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Tag: National Park Service

  • Yosemite Rockfall Leads to Hiking Trail Closure

    A hiking trail has been closed at Yosemite National Park after 16,000 tons of rock fell 500 feet near Hetch Hetchy Reservoir on March 31, the National Park Service said Monday.

    According to Yosemite National Park officials, nobody was hurt in the rockfall.

    The rockfall reportedly occurred during the afternoon of March 31, when the rocks fell 500 feet, then slid off of a cliff and dropped onto the ground below. It crushed trees and about 400 feet of the Rancheria Falls Trail.

    The trail is the primary route to Wapama Falls, and will be closed until further notice, park officials said. Wapama Falls is still accessible to hikers via the trail that starts at the O’Shaughnessy Dam.

    All areas of Yosemite National Park affected by the Rim fire last August were reopened last week.

    The Rim fire started in Stanislaus National Forest on Aug. 17, and burned approximately 255,000 acres, including 77,000 acres within Yosemite National Park. The fire was not fully contained until late October, when the park celebrated its 123rd anniversary. The affected areas were closed until recently.

    Upon reopening the areas, park officials cautioned visitors to the affected areas, which include Hetch Hetchy hiking trails, about potential risks such as “hazardous trees, uneven ground, potential rockfall, and down and dead debris on trails.”

    Fire restrictions were also lifted, but could be put in place again later this year because of California’s extreme drought conditions, park officials said.

    Current maps and information on conditions in Yosemite National Park may be found here.

     

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Grand Canyon Hybrid Bison On a Tear

    Grand Canyon Hybrid Bison On a Tear

    Over 350 hybrid bison have been on a rampage in the northern region of Grand Canyon National Park, and the herd has been tearing up vegetation, impinging on the native habitat of the endangered Mexican spotted owl, knocking down Native American cliff dwellings and befouling the water supply by using it as a toilet.

    The animals were originally introduced to northern Arizona in the early 1900’s, and have made their way past the boundaries of the Grand Canyon. The state of Arizona legally owns the herd as it exists outside of the park, but the bison are now almost exclusively living within the borders of the national reserve. The wily bison were brought to the region to be crossbred with cows for ranching operations, to produce hybrids known as beefalo or cattalo.

    Beefalo are a fertile hybrid combination of domestic cattle and the American bison, created to combine the characteristics of both species for beef production. Beefalo are primarily cattle genetically, and typically maintain only 37.5% bison DNA. Animals that have gained more bison genes over generations are known as “bison hybrids.” These bison no longer resemble cattle, but still maintain roughly ten percent cattle DNA.

    Here are some more genetically-aligned beefalo/cattalo grazing:

    Creating beefalo has proven to be a serious setback to wild American bison conservation. Most current buffalo herds are genetically polluted or partly crossbred with cattle, and only four purebred American bison herds remain in the United States.

    Federal and state wildlife officials are weighing methods to control the herd residing in the park, where they are protected by law, allowing for a free-range population that can be taken by huntsman on nearby forested areas. On Wednesday it was announced that three meetings on the matter will be held in southern Utah and Arizona, along with a 60-day scoping period.

    Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga commented, “It’s the first step in a long process today. We’re just trying to get it out there and get it on everybody’s radar screens.”

    Bison can weigh more than a ton, and can run as fast as 40 mph. Uberuaga noted that present management methods which include baiting, hazing, fencing and relocating the bison and shooting them has proven ineffective in controlling the Grand Canyon population.

    Officials from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service expect to have a plan concerning the wayward herd to be issued by fall, 2016.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Randy Neugebauer, New Lightning Rod in USG Outage

    On a Tuesday local news program (shown here), Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.) shared his frustrations over the government shutdown that became official Monday at midnight. By Wednesday, the representative found himself the source of frustrations over a Washington, D.C.-based NBC affiliate video of him reprimanding a Park Service ranger who was following orders to prevent visitors from entering the World War II Memorial in our nation’s capital.

