National Parks on PBS

[HoffmanP]

You are one of the few former rangers to speak out. Good for you. I was a Deputy Assistant Secreatary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and had the temerity to try to restore "enjoyment" in the NPS Management Policies. I got tarred and feathered for my efforts. I am a strong supporter of conservation, but to conserve to the detriment of enjoyment is to endanger both i.e. people support the conservation of parks because they have had the chance to enjoy them. And, all parks cannot be managed as though they are backcountry wilderness.

[HoffmanP]

Originally Posted by NWGetaways

Uh, it wasn't the NPS management that caused the parks to close. It was the government shutdown. The "management" that engineered that was the House of Representatives.

No, the NPS is famous for repeatedly choosing to close popular sites to generate pressure on Congress to increase their funding. The government has been shut down only twice, but the NPS has a long history of manipulating the public for their own ends.

[NWGetaways]

Google "national parks" and "closed", "closure" "popular sites closed" or any other combo you can think of, and all you get are hits about the 2013 government shutdown.

Links or it didn't happen.

[Two Peas]

We both just retired from the NPS after 35ish years - The Ken Burns series on the National Parks was first aired in 2009. Not only was it on PBS, but Ken and Dayton Duncan came to many cities & parks to preview the series. It is a great series, if not a bit long. There was (I'm guessing still available) the DVD and a coffee table book. Some on this forum should check out their politics and facts a bit more....

[Hittenstiehl]

Photobum and Hoffman I think we could agree that anything Government related with funding attached needs to be revamped.

Do more with less and continue to get great results. Well something had got to give.

But the National Parks and many other locations along with their educational value are still stellar.

[VT Wanderer]

I own the series and watch it at least twice a year. It's fantastic. The tear jerker is the part about the couple that traveled west yearly to explore this great nation. I won't be a spoiler if you haven't seen the "rest of the story".

[Kilroy]

I thought it sounded to me that we have some of the National Parks because of wealthy people. Mather? Friends of his.

Originally Posted by TWA640316

Been watching a great series on the National Parks by Ken Burns on PBS this week. It incredible how much resistance there was to creating the National Parks, by the greedy wealthy and the Congress. Ken Burns does a great job of showing the history of our park system and the struggle it was to get these areas saved forever.
Every one of us campers that enjoy the wildness and beauty of the park system, have John Muir to thank for his dedication in preserving these beautiful lands for all of us to enjoy.
We bought our Oliver with the intention of visiting as many of the parks and forest lands as we could before we got too old, and so far we've been to The Grand Canyon, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, and The Everglades. All different, all beautiful.
As a ex TWA employee, we traveled in Europe, Africa, and lived in the Middle East, but now it's time to see this great land of ours, we call America.

Time to plan our next trip.

Stan

[dscluchfc]

In 2009, the local PBS Station in Lubbock TX, KTTZ, was still doing the local "Festival Week" of fundraising. They had just done that in March and I was one of the local hosts on TV several times in a 2 week period asking the public for contributions.

In the process of doing that, the KTTZ people became aware of the photography I had done in the National Parks, and asked me to cut some promotional spots for the Ken Burns National Parks Series. So in April 2009, I provided some 120 photos and we cut 12 spots that each began with me in a local park, and talking about America's Best Idea, The National Parks, then the shot would fade off me as I spoke and a slideshow of photos I have taken would be shown.

These spots aired in Lubbock TX on PBS in June, July, August, and September, 2009. The Ken Burns National Park Series began on September 29, 2009. So for four months, many of the spots between programs locally was me and my photos talking and showcasing the National Parks. I could hardly go out to eat in a local restaurant without people coming up to the table to talk about the spots airing on PBS.

These PBS spots were made available to all PBS Markets, and some ran in other areas.

Then the emails started, and the phone rang.
My fledgling business, dsphotoscapes, grew legs.
Then one day, Arches National Park called, and their marketing arm, The Canyonlands Natural Historical Association (CNHA) wanted use of a photo in their new hiking guide for the park.
Then Grand Canyon, and Saguaro, and Joshua Tree, and Canyonlands called, and emailed.
The business went from startup in August 2006, to nationally and internationally known in three years.
It still doesn't make me a living. A 36 year career in the life insurance business does that......but it does make enough money to take the next trip, to add to the portfolio, to recharge my batteries in God's Cathedrals that are our National Parks.....the best idea America ever had.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dsphotoscapes/
Many of the images are at the link above.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dsphot...s/13373745755/
This is the latest canvas to hang in the Arches National Parks offices.

Thanks for letting me tell you the story of what the Ken Burns National Park Series turned into for me and my Airstream travels.

[Photobum]

Nice images...

[Jim Arnold]

great show. My wife and I are newbies, but our first big trip is going to be to Yellow Stone, any hints???

[n2916s]

If you need hookups, reserve now. If not, depending on the size of your rig, you can usually show up and camp as long as you are willing to be at the campground of your choice by 1000.

The last week of August is usually quiet and then it picks up again until late September. Late May, early June are usually slower as well but snow is still a possibility.

July is "Disneyworld with Bears". Doable but crowded, hot and often afternoon thunderstorms.

Mike

[Jim Arnold]

Thank you.

[SpiceStream]

Originally Posted by Jim Arnold

great show. My wife and I are newbies, but our first big trip is going to be to Yellow Stone, any hints???

Take the Beartooth Highway in, the beartooth pass is a remarkable place well worth the time, Grand Prismatic Spring is really cool, but we always seem to catch it when there is too much fog on it to get the full effect. other than that, take your time, there is every type of critter stopping traffic at every opportunity, there is no way to rush it. the place is like nowhere else like it on earth.

We have visited Yellowstone at least 5 times at all times of the year, we were always able to get a site with no reservations, the key is to get to a park campsite early in the day (which in itself can be a challenge), they always have non reservable sites, but they go fast and you need to be at a campsite early.

[Jim Arnold]

Thank you for the information!!