- Alternative National Park Service
- Alternatives to Busy National Parks!
- Murkowski on Alternative Funding Sources for National Park Service
- The Alternative to Crowded National Parks
- The History of National Park Service
- Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, Opening Session
- Yellowstone National Park Commits to Alternative Fuels
Alternative National Park Service
this is not meant to be a political pose,gold this year 2017 is to visit all 59,US national parks the Im sure youve,heard in the news by now that a rogue,Twitter account and Instagram account of,the National Park Service has been,started twitting about climate change,and the beauty of nature and the power,of Mother Nature and how we should,protect it Im thinking whether this is,a bad time to visit all the national,parks because its in the political,climate right now everybodys looking at,the National Park Service or this is the,best time because we get to interview,people and meet people and understand,the situation better as a very,optimistic person I would say its a,good time Im looking forward to meeting,some Park Rangers and interviewing them,and finding out what they think about,all this maybe some of them are not,agreeing to this alternative National,Park Service accounts and I want to hear,about that as well we really do need to,protect mother nature I mean we only,have one planet our planet is so tiny,tiny tiny tiny tiny in the whole,universe not unless we have found a way,to live in another planet we need to,take care of this only planet that we,have I mean where are you gonna go,Im sure Herman and I are gonna learn a,lot by visiting all this places I am,quite sure it will only strengthen our,love for nature our love for protecting,the lands the air the water I hope we,could all find in our hearts to do the,same Ive always said the reason why,were actually doing this trip is life,is short,Im not generalizing but if there is,somebody out there whos not concerned,of the environment because,you are going to earn money what are you,gonna do with your money when you die,youre gonna bring your money in your,coffin you have no concern for the,environment you probably wont see the,effect of that in this generation but,our next generation are gonna look back,in this time and say what were they,thinking if we cant breathe anymore,what are you gonna do with your money if,theres no land if theres no clean,water what are you gonna drink how long,are you gonna last without clean water,[Music],hes recording we just finished taking a,break after a day of movie and its,finished a bunch of cleaning because,were gonna be sleeping on the floor a,lot and sleep on a dirty floor got a,couple mystery packages in the mail I,have no idea what these are so here we,go first package,[Music],I got it ozmo DJI Osmo stuff yes it is,the base thats mine but it was,addressed to me so the first thing I got,it is oz moon base Osmo base right there,from DJ I know there is how small it is,fits in the palm of my hand theres a,little like button that locks into place,you just and then do you have to open,the button clicks in and then cant take,it this thing is maybe its my awesomo,extension than that ordered,thats my to suggest to be another DJI,component Im gonna have to buy an Ozma,because I got all these components and,then dont even have nine its the,extension ride my second present to me,slightly stealthy black good listening,is pretty heavy its kind of like the,selfie stick of the DJI I mean the DJI,itself its already heavy man this is,even gonna make it heavier man thats,heavy,stuff told you its heavy,how could you like hype youre,definitely going to get an arm workout,as you can guess those were not those,were not actually for me but I got,another box Donna its my tiny wet/dry,vac this is my gift because I do all the,cleaning I have some sad news I already,dropped my Jim to me she said sad news,and then she know thats not very bad I,was just looking at you anyway my sad,news is I already dropped my gimbal last,night and it not just a scratch but it,actually dented it I was afraid that the,magnet was or whatever mechanism it uses,like it broke I broke it like it dropped,probably good for feet making me cringe,but well I mean no no reenactment it,actually fell from the tripod I guess I,didnt lock it properly and so it,dropped but anyway its the day before,we leave for US Virgin Islands and we,have not packed and the elite RV care,where we drop off our RV they just,called us that they need to see our car,so that they can look at the brakes and,the weight distribution and stuff like,that theres so much to do but anyway I,have not packed at all have you pack,made No,Im breaking you out because I observe,stress my skins breaking out yes guys,so for those who whos gonna do this in,the future quit your job and travel,expect a little bit of stress and,challenge theres just so much though to,think of but hey we know its going to,be worth it were gonna be leaving for,US Virgin Islands in less than 24 hours,in 23 hours so we really need to get,going like that we really need to get,going on the packing but were gonna get,there I know I just probably need some,coffee and monster or Red Bull whatever,to keep me going because last night we,slept on the floor,so our backs are kinda hurt Im just,gonna pack like two underwears one short,two underwears okay fine maybe trying to,pack but you have such a big backpack,have you adjusted it yeah I might – I,havent adjusted it Ive gained some,weight so I know I have to adjust the,straps think this right here is the,ripcord usually this is one of the,remote for the jet jet petals were,gonna be doing that so watch our video,because were gonna be jumping out of a,plane or maybe doing some beast jogging,no you go BASE jumping no we do things,together cuz were gonna be holding,hands now itll be like doing circles,[Music]
Alternatives to Busy National Parks!
