Humans

Guns, solo flying make for dangerous beat

(Newser) - You'd think that bears or mountain lions would be the biggest threat to rangers patrolling US national parks. But it's fellow humans, invariably armed, that pose the real danger. Two recent shootings, including one in Pennsylvania in which a wildlife officer was killed, highlight the growing risks, writes the New ...

Lost Hiker, 64, Recounts 6-Day Ordeal in Desert

He moved as little as possible during the day

(Newser) - A 64-year-old man who survived for six days after getting lost in California's Joshua Tree desert says he survived by staying in shade during the day and walking during the cold nights. Edward Rosenthal said he intended a short walk but got distracted when he took a wrong turn and...

Technology Makes Us Really Bad Campers

You'd think that GPS would help, but it may not

(Newser) - Technology appears to be making some people a lot stupider when it comes to the great outdoors. Thanks to GPS, cell phones, and emergency devices, more people are heading into the wild ill-equipped…then, at best, wasting rangers’ time with their problems—or, at worst, getting injured or killed. The...

Yellowstone's Bears Hungry, Bloodthirsty

You might want to reconsider feeding the bears

(Newser) - Remember those admonishments not to feed the bears? Well, the grizzlies at Yellowstone are hungry this year, reports the AP, and cranky as a result—which doesn't bode so well for human visitors. Two people have already died in 2010 after encountering starving grizzlies. "Pack your bear spray: there's...

Militia Groups Hold Armed Protest on Potomac

Obama signed law that allowed it

(Newser) - A number of militia groups intend to rally on the banks of the Potomac River today, and they'll be packing heat. It'll be the first armed rally ever held in a national park, which ironically is only possible because of a law signed by Barack Obama. But that doesn't hold...

Pistol-Packin' Visitors Now Allowed in National Parks

Congress ditches federal gun restrictions

(Newser) - Be extra nice to the people you meet in Yellowstone—it's now legal for visitors to carry loaded, concealed guns there and in other national parks. Congress has stripped federal firearms restrictions in the parks, leaving limits up to the states where they're located. For nearly a century, the National...

Yellowstone Fire Grows
 Yellowstone Fire Grows 

Yellowstone Fire Grows

Officials say park still safe to visit despite 10,000-acre blaze

(Newser) - A wildfire at Yellowstone has consumed almost 10,000 acres of pine forest and closed one of the main roads through the national park. Hundreds of firefighters are working to manage the blaze and keep it away from the park infrastructure. The fire has been burning for at least two...

Record 900K Visit Yellowstone in July

(Newser) - Yellowstone National Park officials are crediting relatively low gas prices and the park's affordability after a record number of people visited in July. America's first national park hosted more than 900,500 people last month, up more than 11% from July 2008 and 6% from the previous monthly record set...

Fla. Python Hunt More Wild Goose Chase
 Fla. Python Hunt 
 More Wild Goose Chase 
ANALYSIS

Fla. Python Hunt More Wild Goose Chase

(Newser) - The “Great Florida Python Hunt” is on, but the prey population is likely smaller—and less dangerous—than advertised, Paul Quinlan writes in the Palm Beach Post. Proponents have said there could be 100-150,000 Burmese pythons in the Everglades, a figure the media has seized upon. But the...

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