King Charles III quietly did something genuinely beautiful; a lifelong environmentalist ...

[erronis]

King Charles III quietly did something genuinely beautiful; a lifelong environmentalist who has spent over 50 years putting his credibility on the line for conservation
https://www.reddit.com/r/NeoNews/comments/1t23o3s/king_charles_iii_quietly_did_something_genuinely/

Charles wrapped up his state visit by heading out to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There he sat with park rangers, swore in a group of Junior Rangers, met Buddy the bald eagle, and unveiled stones marking a new conservation partnership between Shenandoah and the Cairngorms in Scotland. This is a man who converted his estate to organic farming in 1986 and got mocked by the British press for decades for caring too loudly about the natural world. A foreign king showing up to honor our public lands with genuine curiosity and warmth? That's a man exactly where he belongs.

And yet this barely registered a blip in the news cycle. That silence matters, because when a visiting head of state has to remind us what our own national parks are worth, something has gone very wrong. It would be nice to have a president who has actually laced up hiking boots, slept under the stars in a national forest, and felt something other than a dollar sign when looking at a tree. trump, whose relationship with the outdoors appears to begin and end at a golf course, is simply not that person.

What's gone wrong is this: trump has spent his tenure treating America's public lands like a fire sale, gutting the Roadless Rule and blowing open nearly 60 million acres of national forests to commercial logging and strip mining, while moving to sell hundreds of thousands of additional acres to private developers. It is a corporate giveaway on a historic scale, and the fact that a British monarch devoted to environmental causes cared more visibly about these forests this week than the American president ever has should be front page news.

[Solly Mack]

1. I like that he did that.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Is Buddy the Eagle the one who attacked Trmp ?

If so, makes you wish Trmp had accompanied the King, just for a repeat.

[erronis]

19. I remember that video. And also when the eagle spat out the bit of flesh....

[ShazzieB]

29. You mean that eagle actually took a chunk out of him?

I completely missed that. I need to go watch it again!

[erronis]

31. Perhaps a bit of wishful thinking?

[ShazzieB]

36. LOL!

[young_at_heart]

3. I'm curious to know if Trump has EVER been to a National Park?

Did he ever go camping when young or take trips to "the outdoors"?

[llmart]

4. You can't be serious.

Can you even picture him hiking or camping? However, if anyone asks him he'll tell you he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and finished it in three days. No one has ever hiked it faster. Smokey the Bear came up to him with tears in his eyes saying, "Sir, you have prevented more forest fires with all your raking of the forests that we are naming an entire park after you."

[Bo Zarts]

9. Do you mean hiked the Argentinian Tail?

Oh, wait .. that was my former governor Mark Sanford (R-SC).

[erronis]

10. I see what you did there.... Trail -- Tail.

Very cute.

[ShazzieB]

32. I remember that!

It was quite a spectacle at the time, watching that whole saga unwind. "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

[young_at_heart]

42. I wanted to evoke laughter with visions of him on the Appalachian Trail!

The thought of him going camping with his family to, say....Yosemite breaks my brain. My family went camping to several National Parks (every summer) and we always attended the ranger programs (if they had them). This was long ago, so I don't know about now, but the program they presented at Yosemite in the 1950's was so special....I still remember after all these years. Trump's family wouldn't be interested I'm assuming

[Ilsa]

15. For all of that family, a "beautiful view" means you can

look down on other high rises from your gaudy penthouse. Nothing green, no sounds of birds, swishing of leaves in the trees on a windy day.

Coffee and breakfast cooked in the wilderness (usually bacon, eggs, pancakes) tastes better than anything in a Michelin Star restaurant, in my opinion.

[erronis]

20. Especially when someone else has gotten up at dawn and started the fire

while we're still snug in our sleeping bags!

[maddiemom]

38. Probably, taking along his beloved animal companions.

Reply to " young at heart'" above.

[maddiemom]

40. Probably, taking along his beloved animal companions.

[Doc_Technical]

41. No! New York is where I'd rather stay

I get allergic smelling hay
I just adore a penthouse view
Darling I love but give me Park Avenue.

[AZ8theist]

46. The only outdoors he likes are the ones with 18 holes.

[llmart]

5. I have always admired King Charles' stance on conservation and the environment.

[calimary]

26. So have I.

Some people thought he was a fool.

I thought he was fabulous ESPECIALLY on that.

[City Lights]

27. Same. It's very cool that he did this. nt

[ShazzieB]

35. Same!

I love this. I think what Charles did sent a message about the importance of protecting our public lands that Trump will never even notice. Fortuntely, it comes through loud and clear for those who have ears to hear.