hey guys welcome back to another video,and todays video im going to be,talking about,national park alternatives so,national park or not alternatives to the,busier national parks,and um what what i mean by this is like,we already know this year,that the national parks are crowded,um a lot of them out out in here in utah,are just overcrowded to where the park,has been even,because i know arches has been like,closing at like 7,30 daily because its already crowded,its already get full capacity,so im here to give you guys um,nice alternatives to the 10 most visited,parks in the,10 most visited national parks so,lets get on with the video,and first of all to start we have the 10,most visited national parks in 2020,i tried pulling up to 2019 but i cant,find that so were using 2020 because i,2019 data would be a bit more nicer,because,well kova didnt happen in 2019,so everything is shut down in 2019 but,these it was a nice set of data,but first of all is the blue ridge,parkway,um so the blue ridge parkway is a part,its a parkway that stretches from the,great smoky mountains to shenandoah,national park,um im just making shirts so basically,if you like the um,blue ridge parkway check out shenandoah,national park,pretty much is at the northern end of,the parkway,and also shows off great parts of the um,appalachian trail,or appalachian mountains i mean you can,its still a very,its counting how many people are,driving it annually,so basically it being the number one,park in 2020,really doesnt make a difference because,well,you get to drive it so like if you still,want to like its still kind of a good,park to visit this year but shenandoah,is the alternative,next up is golden gate national,recreation area this ones located in,san francisco,and if its loca its located within a,city,i think san francisco its gonna be,crowded,so golden gate national recreation area,if i had to give an alternative to that,one,i would probably say,try point raised national seashore,its not a national recreation area,its the seashore just north,of um um san francisco sorry i had a bit,of a brain further,but it is still it has very beautiful,and like depending on what kind of urine,it is you can see elephant seals,elephant seals and a variety of wildlife,so,on to the next part next up is lake,mead national recreation area in,nevada and arizona it received about,8 million visitors in 2020,and to and the alternative i would,recommend,for lake mead would,actually um be,glen canyon its in arizona and utah,its a few yeah its on the border,um its its another lake its its a,popular one its,its its basically um,like its kind of expensive to go there,but it is,a great alternative to lake mead,especially since at the moment,lake mead is currently in a drought,its currently at a record low,for water height so theres that,next up is the great smoky mountains,national park which is,the busiest national most,visited national park with 12.1 million,people visiting it in 2020,and um so,basically my alternative for great smoky,mountains i would say would,probably do shenandoah,just up its just up in virginia,not much further but if not do like ovid,river or,big south fork those ones are usually,less crowded,and theyre a bit of more of a canyon,but those ones are very beautiful parks,as well,next up is the chesapeake in ohio canal,national historical park,um this park is located in maryland dc,and i i think thats it,its a weird park its very long um,thats probably why it gets a lot of,visitation,but my recommendations for park to do,instead of that is check out the,national mall,ashley mall but um already alejani porch,[Music],next up is cape cod national seashore,if you like cape cod you might,you might want to try out fire island,national seashore in on,on long island next up is the delaware,water gap,national recreation area the one i the,park i recommend for this one is new,river gorge national park,in west virginia um you can go rafting,just yeah so,yeah river gorge national park,now on to the top 10 national parks,national parks the big 63. um,so i already covered great smoky,mountains like i said,um ovid river um big,big south fork shenandoah those are the,ones,um next up is yellowstone um my,alternative for,yellowstone would be lassen volcanic,national park in california,it it doesnt have any got it doesnt,have,any geysers there is a funeral um mark,or like labeled as a geyser even though,its a funeral,um but you can see funerals um and,whatnot at bump as hell,and sofa works and not to mention,theres tons of beautiful lakes,and also it is an active volcano like,yellowstone,so next up is zion national park my,alternative to zion is,capital reef national park its a lot,bigger of a park and not as much people,go to capitol reef,its its like its the least visited of,utahs five,not mighty five as we like say it out,here,and yeah and you can its pretty much a,good mixture between,history and geoha,or geologic or geologic history,so a good alternative for rocky mountain,national park,would be black canyon of the gunson,national park in colorado,so its like a little bit further a,drive from denver,but its a very beautiful canyon which,is actually known for its darkness and,not its beautiful colors like the grand,canyon,which is why i actually really want to,go there and i might go there this year,next up is grand teton national park in,wyoming,my alternative for this one is glacier,national park up in montana,its its a very remote park but its,also very popular so you can go,and check that one out next up,is grand canyon national park this ones,a big park,its but um my,alternative for this park is kings,canyon,national