Over twenty years ago, William Holland, a 38 year old from Gorham, Maine, was in the Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies ice climbing Snow Dome with a partner. He had reached the summit and was taking a break on an outcropping of snow. Unfortunately, the cornice wasn’t strong enough to hold him and…
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Montana ranchers uniting against National Monument designations
Earlier this year, a document from the Interior Department was revealed, containing a list of proposed National Monument sites. Many of the locations were in the western part of the country; a total of 14 sites across nine states. One site up for consideration was an area of 2.5 million acres in northeastern Montana, with…
Trail Report: Snow Lake
Looking for a fairly easy hike to a nice cool alpine lake? Add in some decent fishing and you have Snow Lake.
New restrictions for off-road vehicles in Mt. Hood National Forest
Last week, the US Forest Service announced a decision to restrict OHV (off-highway vehicles) access to only four areas of the forest. The decision was in direct response on countering erosion, noise control, and overall environmental impact that vehicles like dirt bikes and four-wheelers have in the national forest.
Wildfire allowed to burn in Crater Lake National Park
The Phoenix Fire has been burning for over a week in Crater Lake National Park, but fire crews won’t be extinguishing the fire. Instead, they will be continuing to monitor and manage the fire while allowing it to continue burning. Started by a lightning strike on August 17th, the fire is estimated to be about 200 acres in size and is burning in an area about 7 miles southeast of Diamond Lake.
Montana firm wins deal to remove two dams on the Elwha River
After decades of discussion about removing two of the dams on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, the National Park Service has finally signed a contract to do just that. The firm that won the contract, and signed the deal this week is Barnard Construction out of Bozeman, Montana.
Part of the PCT reopens in Washington
This week, a 6.5-mile stretch of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail reopened. The section of trail, located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area of Washington has been closed since last year when the Lemah Fire burned over 700 acres of land near Kachess Lake.
Bear on a beer run raids Prius
If you’re planning on visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, be careful to not spill any beer in your car when you leave it in the parking lot. Last week, a bear managed to pry open the door of a Toyota Prius to get inside. What was inside the car that was so tempting to this bear? Spilled beer, toothpaste, and sunblock!
Federal funding helps provide jobs for WA residents and restore forests
If you’ve been out on the trails in parts of Washington this summer, you’ve probably noticed the trucks and machinery rumbling along those bumpy forest roads. But contrary to what you may think, they aren’t building more roads or clear cutting the forest. Rather, they are working to restore parts of the state’s National Forests.
California State Parks facing new threats
The last year and a half hasn’t been easy for state parks in California. The massive budget crisis threatened to close a huge number of parks, and when fees were raised to make up for part of the budget shortfall, an increase in incidents of people evading fees followed. Now, the most recent problem facing the state parks appears to be population growth and technology.