    As of today, the congressman had become a lightning rod for activists and the Vice President, whose office Tweeted that the VP had told the ranger via phone, “I’m proud of you.”

    Additionally, a Change.org petition calls for Neugebauer to, “correct himself and publicly apologize,” and the organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) believes an ethics investigation of the congressman is in order. One presumes that requires our elected representatives in the Executive and Legislative branches of government to get to work and stop the shutdown first.

    The filmed encounter prompting all of this hype happened while Neugebauer was at the Memorial, witnessing WWII Veterans being allowed to enter as other visitors were turned away. In addressing the ranger, the Texan wonders how she can stand rebuffing the visitors and follows with, “the Park Service should be ashamed of themselves.” The female ranger expresses that she finds difficult it to turn visitors away but not to the extent of being ashamed for it, to which the congressman replies, “You should be,” (ashamed, that is). The exchange continues for mere moments more, in a back and forth with input from both sides of the political spectrum.

    For his part, in the encounter at the Memorial and his earlier news interview, Neugebauer points the finger at Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In a Thursday interview with a home-state news service, Neugebauer said, “My beef wasn’t with the park ranger, my beef is with the Park Service and with the administration.” The congressman says the encounter, which was videotaped out of context, comes at the end of an inquiry by Neugebauer and fellow members of Congress into why the National Park Service had erected barricades and prevented entry into the Memorial, which is in the open and does not normally restrict access.

    The Memorial has found itself at the center of the government shutdown battle, which entered Day 4 on Friday. On Tuesday, a group of deserving WWII vets refused to be barred from their objective of visiting their Memorial, prompting the Park Service to permit entry by those and other WWII servicemen and women under consideration of their First Amendment rights.

    Thank you Veterans, for all that you have done and continue to do! Please permit me to reference a different Memorial in service of a WWII-era message that may carry some gravitas…

    Iwo Jima

    [Images via World War II Museum official Facebook and YouTube.]

  • Death Valley Temps Hit Records During Heat Wave

    Summer has officially begun, and in some places across the U.S. temperatures are reaching record highs. In the hottest areas of the country, temperatures are even reaching dangerous levels.

    This weekend, Death Valley National Park issued a warning that the temperature measured in Death Valley on Saturday may have reached 127 degrees Fahrenheit . Today, the National Park Service announced that a temperature of 129 degrees was recorded by an official weather station on Sunday, June 30. The temperature broke the previous June 30 record of 128 degrees measured in 1994.

    Death Valley National Park, through its Facebook page, warned tourists that such temperatures could potentially lead to heat stroke or death. A few of their tips for enduring the heat include staying inside cars (which should be in thoroughly checked before a trip to Death Valley), avoiding hiking, and, of course, drinking plenty of water. The park recommends at leas 4 quarts of water per day per person.

    (image)

    Death Valley National Park1 day ago

    Death Valley NP is experiencing excessive heat this weekend. These extreme temperatures can have very serious consequences – including hospitalization and potentially death. It is because of this the park stresses with visitors the need to be prepared. Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are very serious conditions. • Limit your time outdoors—do most of your sightseeing from inside the car. • Drink lots of water—4 quarts per day per person. Carry plenty of extra drinking water in your car. Avoid alcoholic & caffeinated beverages. • Be sure your car is in good working order. In very warm temperatures, stick to paved roads. • Heat & Dehydration: If you feel dizzy, nauseous or get a headache, get out of the sun immediately and drink plenty of water. Dampen clothing to lower your body temperature. Don’t get too much sun: Sunburn reduces your body’s ability to dissipate heat. • Hiking: Temperatures are expected to be high even at higher elevations this weekend—we strongly recommend you do not hike in these extreme temperatures. • In Case of Emergency: Call 911. Cell phones may not work in many parts of the park. Do not depend on them. • Slow down: Reduce, eliminate or reschedule strenuous activities. • Dress for summer: Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. • Eat light: Foods, like meat and other proteins that increase metabolic heat production also increase water loss. (nm) Photograph of yesterday’s temperature: 6/29/2013

    Powered by socialditto(image)  131 likes ·  19 comments

    The park service also recently demonstrated the excessive heat by releasing a video of an egg being fried using nothing but the ambient heat in the valley. Though an early attempt was thwarted by the dry air, a covered egg fried up just fine:

  • Yosemite Rock Climber Dies, Missing Teen Still Not Found

    A British rock climber on Yosemite National Park‘s famous El Capitan died this week after being struck by a loose rock.