park in california kings canyon,national park,is located right next to sequoia,national park and,how the canyon is like even deeper than,the grand canyon,and you can drive into the canyon so,its a bit more,its a bit so yeah its a kings canyon,national park,for koyahoga national koyahoga valley,national park,my recommendation for another park to,visit,would be the um the aviation national,historic site,acadia national park uh my alternative,and alternative for that park would,the catahound woods and waters national,monument,um i think last year they received about,80 000 people,its more of a remote park but still,beautiful,maine woods so if you just like to stay,in maine cattle catalin woods and waters,next up is olympic national park my,alternative to this one would be,um crap crater lake,national park it doesnt have a variety,of things,it doesnt have a variety of different,land,like landscapes like like um,olympic but crater lake national park is,a great alternative to,olympic national park and finally we,have joshua tree national park its,located about,three hours outside of los angeles and,my alternative for this one would be,mojave national preserve,its located on the california naval,border i think its located in between,um interstates 15 and,30. and its you can,access it by a two-wheel drive vehicle,but if you really like off-roading check,out mojave national preserve,so so thank you guys for watching if you,guys have any national park alternatives,you can,feel free to leave them down in the,description of like,what park is an alternative for another,one because i would love to read those,on what you guys think is a great,alternative park,to some of the big parks,so if you havent all if you enjoyed,this content,feel free to subscribe and,like the video and ill have a lot more,content,like this talking about the national,parks in,become so thank you guys for watching,you
More: 9anime alternative
Murkowski on Alternative Funding Sources for National Park Service
this morning Id like to to start my,questions off by focusing on on some of,the funding proposals and the,alternatives that are contained within,the proposal director Jarviss I look at,this it appears that there are four new,types of funds in your proposal plus the,900 million for the NPS construction,account and I guess Im looking at them,and see that the funds essentially do,the same thing theyre just funded in,slightly different ways so the question,to you to start off is why why do we,need to have so many funds should we be,focusing in in one area more directly,Id like to get to the issue of for,instance the lodging fees and discussion,about that but but also the endowment so,again youve got four funds all taking,you to the same place why do you need,that Thank You chairwoman thats a great,question it is a little complicated of,the way its been laid out I think when,you look at the the needs of the,National Park Service particularly an,infrastructure standpoint there are,assets which I believe are inherently a,federal responsibility and I could,probably never raise money for a,wastewater treatment plant or a water,line a potable water line like at the,Grand Canyon I cannot go out and rates,philanthropic dollars to fix that then,there are projects like you know the,repair of the Iwo Jima memorial where,David Rubenstein stepped up and gave us,five million dollars to fix that so you,separate those out and think about,theres a set of projects with the,Centennial challenge where the skin in,the game as will indicates we could put,up money from the federal side and get a,match or even better than one to one,match to fix projects that are of high,profile then there are a larger subset,of projects that we are requesting the,three hundred million dollars for,multiple years that are really just sort,of basic responsibilities of,infrastructure,of the National Park Service which we,have an aging infrastructure and then,theres you know the promotion of the,find your Park campaign is impacting all,of the land management agencies so,fishin Wally service u.s. Forest Service,of BLM as well are all seeing increases,in recreational use on those lands as,well so we felt that the campaign really,is a big tent for everybody so theres,an opportunity there and then the fourth,category is really about new revenue,sources with the increase in the senior,pass and the lodging tax gives us an,opportunity to utilize those funds very,effectively in sort of new ways and,leveraging those so youre really,looking at four different categories of,funds that can be applied to these,issues let me ask about the the lodging,fees it it you look at how its its,structured it seems to function more,like a like a federal tax you know,youve got a situation now where in many,of our parks are our overnight visitors,are already paying local and state taxes,as well as perhaps other fees on their,lodging its my understanding that,visitors pay an eleven percent tax on,lodging in Yosemite so if youre if,youre looking at adding another five,percent in certain areas I think youre,going to have folks look at that and say,thats thats a little little bit more,than theyre willing to do what,percentage of parks and Ill direct this,both to you director Jarvis as well as,mis piernas what percentage of parks,have local taxes and fees that are added,on to the cost of lodging at overnight,accommodations within the parks and and,and really is this something is this,going to be something that is going to,to have an impact on individuals desires,to come and utilize our parks or is it,going to be just what people accept as,the price of using our parks,and Ill director