#US national park service

[zenosanalytic]

#oh i KNEW this man had DMV energy i KNEW IT!!!#from the first moment i saw that iconique video i said: oh sure it says montana. but my Maryland sees your Maryland.#and it looks like i was right & u know what. it feels great#nature#people(via @sashayed) XD

[awanderingcanadian]

Meandering in Grand Teton National Park

It’s been a lovely few days in Grand Teton National Park. With much warmer overnight temperatures then Yellowstone, and warm days, 24-25C, we’ve been enjoying our time here. I’m amazed at how different the scenery is from Yellowstone, yet there are less than an hour’s drive apart.

A few days ago, the four of us set off for the hike around Jenny Lake, (7.2 miles…11.6kms). It was a beautiful day. Due to my, (improving), hip situation, I purposefully only did half of the hike, getting to one switchback below Inspiration Point, before taking the ferry back across the lake. The other 3 continued on for was ended up being an over 4 hour hike.

Yesterday, we headed in Jackson, Wyoming, human population 10,600…winter elk population 7000! While very touristy, it hasn’t yet been ruined. We enjoyed a pizza lunch, as well as taking care of the necessities of banking, grocery shopping, and fuelling up, as we pull out early tomorrow morning. The ‘boys’ rode their bikes there, (60kms), while Bonnie and I took the truck, meeting them at the Visitors Centre and Elk Refuge. En route, Bonnie and I saw a mama moose and her calf, while on the way back we saw a bull moose who was posing for photos!

There is a big fire burning east of the park and yesterday the skies at times were completely smoky, obliterating the mountains completely, while at other times it was merely hazy. We took a side road on the way back to see the old Mormon houses and to get a good look at the roiling smoke cloud.

The park is in the process of closing. Today the restaurants closed after breakfast and the main bathrooms and showers here at Coulter Bay are on restricted hours, (two 2 hour openings: 8-10am and 4-6pm). As of today, the Coulter Bay RV park is the only campground remaining open. However, the scenery here is amazing, and we’ve made some good memories.

[caldrive]

The (very affecting) Soul Consoling Tower (I-Rei Tō) at Manzanar "Relocation Center" cemetery, Manzanar, California (October 2023). I keep coming back to Manzanar — decades ago when I started looking for the camp it was harder to find, but now it's part of the NPS system — and wonder if we'll ever have the courage to officially call it (and its sibling camps) what it was, a concentration camp. I'm always struck by the contrast between the (harsh) beauty of the natural setting (so familiar to me) and the ugliness of what was done here.

[humming-fly]

This 4th of July I’m stealing the patriotism euphoria that’s usually associated with assholes idolizing the worst attributes of this country because fuck ‘em I live here too and remembering the things this country actually got Right is an important exercise when trying to rally anyone to want to defend it in November SO putting my money where my mouth is I’ll start easy and say I really like National Parks!! It’s rad how many of them there are and how they’re actual set up to preserve some of the most beautiful wild areas in our country while still letting people visit to enjoy and experience nature!! (Less important but I love how they put national parks on the quarters I think that’s real fun)

Feel free to add on if something speaks to ya!

[shutterandsentence]

What would happen if we embraced change instead of fearing it?

Photo: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

[mapsontheweb]

Administrative regions of the National Park Service.

[deus3xmachinablog]

the national parks service posted a bunch of templates for pumpkin carving (link here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/park-pumpkin-carvings.htm ) and I specifically cannot get over this one:

[reasonsforhope]

"When President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Tuesday establishing a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, it marked the fulfillment of a promise Till’s relatives made after his death 68 years ago.

The Black teenager from Chicago, whose abduction, torture and killing in Mississippi in 1955 helped propel the Civil Rights Movement, is now an American story, not just a civil rights story, said Till’s cousin the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr.

“It has been quite a journey for me from the darkness to the light,” Parker said during a proclamation signing ceremony at the White House attended by dozens, including other family members, members of Congress and civil rights leaders.

“Back then in the darkness, I could never imagine the moment like this, standing in the light of wisdom, grace and deliverance,” he said.

With the stroke of Biden’s pen, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, located across three sites in two states, became federally-protected places. Before signing the proclamation, the president said he marvels at the courage of the Till family to “find faith and purpose in pain.”

“Today, on what would have been Emmett’s 82nd birthday, we add another chapter in the story of remembrance and healing,” Biden said...

On Tuesday, reaction poured in from other elected officials and from the civil rights organizing community. The Rev. Al Sharpton said the Till national monument designation tells him “that out of pain comes power.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies said the monument “places the life and legacy of Emmett Till among our nation’s most treasured memorials.”

“Black history is American history,” he said in a written statement...

Till-Mobley demanded that Emmett’s mutilated remains be taken back to Chicago for a public, open casket funeral that was attended by tens of thousands of people. Graphic images taken of Emmett’s remains, sanctioned by his mother, were published by Jet magazine and fueled the Civil Rights Movement...

Altogether, the Till national monument will include 5.7 acres (2.3 hectares) of land and two historic buildings. The Mississippi sites are Graball Landing, the spot where Emmett’s body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River just outside of Glendora, Mississippi, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Emmett’s killers were tried...

The Illinois site is Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago, where Emmett’s funeral was held in September 1955...

Mississippi state Sen. David Jordan, 90, was a freshman at Mississippi Valley State College in 1955 when he attended part of the trial of the two men charged with killing Emmett. As a state senator for the past 30 years, Jordan, who is Black, spearheaded fundraising for a statue of Emmett Till that was dedicated last year in Greenwood, Mississippi, a few miles from where the teenager was abducted.