    According to the U.S. National Park Service, 28-year-old Felix Kiernan died on Sunday while climbing El Capitan. Kiernan and his climbing partner were estimated to have climbed 600 feet up the rock face by 2 pm, when a rock was dislodged by the partner. The rock, estimated to be one foot by two feet, fell around 150 feet before hitting Kiernan.

    Another climbing party beneath Kiernan contacted Yosemite’s Emergency Communication Center, and Park Rangers and Search and Rescue personnel were dispatched. Rescue workers climbed the route to Kiernan, who they pronounced dead at around 4 pm. A California Highway Patrol helicopter and Yosemite park helicopter were both involved in inserting rescue equipment and park rangers onto the wall, as well as hoisting Kiernan’s body to Yosemite Valley.

    The incident comes just days after 19-year-old Aleh Kalman went missing after being swept over Nevada Fall last Saturday. The teen was visiting the park with a church group, and was swimming above the fall when a current swept him over. A search for the teen has been ongoing since the weekend, but his body has not been recovered.

    (Image courtesy Mike Murphy/Wikimedia Commons)

  • Teen Missing After Being Swept Over Yosemite Waterfall

    A Sacramento, California teen is missing after being swept over a waterfall at Yosemite National Park.

    According to the U.S. National Park Service, 19-year-old Aleh Kalman was swimming above Nevada Fall (pictured) on Saturday after noon. At around 2:45, Kalman was swimming to shore from a rock in the middle of the river when a current swept him over the edge of the waterfall. Kalman had come to Yosemite with a church group and was hiking the Mist Trail.

    Park authorities and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) organized a search effort for Kalman that included dog teams and a CHP helicopter. Search efforts continued until Saturday night and resumed on Sunday, but the teen’s body has not been found. A large section of the Mist Trail is closed while the search continues.

    Nevada Fall is a 594-foot fall located on the Merced River. The National Park Service has warned park visitors that rivers in Yosemite run at high levels this time of year, and are extremely cold.

    The incident comes less than one month after the body of another hiker was found near the bottom of Vernal Fall, a 317-foot waterfall also located in Yosemite. The 73-year-old man reportedly fell from a cliff near the top of the fall.

    (Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0)

    [CORRECTION:] Nevada Fall is 594-feet high, not 150-feet.

  • Google Earth Tour Highlights National Park

    In a guest post over at the Google Lat Long Blog today, Ben Fash of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy announced how the group used the Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant it received late last year. The Parks Conservancy, which is a nonprofit that supports San Francisco area national parks, created a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) presentation highlighting the restoration of Crissy Field – a large National Park adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge. KML files can be used with Google Earth to view annotations and other media along with satellite data. From the blog post:

    The Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th anniversary celebration recently culminated in a waterfront festival, and hundreds of thousands of people joined hands on Crissy Field — a beautiful 100-acre national park site at the foot of the bridge. As we celebrated the bridge with the community on Crissy Field, we also celebrated 11 years of the restoration of the cultural and natural resources at this site.

    The presentation, titled “The Transformation of Crissy Field,” is an interactive Google Earth tour of Crissy Field and the many changes it has endured since before the arrival of Europeans. In its previous incarnations, the site was the location of a Grand Prix race track, an army airfield, and a dumping ground for chemical waste. The tour uses photos, maps, drawings, and, of course, satellite imagery, to create an informative Google Earth presentation on how Crissy Field was restored to its current pristine status.

    The KML presentation is only viewable if you have Google Earth already downloaded. Luckily, the Parks Concervancy has provided a fully-narrated YouTube video of the presentation. You can watch the video below or download the Google Earth presentation.