Ill start with you,and ms pierre know and then I Id also,welcome mr. Shaffer author mr. Crandall,I think mr. Sheth you suggested that the,lodging fees were reasonable but id,like to hear comments from all of us,nope keep my response short we have been,reaching out sort of a data call to all,of our parks we dont have a centralized,database on this on who is collecting,additional taxes on top of it and I,honestly dont have the hard data follow,up with you on which of the individual,hotels are collecting what would be,considered a tourism tax its common,practice across the country for a,tourism tax to be layered on top of a,hotel if you go to New York City its,$25 or whatever on top of existing taxes,and that money is usually pooled for,specifically for things like marketing,thats our suggestion here that bill,says up to five percent and I think wed,have to think about you know how to,apply that percentage it would not be a,straight across the board we would look,at each individual hotel lodging unit to,determine how appropriate that would be,applied if its already being collected,obviously we wouldnt be doing that as,well so thats the way we would apply it,yes piernas go ahead and push your,button oh shes so they dont proposes,of 5% lodging and camping a fee be,charged for each person which actually,would bring in about were actually less,than 12 and a half million dollars,annually so its a relatively small,amount and there are other,recommendations as well and I think its,important for the committee to look at,all of these fees there have been,suggestions about increasing and,creating a dollar Centennial fee at the,gate because you know as many as you,know many of the parks do not even,charge an entrance fee so then theres,that issue as well and its very,difficult on the camping fee side to,actually be able to implement this given,just the structure and the camping,facilities but I think it is important,to really analyze the fee structures and,to look at where it makes sense and,where theres a possibility to increase,it because I think at this point given,the,severe funding needs for the national,parks we need to look at all these,different areas quick comments mr.,Scheffer yes madam sure I would agree,with director Jarvis unless I think we,need to first of all under have a better,understanding of exactly where the,existing fees are are are already being,applied it we dont want to do something,thats going to drive down demand for,the launching and other facilities,obviously and if theres already being,applied as John said that that we would,not want to impose an additional fee on,top of that my senses in some places the,demand is fairly elastic and there may,be an opportunity to provide you know,some measure of an increase and I guess,the last thing I would say is that it,died groups with Teresa as well that you,know this isnt there are a silver,bullet here we need to look at a broad,diversity of options to in order to kind,of raise sufficient funding to meet the,opportunities the Centennial challenge,suggests thank you thank you madam chair,we are the people who collect the fees,and we can tell you that an overwhelming,majority of the hotels lodges that are,in national parks are subject to various,tourism taxes so I think were going to,find that this is a dupe looted tax our,worry is that it goes against the basic,philosophy of trying to invite personal,support for national parks and rather,than find the situation Im flying to,Denver Im going to be renting a car Im,paying ten dollars a day for the car but,by the time I pay for all of the taxes,ill be paying thirty two dollars a day,for that car we dont want that to,happen we already have i can tell you,with the National Park concessions we,have utility pass routes we have state,and local sales taxes and we have hotel,tourism taxes on most of these this is,not a deal breaker but I would suggest,that its going to after a very small,percentage of park users and that that,number of overnight stays is already,down seventeen percent Im not sure,thats what we want to do is focus on a,declining market thank you appreciate,that Senator Cantwell
More: alternative minimum tax credit
The Alternative to Crowded National Parks
welcome back to lunch break Im Tania,Rivero we have some travel advice for,those looking for a summer escape,perhaps pining for a peaceful spot to,soak in the raw beauty of the great,outdoors well a visit to a national park,might sound like just the ticket the,problem is attendance at national parks,is soaring and you might find the,solitude you seek shattered by the,crowds here with a better suggestion is,WSJ zanter Kison and thanks so much for,joining us so attendance at national,parks is just off the charts these days,well attendance at national parks just,been going up I mean it sort of goes up,and down and up and down but certainly,at the at the handful say the dozen that,are the most popular parks and everybody,wants to go to I mean you do find,situations where you sit in traffic jams,and Ive actually had situations where,Ive been climbing up trails and I felt,like I was in the New York City public,oh my goodness Im lining up for a,picnic table right now I think its,clear yeah I mean theyre beautiful,theres a good reason why theyre sure,sure they are beautiful but you say,there are some equally as beautiful,state parks that are overlooked and that,would provide you with just as much fun,with far fewer crowds yeah I mean thats,a real attraction of these state parks I,mean you dont have to have an either/or,approach either you can say hey look you,know Im gonna go to Acadia but Ill,take out Camden Hills