Yellowstone in the Future November 17, 2018, 01:03:19 pm Interesting article in the New York Times:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/15/climate/yellowstone-global-warming.html 1 Likes
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #1 – November 18, 2018, 01:16:48 pm No worries.Nasa: Mini ice age on the way due to lack of sunspots and it'll get very...
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #2 – November 19, 2018, 10:59:33 am Neither scenario will matter when Yellowstone goes KA-BOOM!
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #3 – November 19, 2018, 01:02:07 pm I think the jist of this thread is "visit now while you still can!" 1 Likes
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #4 – November 19, 2018, 01:03:27 pm My first visit to Yellowstone was just a few years after the legendary fires of 1988. For those not familiar, the 1988 fires burned >60% of the park and people were talking about how it would never be the same. My latest visit was in 2015 and the park was wonderful.Ironically, the severity of the fires was caused in large part by the USFS and NPS policy to deter fire for the first half-century of NPS existence. The truth is that while our National Parks are an invaluable treasure, they are almost all an ecological mess. In many cases, the mess has been caused or made worse by the actions (or inactions) of the NPS itself. From fire policy, to stocking trout in high alpine lakes (Yosemite and others), to lights and dance floors in cave systems (Carlsbad), to introduced elk destroying native vegetation (Grand Canyon) , to the removal of top predators, to fire management problems across the park system, many of the problems were caused by the NPS and it's cooperating agencies. Each of those mistakes was caused by well intentioned people doing what they were sure was best as informed by the best science available at the time. We would do well to learn from those mistakes and hold our own ideas of what is 'right' and 'natural' with a bit of humility. Rich'03 MB in NC 1 Likes
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #5 – November 19, 2018, 02:26:23 pm "We would do well to learn from those mistakes..."And that applies as well to management of forests, for example, Paradise, CA !!!
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #6 – November 19, 2018, 07:38:53 pm Dance floor in Carlsbad? Did I miss something? There’s a lunchroom down there with a concrete floor, but no one was waltzing when we visited. — Jon
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #7 – November 19, 2018, 08:14:30 pm Quote from: Jon & Loni - November 19, 2018, 07:38:53 pmDance floor in Carlsbad? Did I miss something? There’s a lunchroom down there with a concrete floor, but no one was waltzing when we visited. — JonSpecifically, the floor in one of the general tour rooms is flat and smooth. One of the rangers told us that it cleared and smoothed by order of the superintendent at the time (1920s maybe, when it was a monument) so they could hold parties with music and dancing. In general, I was referring to the system or trails, rails, and lighting, along with the elevators, cafeteria, and bathrooms, that were built inside the cave. Imagine the uproar if someone were to propose something like that today! At the time it was considered necessary to attract tourists to the new western parks. Rich'03 MB in NC
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #8 – November 19, 2018, 10:47:48 pm Quote from: rich - November 19, 2018, 08:14:30 pmSpecifically, the floor in one of the general tour rooms is flat and smooth. One of the rangers told us that it cleared and smoothed by order of the superintendent at the time (1920s maybe, when it was a monument) so they could hold parties with music and dancing. In general, I was referring to the system or trails, rails, and lighting, along with the elevators, cafeteria, and bathrooms, that were built inside the cave. Imagine the uproar if someone were to propose something like that today! At the time it was considered necessary to attract tourists to the new western parks. Desecration of natural sites has been going on for decades and even centuries, and continues to this day. This story happens to be about the owner of Anderson Hitches, maker of towing products:East Idaho man vandalizes historic Utah arches | Idaho StatesmanI remember taking the tour of Lehman Caves in Great Basin NP a while back and the ranger pointing out that in the early 1900's, the caves were used to hold concerts and parties. If you look at the cave ceiling in certain areas, you can see numerous names and dates that people wrote using candle smoke:Lehman Caves National Monument - Great Basin National Park (U.S. National...
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #9 – November 19, 2018, 11:34:55 pm We enjoyed the tour of the caves at Great Basin despite the old graffiti. There is quite a cave system there. I did experience impending claustrophobia and was just able to keep it at bay by being the last one in the tour line..... as if I could find the exit if I tried. lol The mind is a funny thing. It's a beautiful park worth visiting especially in the fall as there are lots of yellow aspens. 1 Likes
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #10 – November 20, 2018, 02:29:46 am On a trip thru Rocky Mt NP around 1990, we stopped at Great Basin NP and took a tour of Lehman Caves. What I remember is that an elderly couple in the group found the candle soot inscription they had left a half-century before. They were so happy to see it, and I thought that it was a different time then. And here and now, it was a different time when I saw them. There are places in the Mohave desert where there are cairns in the passes built by travelers dropping a stone, and trails off to unknown places that are coated with desert varnish. 1 Likes
Re: Yellowstone in the Future Reply #11 – November 21, 2018, 12:49:32 am Quote from: HiLola - November 19, 2018, 10:47:48 pmI remember taking the tour of Lehman Caves in Great Basin NP a while back and the ranger pointing out that in the early 1900's, the caves were used to hold concerts and parties. If you look at the cave ceiling in certain areas, you can see numerous names and dates that people wrote using candle smoke:In one of the large caverns, used in the past for parties, most of the small stalactites are missing, broken off and taken home as souvenirs.Ah, the good, old days.It still goes on, committed by people one would think would know better.Boy Scout Leaders Destroy Ancient Rock FormationLarry