The company Leading Edge Aviation has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for permission to fly helicopter tours over Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The FAA says it will take “several years” to consider the proposal. Park managers want time to evaluate whether the flights will disrupt the silence in the park.
It takes years to figure out if a helicopter makes noise? One can hear the chop-chop of helicopter rotor blades for miles. If noise is the sole criteria, then the answer is easy: no. Of course, there is always another consideration: money.
Park officials also want to ensure that flights do not disturb northern spotted owls and peregrine falcons nesting near the lake. The park already regulates tour boats for noise.
Crater Lake is the deepest and clearest lake in the country. It was formed from a volcanic eruption more than 7,000 years ago.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Yosemite Valley today to commemorate the arrival of four hybrid electric/diesel tractors that will be used in the popular Yosemite Valley Floor Tours.
The state of the art tractors cost $150,000 each and pull trailers for the two-hour tour narrated by a National Park Ranger. The new tractors replace propane powered vehicles used to pull the trailers. Approximately 70,000 visitors take the Yosemite Valley Floor Tour each year.
“We are very proud of these new vehicles and take great pride in leading by example. Going green is incredibly important to the park,” said Acting Superintendent Dave Uberuaga.
The new tractors will reduce emissions by 85% and get 800% better fuel economy than the previous vehicles. They complement Yosemite’s fleet of 16 hybrid shuttle buses.
The National Park Foundation, the national charitable partner of America’s 391 national parks, announced today that Neil J. Mulholland has been selected by the Foundation’s Board of Directors to serve as President and CEO. Mulholland, a Denver-area business executive, entrepreneur, and community advocate, will provide the vision, leadership and overall direction of the Foundation and advance its strategic mission — to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks. Mulholland will be based out of the Foundation’s Washington, D.C. offices and will officially assume the top leadership position on August 10, 2009.
“Neil Mulholland brings vast experience and expertise to the Foundation that will allow it to continue to be a strong partner with the National Park Service as we near the 100th anniversary of the National Park System in 2016,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who serves as chairman of the Foundation’s board. “Together, we will ensure our National Park System continues to be the finest system of parks in the world.”
For the second time this year, a bison attacked a tourist at Yellowstone National Park. On Wednesday around 11:30am, a 55-year-old California man was taking pictures of a bull bison that had wandered into the Bridge Bay Campgrounds. The two were about 10 feet apart when the bison charged.
The man sustained a “puncture wound” to his upper thigh. He was treated at Lake Clinic then transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming. His injuries are not life threatening.
Earlier this summer, a bison tossed a 50-year-old woman from Spain into the air. She was talking on a pay phone at the time.
Bull bison can stand six feet tall, weigh up to 2,000 pounds, and run up to 30 miles an hour. Bison can and will attack humans at any time, with or without provocation. Bison are especially dangerous during the next few weeks because it’s their mating season. Park regulations require that visitors remain at least 25 yards away from most animals, and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves. Tourists who violate this rule can face a citation and fine, or of course an animal attack.
A fire that has burned 900 acres in Zion National Park continues to rage and forces more trail closures. The fire was first spotted July 7 just a mile southeast of Lava Point in the northern area of the park. The West Rim Trail is now closed from Lava Point to the Telephone Canyon Trail. Imlay Canyon is also closed.
The fire is being allowed to burn east of the West Rim Trail to benefit the ecosystem. Fire officials hope it will run out of fuel when it reaches an area that burned last fall. The fire is 25 percent contained.
Hundreds of earthquakes have hit Yellowstone National Park recently, sparking fears of a major volcanic eruption. Authorities are closely monitoring the biggest earthquake swarm in more than 20 years. The strongest quake in this latest swarm was 3.9 on the Richter scale.
Earthquake activity has been generally increasing over the past few years. Scientists have recorded between 1,000-2,000 tremors a year since 2004. The most devastating earthquake in recent history in the Yellowstone region was a magnitude 7.1 quake in 1959. It was centered near Hebgen Lake and caused landslides that killed 28 people and caused more than $11 million in damage.
Yellowstone Park basically sits on top of a massive volcano. CNN’s Reynolds Wolf talks with geologists about recent volcanic activity at Yellowstone National Park.
A lichen found in the Channel Island National Park in California is the first species to be named after President Barack Obama. It looks like orange moss and grows very slowly. Lichen are the result of fungi and algae living together, and there are about 17,000 species of lichen in the world.
Kerry Knudsen, lichen curator of the University of California, Riverside Herbarium, discovered the species in 2007 while doing a lichen survey on Santa Rosa Island in California. “I named it Caloplaca obamae to show my appreciation for the president’s support of science and science education,” he said. “I made the final collections of C. obamae during the suspenseful final weeks of President Obama’s campaign for the United States presidency.”
Caloplaca obamae is the first organism to be named in honor of President Obama. Note that former president George W. Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney were also honored with species named after them. Both had slime-mold beetles named in their honor.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture. It represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278 acres and is 5,725 feet above sea level. It is managed by the National Park Service, and attracts approximately two million people annually.
The Los Angeles Times has compiled 10 things you probably didn’t know about Mt. Rushmore, one of America’s favorite landmarks. For example:
1. Charles E. Rushmore was a lawyer from New York. He was sent to South Dakota to check titles on some properties around the Black Hills in 1884 or 1885. By the National Park Service’s account, Rushmore asked the name of the mountain, and nearby resident Bill Challis told him it had none “but from now on, we’ll call it Rushmore.” Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
A man died after he drove his car off a 600-foot cliff at the edge of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.
“Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found tire tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge and received reports of a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge,” the National Park Service said in a statement.
Rescuers used ropes to descend into the canyon, where they found the vehicle and the man’s body. Police have not yet ruled the death a suicide, though there was no evidence of foul play.
Glacier National Park officials have recovered the body of a Pennsylvania man who apparently drowned when the canoe he was in capsized on Swiftcurrent Lake.
The body of 22-year-old James Green of Harrisburg, PA, was located shortly before noon Tuesday in about 8 feet of water about 20 feet from shore.
Green and 29-year-old Joseph Nelson of Spring, Texas, fell into the water Tuesday. Nelson was able to swim to shore. Nelson is a current employee of Glacier Park Inc., while Green was a former employee.
The company Leading Edge Aviation has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for permission to fly helicopter tours over Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The FAA says it will take “several years” to consider the proposal. Park managers want time to evaluate whether the flights will disrupt the silence in the park. 
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Yosemite Valley today to commemorate the arrival of four hybrid electric/diesel tractors that will be used in the popular Yosemite Valley Floor Tours.