as well lets go,through some of the ones that you first,of all youd like you said Acadia,National Park has a great sister park in,Camden Hills State Park exactly its,about 6070 miles down the coast they,both theyre quite similar actually in,terms of their geography they have these,these about thousand foot coastal,mountains that meet the ocean and music,and on a beautiful clear day you can see,for miles and miles from up on the top,of these Peaks because theyre theyre,largely bald so you need a name this,isnt Maine exactly and so when you come,down also you generally are very close,at Camden Hills youre very close to the,town of Camden which is a very cute,touristy town with the lobster pounds,and the whole whole bit gorgeous the,secret is out there now what about an,alternative to Yosemite National Park,thats another popular National Park for,sure oh this ones kind of interesting,theres a state park called Mono Lake,and its a its a very quirky,Ive actually spent a lot of time out,there its its Mona Lake is about 13,miles from the entrance the eastern,entrance to Yosemite its quite close,you have to travel over this beautiful,steep path to get there and the,surrounding area Mona Lake itself is,very interesting and the surrounding,area is all National Forest Service and,it directly about to assembly so its,its really quite the similar,spectacular scenery that you would,expect it gorgeous at Yosemite is,gorgeous alright now what about an,alternative to Yellowstone National Park,well here we we went about I think about,30 40 miles away in Idaho theres a part,called Harriman State Park it was,donated by the Harriman family in the,late 70s it had been their private ranch,previously so when you go there you can,get these beautiful Yellowstone like,landscapes full of these bright sunny,meadows and forests,there arent any geysers unfortunately,but but what there is is that this,historic ranch which is which is still,there and if you reserve in advance you,can actually stay in some of the the,ranch buildings like the the cattle,Foremans ranch and theyre furnished,and theyre these lovely historic,buildings sounds stunning and thank you,so much and for more information on more,state parks people can check out your,article in the personal journal please,do it thank you so much as
The History of National Park Service
for over 100 years the National Park,Service is maintained and protected some,of Americas greatest treasures since,its founding in 1916 the service has,enjoyed broad support from the public as,well as elected officials from both,parties recently however the Trump,administration is turned on the service,for what it alleges or attempts to,undermine the president but its moves,to silence the National Park Service may,have inadvertently made park employees,early leaders in the resistance to the,new president was the National Park,Service attempting to provoke Trump with,its social media but wasnt simply,following the course set long before and,is the current presidents animosity,towards the parks an entirely new,development or have we seen similar,moments in the past in this episode of,the road to now we speak with former,national park service director John,Jarvis to find out Im Bob Crawford and,Ive been saw your in this is the road,to now well then we are weakened to the,trump presidency and I think anyone who,thought he was going to pivot or change,his behavior or become presidential or,stop tweeting or stopped acting like a,two-year-old is is seeing that on Trump,is Trump and hes not going to change,yeah I think this makes us go back on,the whole the whole saying after the,election was that conservatives took,Trump seriously but not literally and,liberals took him literally but not,seriously i think the lesson now is that,we all need to take him both series,seriously and literally and i think that,we are seeing that start to happen and,the last week has been has been a really,big week in terms of what hes tried to,do to reshape the country and it you,know i think a lot of people felt,darkness last week seeing these things,happen but as dark as it gets the sun,rises and right now were looking at the,response is beginning to build and this,is the thing we hope you guys remember,is that you know a lot of us a lot of us,are worried about these policies you,know the historic greatness of the,united states is that its a its been a,place where refugees could come and go,from fear to being great its a place,no where we have these amazing parks and,these things feel as if theyre under,attack but were already seeing that the,institutions in this country are going,to respond and todays interview is part,and parcel of that it is evidence of,this and youll see I think as think,time go on that there are a lot of us,and that we are stronger than anyone,ever thought thats exactly right man,and were not going to go through the,laundry list of other things that have,gone that happened this week and all the,the executive orders and and all the,policy changes and all the tweets were,not going to go through all that we,dont want to take that much time we,want to get to the interview but we do,want to stress to points1 when we we are,critical of the Trump administration it,is not because we are being partisan in,any way we believe that the actions of,the Trump administration in the first,week have shown that they are beyond the,pale and this is beyond liberal,conservative paradigm this is something,that is completely foreign to to the way,our government has worked pretty much,since its inception the other thing wed,like to stress is call your,representatives call your congressmen,call