Heather Hansen's Blog, page 5
November 6, 2015
Yellowstone shatters visitation record
By the end of October, 4 million recreational visitors had ventured into the nation’s first national park. That’s up 17 percent from this time last year, and the highest number ever recorded.
In October alone there were over252,000people trolling thegeysers, mud pots, mountains and meadows of this crown jewel park.
Why the overall surge in visitor numbers? There’s speculationthat a combination ofmild October weather, low gas prices and promotion of the 2016 National Park centennial caused the...
Gateway Arch is 50 and still fabulous
The Gateway Arch just turned 50!
On the occasional of this milestone birthday, some fun facts about the iconic monument:
It’s the world’s largest manmade arch, 630 feet in all. It is called an “inverted catenary curve” and constructing it required a complex mathematical equation. Two architects namedSaarinen (father Eliel and son Eero) entered the design competition which resulted in the arch. While Eliel received a telegram tellinghim he’d won, the news was intended for his son. It cost $13...An arch, yes, and much more
At 630 feet, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch is certainly an architecturalwonder. It’s the highest monument in the nation (by far) and the tallest arch in the world. Building it requiredworkers who were part engineer, partacrobat toiling at great heights over two-and-half years.
This Gateway to the West–which just turned 50–reminds us that, until relatively recently, the “frontier” lay just beyond the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri. President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Lewis and Clark on...
More than just an Arch
At 630 feet, St. Louis’ Gateway Arch is certainly an architecturalwonder. It’s the highest monument in the nation (by far) and the tallest arch in the world. Building it requiredworkers who were part engineer, partacrobat toiling at great heights over two-and-half years.
This Gateway to the West–which just turned 50–reminds us that, until relatively recently, the “frontier” lay just beyond the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri. President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Lewis and Clark on...
November 5, 2015
Bats are way cool
Bats get a lot of exposurethis time of year, what with Halloween decorations and vampire lure. Despite their bad rep as bloodsuckers (most bats eat bugs and vampire bats only live in Central and South America) they are some of the most amazing mammals. And they play critically important roles in various ecosystems aroundthe country.
Bats livein nearly every national park but they are seldom seen (among other home bases, they chill out during the day in some 4,000 caves in 85 national park uni...
Like clean water? Tell Congress. Here’s how.
For roughly a decade the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been working on clarifying and strengthening certain aspects of the Clean Water Act, specifically by more clearly defining the term “waters of the United States.” The new rule would include protection for“headwaters,” and seasonal and rain-dependentwaters which have a direct impact on downstream water quality. The agencies basedthe Clean Water Rule on robust science, hundreds of meetings...
Letting predators be predators in Alaskan preserves
The National Park Service (NPS) just amended its regulations for sport hunting and trapping on roughly 2 million-acres of national preserves in Alaska.
The new rule gives some breathing (and breeding) room to wolves and bears, in particular, the taking of whichpreviouslywas governed by state law. Now forbidden is baiting bears or tracking them with dogs; using artificial light to hunt at bears’ den sites; hunting wolves and coyotes during denning season; using a motorboat to hunt caribou; or...
November 2, 2015
Weigh in on drilling in national parks
National parks have cultural, historical, natural and economic value, making it hard to believe that oil and gas development within them is not only possible but presentlyscantly regulated.
The NPS governs the surface resources in parks but not those underground. That means if mineral rights in a national park are owned by a state or private entity, oil and gas development couldbe possible there.
The NPS wants to make changes to the way the process is regulated.In its proposed rule, the NPSla...
1000-year flood hits Death Valley
Normally,Death Valley is known better for its hot and dry conditions, not its water features. But rivers and lakes seldom seen have reemergedafter the area got more rain in several hours than it usually gets in a year.
What’s being called a “1,000-year flood” roughed-upmany roads and man-made structures in the park, causingmillions of dollars in damage. In some narrow canyons water surged to over 15 feet. Park officials say some areas will stay closed for months.
Check Death Valley National P...
August 31, 2015
It’s official! McKinley is Denali, again
The president used his executive power to officially restore theKoyukon Athabascan name for the peakat the center of Denali National Park. The 20,320 foot-mountain has been known by Natives, and later locals (and later most everybody), as “Denali” (meaning “the great one” or “the high one”) for thousands of years.
Learn more about Denali National Park.
Photo credit: NPS/Tim Rains