On Tuesday, Jordan praised Biden for creating the Till national monument.

“It’s one of the greatest honors that a president could pay to a person, 14, who lost his life in Mississippi that’s created a movement that changed America,” Jordan told the AP."

-via AP, July 25, 2023

[bizlybebo]

insanely random post but im attacking you all with what it kind of looks like to have astygmatism (image on the right) made by me cause i love complaining

[trifoliate-undergrowth]

I went to a thrift store after work in my NPS uniform and a little old lady asked me if I worked there. At the thrift store. The National Parks Service manages your local Savers

[ravenzer]

National Park Service valentines from instagram

Description in alt text

[awanderingcanadian]

Wandering In ‘Merica

I’m writing this from Grand Teton National Park, a quick 1.5 hours from our campground in Yellowstone. We spent 4 nights in Yellowstone. Having visited there 10 years ago during the very busy summer season, it was nice to come back when it was a bit quieter. Of course, it was significantly colder as well, with overnight temperatures getting down to 0C.

We walked the boardwalks of some of their amazing geysers, I rode my electric bike twice to Lake Lodge to get wifi…and one evening I had an amazing cocktall there as well…strictly while waiting for the slow evening wifi.

Visiting Yellowstone is like visiting another planet. The moonscape features of the hot spring geysers, as the ground underneath you is in a state of constant eruption, makes it a place like no other. Of course, Old Faithful is famous throughout the world, and it’s nicely laid out for a good walk around the many bubbling pools, but there are so many other amazing geysers to see throughout the park. Then there’s the wildlife: buffalo, wolves, bears, and elk to name a few.

We enjoyed our 4 nights in Yellowstone and are looking forward to our time in Grand Teton.

[paulpingminho]

[rabbitcruiser]

The United States National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916.

National Park Service Founders Day    

The National Park Service was created when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act on August 25, 1916. The anniversary of its creation is known as National Park Service Founders Day, or simply as Founders Day, and is celebrated by all national parks. They offer free admission and host special programs, both in-person and virtual. The celebration happens to take place during National Parks Month.

According to the Organic Act, "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations" and their "purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This is not too far removed from the National Park Service's current mission statement: "The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world." The National Park Service is a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is led by a director who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The first national park was Yellowstone National Park. It was established on March 1, 1872, with the Yellowstone Act, "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Yellowstone was administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, as were other early parks and some monuments, while other monuments and historical areas were administered by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. When the National Park Service was created on today's date in 1916, it managed 35 parks and monuments. With an executive order in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt brought 56 national monuments and military sites administered by the War Department and the Forest Service into the National Park Service. This move brought areas of historical, scenic, and scientific importance together. For a new park to be created, there must be an act of Congress. But, on account of the Antiquities Act of 1906, the president can proclaim national monuments on lands under federal jurisdiction.

By the 2020s, there were over 420 national park sites, or units, in the National Park System, covering over 85 million acres of land, located in every state, in the District of Columbia, and in a number of US territories. Collectively they are referred to as parks, although there are many naming designations, such as National Battlefields, National Military Parks, and National Historic Sites. There are also "related areas"—these are not managed by the National Park Service, but "are linked in importance and purpose to places managed directly by the National Park Service by preserving important segments of the nation's natural and cultural heritage." Examples are National Heritage Areas, Affiliated Areas, and trails in the National Trails System. The National Park Service employs about 20,000 people, and has almost 300,000 volunteers! With such an expanse of land in its jurisdiction and so many people involved in the land's preservation, it's apparent that the National Park Service's original goal of conservation for future generations is still being met, and this is celebrated today with National Park Service Founders Day!

How to Observe National Park Service Founders Day

There are numerous ways you could celebrate the day:

Visit a national park or other location managed by the National Park System. Remember, there is free admission today! If you can't visit in person, you could do so virtually.

Get the NPS app.

Check out the National Park Service's "Games and Challenges."

Read a book about the national parks.

Watch National Parks: America's Best Idea and read its companion book.

Learn about the past directors of the National Park Service.

Volunteer or work for the National Park Service.

Follow the National Park Service's social media accounts.

Source

[shutterandsentence]

Celebrate the simple beauty of today!

Photo: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

[haylanmakesstuff]

Haylan Makes Adventure

I know this space is called Haylan Makes Stuff, but Stuff isn’t the only thing you can make; I’ve also made plenty of adventures and memories. I work as a seasonal park ranger, and go to as many sites as I can. Where available, I do two things; buy a sew-on patch, and complete the Junior Ranger program where it’s available. When you do, you get a free wood/plastic badge or patch, and that’s the only way you can get those items. 

To show off my badges and patches of both kinds, I sew them onto flags every January. Junior Ranger programs usually consist of a workbook to complete, sometimes an activity or ranger talk. 

When I work as a park ranger one of my favorite things to do is Junior Ranger for kids, and I’ve been lucky enough to create a full program for one Forest. I have a few of my earnings on a Junior Ranger vest, which is fun to wear during activities with the kids. 

Anyone can do Junior Ranger, no matter your age. On duty, my oldest Junior Ranger was 88, and the youngest was 11 months old. Some places have different books/badges available, like Senior Ranger for adults, or Junior Angler, Night Sky, etc. Screw Pokemon, I gotta collect all these. 

The hardest program goes to Bandelier; it took two adults to do it and we still struggled! Did you know about Junior Ranger? Do you have a favorite? Do you collect anything while you travel?