your Senators call them daily if,theres something in the administration,that makes you uncomfortable let them,know they work for us and they are the,really the only bulwark against him the,Congress is the legislative branch right,now is the our strongest bulwark against,what the Trump administration is doing,in terms of overreaching their authority,in many ways thats right and I know I,know people when you say things like,call your senator call your,representatives they kind of think those,things go and heard but Ive had,students who have worked for members of,Congress before and come back and told,their fellow students they pay attention,to these things you need to understand,that that every letter that goes there,it comes to the the to your elected,official in some way shape or form,and you know the squeaky wheel gets the,grease and so lets lets get grease,Ive spoken to the people who answer the,phones for congressional offices and,they are keeping a tally so the main,thing is you need to call your,congressmen or your senator because,theyre going to ask you your zip code,theyre going to ask you where you live,and thats what matters so if you live,in a certain zip code and a lot of,people are calling about a particular,issue that is especially for a,congressman that is going to alert them,that this is an issue they need to take,seriously thats right and speaking of,which today we have a representative for,a formal official former official from,one of the agencies that most recently,had trouble the National Park Service,and todays guest is former director he,was director of the National Park,Service until January third so very,recently his replacement is right now,being considered by the Trump,administration but we have John Jarvis,almost 40 years in the National Park,Service and unlike unlike current,officials mr. Jarvis could be frank and,i think the story he tells here is one,to be hopeful about mr. Jarvis isnt,just a former official the National Park,Service has been was established in 1916,its been around for hundreds going on,its a hundred first year and mr. Jarvis,was with the National Park Service for,over 40 years so we have a man who has,seen great changes in the National Park,Service and its a part of him its a,part of who he is it is in the National,Park Service is some of the best of who,we are as a country and so guys stay,positive keep that chin up and enjoy,this interview with John Jarvis,[Music],John Jarvis welcome to the road to now,well thank great to be here yeah weve,been trying to get you on the show for,at least the past month and a half and,its really great that youre here with,us today because the National Park,Service is front and center in the news,since the Trump administration has,placed a gag order on the social media,feeds of the National Park Service the,EPA and other government agencies this,stems from a tweet that the badlands,national park Twitter account put out,the other day that stated today the,amount of carbon dioxide is higher than,at any time in the last six hundred,fifty thousand years hashtag climate and,this has this gag order has spawned a at,alt us net Park Service twitter handle,that claims that they are the resistance,their bio reads the unofficial,resistance team of the US National Park,Service not taxpayer-subsidized come for,rugged scenery Fossil Beds and 89,million acres of landscape would love to,get your opinion on everything thats,going on right now between the federal,government or the executive branch in,the National Park Service and have you,seen any tension like this in your 30,years of service with the with the,National Park Service yes actually I,have some experience in the past on this,and and thats 40 years about 30 years,thank you where theyre pregnant of our,services and I i retired in in january,from being the director for the last,seven years and spent much my career in,the field and one of the issues that i,worked on a lot was was climate change,you know working with scientists and my,field staff monitoring glaciers and so,pack in the Sierras and others so and,over the last seven years in particular,when I was director we set up a whole,team to focus on climate change,particularly in the parks that are,highly vulnerable to the effects of,climate change like Glacier National,Park in particular but a lot of our,parks in the alpine regions are seeing,receding glaciers in the Sierras were,seeing fires burn much longer and much,hotter obviously drought storm surge sea,level rise affecting our coastal parks,as well so were in the process of,documenting all of that although that,impacts to parks and also as it relates,to the soci
Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, Opening Session
Jarvis: Well, good afternoon.,I’m really delighted to be here with you today.,I guess some of you are probably wondering what the Director of the National Park Service,is doing in front of a group of health professionals.,Well first, it might surprise you that the National Park Service actually has an Office,of Public Health staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service officers, and which is today,led by Captain Chuck Higgins, Chuck you’re out there someplace if you would stick up,your hand to show the crowd that we actually do have public health officers in the organization.,Second, it would be helpful to step back in time, just a little bit.,For a hundred and fifty years the role that parks have played has largely been unrecognized,,and there is a connection between our public lands and public health.,Fredrick Law Olmstead, really the father of landscape architecture, was also the creative,genius