[swong19104]

6. Someone on bsky says that Trump is running

America like a business. And that business is business liquidation. He's going to sell the country piece by piece. And to whom? Who can afford it? Billionaires. And they won't be paying billions for the land. Yosemite for $75 million. Yellowstone for $120 million. Bryce Canyon for $85 million. And all that money goes into HIS pocket.

He'll get Thiel to buy Mt. Rushmore for $25 million and Thiel will add a Trump head among the other four. Paid for from taxpayer money.

[erronis]

11. Probably knock Lincoln's head off of Rushmore and replace it with a pyrite one.

Fool's gold.

[FalloutShelter]

13. More lIke a Mob bust out

?si=ZJelZg7yntZzJh_4

[tanyev]

16. +1. Start selling it off and slap his mug on entry passes for whatever remains.

[Rhiannon12866]

47. And we know how his businesses turned out, didn't he face six bankruptcies??

[Joinfortmill]

7. I always liked him even when he was being publicly beaten up.

[Figarosmom]

8. It's shameful

Repubs have wanted to get their greedy hands on our National Park system for decades.

[twodogsbarking]

14. Shenandoah is a beautiful park. The Skyline Drive is the highway. Winds through the park at the top of the mountains.

A unique experience.

[erronis]

17. It is beautiful and the road is spectacular. But it also was controversial.

Back in the early 1900s with the advent of the automobile there was a lot of pressure to build highways on the tops of mountain chains. I know it was proposed for the Green Mountains in Vermont but fortunately never constructed.

[twodogsbarking]

30. As for Shenandoah and the Skyline Drive it is natural habitat for the most part. Saved from development.

Total Area: Approximately 200,000 acres, or about 311–313 square miles.Wilderness Area: Over 79,000 acres are designated as federal wilderness, ensuring protected habitats.Recent Expansion: The park has grown in recent years, including an addition of nearly 1,000 acres in 2023 to protect habitats and water sources.Location: The park spans eight counties, including large portions in Rappahannock, Madison, and Page counties.

[erronis]

33. I've hiked many of the trails along the AT in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

I love that country and the fairly easy access from the DC area. And I really appreciate the NPS and other organizations that keep the trails and motorways in good shape. Used to volunteer on maintenance - back in the days.

[pansypoo53219]

18. the closest dondam hussein j drumf gets to nature is a sand trap.

[erronis]

22. and his balls always magically bounce outa the trap --- right onto the green.

[chowder66]

21. For those interested; it looks like this was written by "The Other 98%" on facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TheOther98/posts/king-charles-iii-quietly-did-something-genuinely-beautiful-a-lifelong-environmen/1536884348483559/

https://other98.com

[erronis]

23. Thanks! I looked for the original text but I don't 'do' facebook.

It certainly has been repeated across multiple outlets.

[chowder66]

24. I don't have a facebook account. I copied part of it to put into Google search and it took me to an AI generated

post on Facebook at first, then I kept digging and finally found it.
I just tap the escape button when the little facebook box that wants to make you sign in pops up.

It doesn't always let you do that though. I think you can do it so many times then it blocks you.

[GoCubsGo]

28. I saw various outlets posting the photos on Instagram, as well.

Including the National Park Service. I have never been a fan of the Royal Family, Charles, in particular. But, I appreciate the attention he drew to the National Parks and their various prog rams. I'll admit to having a better opinion of him now than I did a few years ago, in part because of his dedication to the environment. I'd certainly take him over the putrid sack of garbage who currently runs this country ANY DAY.

[themaguffin]

25. There was a lot good about his visit.

[FM123]

54. Yes

And while he was at the Shenandoah National Park he also met with leaders of the Monacan Indian Nation to honor their indigenous land stewardship of the tribe's ancestral homeland.

[MustLoveBeagles]

43. K&R

[Parallax El]

45. Monkey Wrench Gang, anyone?

[NNadir]

48. While I certainly applaud the gesture, to be honest...

...I have a problem with the idea of there being a monarch.

He was born into his fame and wealth and most of the members of his family are clueless and entitled, in their case doubly.

Charles' brother Andrew is a disgrace to humanity, and his Mother's efforts to cover up his role in the Epstein case with payoffs and silence does not speak well of her or her family.

I certainly understand his son Harry's desire to get away from all that.

If I were British I would be chafing at the bit to do away with the monarchy.

[erronis]

52. Nesrine Malik's commentary: ..the king's US visit will go down in history: it marked the death throes of an old era

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/04/king-charles-us-visit-donald-trump-history-end-era

[jfz9580m]

49. K & R

He is a legit environmentalist.

Trump has been attacking every environmental rule he can:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/the-roading-of-the-last-wild-places/

Not sure why I bother to keep posting those beyond boosting Ketcham (since I support his work) and because it gives some relief to strained nerves.

[spanone]

50. K&R

[Goonch]

51. ;-{).......

[erronis]

53. I could watch that for hours!