behind Central Park in New York, but he was also a conservationist, when very few,people were really thinking about conservation.,When he designed Central Park, Olmsted was not just imagining an idyllic place where,the Victorian families could stroll about on Sundays.,This was New York in the 1850s.,Olmstead was living in a city that had the realities of the Industrial Revolution Workers,worked and lived in crowded, disease-plagued tenement houses, but they called it home.,Epidemiology and modern germ theory were virtually unknown.,What people believed in those days was, my asthma, the idea that sickness was caused,by bad vapors, and there were certainly lots of bad vapors in the cities at the time.,Regardless, Olmstead’s response was remarkable in many ways in its wisdom.,He saw public parks as a remedy.,He envisioned large open spaces where nature prevailed and city-dwellers could escape the,toxic effects of the 19th century urban life.,A refuge where they could rejuvenate themselves and breathe clean air.,Places like New York Central Park and the chain of green spaces that he created around,Boston and Buffalo would serve as what he called the lungs of the city, and they continue,to this day to be incredible assets to those cities.,But unfortunately, we’ve spent the last few generations divorcing ourselves from the,natural world, and we’re seeing the consequences today.,It’s not just disappearing open space, but the effects of technology and our attitudes,towards the outdoors.,Our entertainments are instant, labor-free, and ever-present.,Author Richard Louv, in his book The Last Child in the Woods, uses the term nature deficit,disorder to describe the disturbing trend which has consequences of tripling the obesity,rates in children since the 1970s.,Unlike the impoverished tenement dwellers of the Olmstead time, today we suffer the,effects of prosperity.,I don’t think there’s a term that characterizes the current obesity crisis any better than,drive-thru.,Our communities are built to accommodate the automobile with everything designed for convenience,and the elimination of effort.,It’s even sometimes totally impossible to walk to where you want to go.,So, it’s not wonder that in addition to obesity we’re confronted with a rise in,diabetes, heart disease, emphysema, and cancer, and it’s why the Centers for Disease Control,have been studying urban sprawl and its effects on public health.,The national parks and the green spaces in general, are an important but often overlooked,variable in the American public health equation.,Earlier generations, which had a closer connection to this country’s natural character seem,to have an innate grasp of go outside and play, as our mothers told us when they were,dealing with rambunctious kids.,As the stewards of 395 of America’s most treasured national and cultural landmarks,,and the host to 280-million visitors a year, the National Park Service knows a great deal,about the outdoors, how people interact with it, and the effects of this interaction.,There were certain convictions in the founding of the National Park Service in 1916.,One of them was certainly preservation, but there was also the belief that the American,people needed to maintain their connection to their natural legacy, that the outdoors,were critical, not only to their physical wellbeing, but to their psychological health,as well.,Numerous studies indicate the benefits of getting outside and getting active.,Unlike supervised sports that are exercised in gyms, the outdoors encouraged spontaneous,unstructured activity, which often translates into more prolonged exercise.,This is especially true for young people.,Research also shows that they continue this activity well into adulthood.,Natural light is known for its therapeutic effects, and research suggests that being,outdoors can have positive effects on everything from stress, to attention deficit disorders,,to rates of healing, and recently there was a report even on nearsightedness.,Simply taking an hour-long walk in a natural environment can bring about a drop in blood,pressure and heart rate because of the immediate relaxation you experience.,There can be an increase in white blood cell count, a reduction in stress hormones, and,a boost to the immune system.,And guess what?,It doesn’t cost anything.,It’s free.,Translated into the modern healthcare system, imagine an American city with a high rate,of type-II diabetes.,A public health intervention might include not only an education campaign, but the city’s,parks and open spaces, access to the outdoors and its positive effects on health could be,a part of a highly cost effective prevention strategy.,Many of you are probably aware of the CDC’s list of the 10 greatest achievements in public,health over the last century.,They include vaccinations, fluoridation of drinking water, and controlled infectious,diseases.,I believe that reconnecting to nature, providing access to open space, and being physically,active in the natural environment should be added to that list.,We are now engaged in an wide-ranging effort to bring the outdoors into the discussion,about public health, and to bring lasting change to Americans’ lifestyle choices,,their nutrition, and their relationship with nature.,This is part of President Obama’s much broader America’s Great Outdoors initiative, a multi-agency,effort aimed at helping to conserve open space and reconnecting Americans to nature.,Key to this is his request to fully fund the land and water conservation fund.,For those of you who don’t know, the LWCF is not a tax, it’s a revenue.,It is the revenue generated from outer continual shelf oil drilling, and it has been around,for 65 years, but only once it its history has it been fully funded at 900 million.,This is the fund that creates parks for all people, and we are attempting to refill that,program and specifically target LWCF to create parks in underserved communities, particularly,in urban environments.,America’s Great Outdoors has resulted in a national conversation on what needs to be,done to protect our natural resources, and to ensure that the outdoors continues to be,a part of our lives.,Over the last two years, listening sessions across the country explored ways to counter,the trend of vanishing open space and separation from the outdoors.,We have learned that American cities do not have enough parks for children, and that open,green space for the urban disadvantaged is scarce.,Just like there are food deserts, there are park deserts.,We are tapping the expertise of leaders I academia, private industry, and conservation,so that we can reintroduce Americans to the outdoors and provide for this basic human,right.,First lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program, which is dedicated to fighting childhood,obesity, is by encouraging exercise and good nutrition and is also a major initiative,,but we’ve started a corollary.,Let’s move outside.,And that is administered by the Department of the Interior and led by the National Park,Service.,It serves as a way to connect Americ
Yellowstone National Park Commits to Alternative Fuels
,[background music], The National Park Service is entrusted with preserving and,showcasing Americas natural wonders and historical landmarks,,maintaining 392 national parks covering millions of acres of,land and water in all parts of the country, and plays host to,more than 275 million visitors every year.,No other place on earth has this much natural diversity and,spectacular scenery in one accessible place than Americas first,national park: Yellowstone.,So its no surprise that this is one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations.,More than a million private vehicles and three million people,traverse the park during the six months its open every year.,Yet the very act of admiring the scenery or stopping for one,of Yellowstones infamous wildlife jams—those daily backups,caused by elk, bison, and bears blocking the road or just,spotted nearby—is endangering the pristine environment that,makes this place so special.,To combat the problem, the Park Service is committed to,alternative fuel vehicles as a major part of their environmental stewardship program.,In fact, this biodiesel-powered 1995 Dodge Ram pickup was the,National Park Services first alt-fuel vehicle, and its still,in service in Yellowstone with over 200,000 miles on its clock.,Ask stakeholders in the Department of Energys Clean Cities,program: Yellowstone leads by example.,All of their heavy vehicles run on biodiesel blends up to B40 in the summer.,The park fleet also contains a number of flex-fuel E85 vehicles,,advanced technology hybrids, and a few small electrics.,But park management is also looking to the past for inspiration.,Yellowstone had a very unique transportation operation prior,to World War II, and that was we had what were called old yellow buses.,We had close to 400 of these old yellow buses that would,transport people as they got off the trains in Gardiner and West,Yellowstone and take them into the park.,And most importantly, there was a driver that was very well,educated and well versed in interpreting all the parks features to the visitors.,After World War II, America fell in love with the private,automobile and the station wagon, and nobody wanted to ride in,these old yellow buses anymore, and they were slowly put out of service.,Amazingly, at its peak, Yellowstone was the second largest,bus company in the nation behind Greyhound.,Now, to reduce the volume of vehicles on the parks roads,,Yellowstone has commissioned a small fleet of new,biodiesel-powered yellow buses to use as employee shuttles and,to serve as clean fuel ambassadors in nearby communities.,The park has also acquired and refurbished eight of the original,old yellow buses and has put them back into service—once again,giving guided tours in portions of the park.,Yellowstone is not as well suited to mass transit as other national parks, though.,Parks with limited access or a single tourist attraction can,more easily corral visitors cars in one place and make use of shuttles.,Glacier National Parks famous vintage red tour buses are still,in daily use, plying visitors over the road to the sun.,And they were retrofitted a number of years ago to run on clean,propane while modern tour buses at Mammoth Cave National Park,and others around the country are running on clean alternative fuels as well.,Its just not alternative fuels but also looking at more green procurement.,Were looking at water conservation opportunities—renewable,energy such as from the sun or falling water.,Other park programs, like recycling and composting and a new,partnership with Michelin to test low-rolling resistance tires,,all tie together to reduce vehicle use, lower emissions, and save fuel.,And the National Park Service hopes the influence of their good,example extends beyond the park gates.,The average day of the visitor in Yellowstone is a little more than 1.5 days.,Thats the amount of time we have to educate and promote and,have them understand our environmental programs, and what they,can do while theyre here and when they go home to do the same,kind of proportion of sustainability that were doing here in the park.,And thats a lesson wed all do well to learn.