want to know the real poop on OUR national parks

[donsu]

3 things:

One - c-span Wash. Journal this a.m. had as a guest Fran Mainella head of the national parks (last 3 yrs.) and she blathered about how wonderful everything was and when asked about the whistleblower, said she couldn't talk about it but that the wb was on paid leave. Fran said that snowmobiles would be managed and no one should be kept from seeing the back country. she sounded like Karen Hughes.


Two - House kills proposal to ban snowmobiles in parks

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?tl=1&display=rednews/2004/06/18/build/state/20-sleds-park.inc

An effort to impose a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks was rejected by the House of Representatives by a vote of 224 to 198 on Thursday evening.

-snip=

Besides preparing the fact sheets, Western Republicans who oppose the ban also joined forces with a handful of Democrats who support snowmobiling in the parks. Minnesota Democratic congressmen Collin Peterson and James Oberstar led the Democratic effort to defeat the amendment.

-snip-

Holt said that if his amendment had been adopted it would have given certainty to the communities around the park who derive income from tourists who rent snowmobiles. Two federal courts have issued contradictory rulings about snowmobiling in the parks.
-snip-
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Three - Overall Budget for National Parks Slashed, while Logging Industry (via Bush's 'Fire Control' scam) Given $231 Million
If you listened to Washington Journal on C-SPAN on June 21, then you would have heard Bush's top National Parks toady Fran Mainella mapping out the 'Bush vision" for our (OUR!) national wildlands: snowmobiles in wilderness areas, oil drilling in Big Cypress and other endangered habitats, paved roads in roadless areas (despite overwhelming public outcry against this). The GOP-led House appropriations for the Dept. of the Interior (National Parks is under it) reflects the Bush vision: an overal budget that is slashed, including funds for acquiring and protecting new lands, with the only big increase being Bush's 'National Fire Plan," which is, in essence, a stealth giveaway to the logging industry.

this article is at www.democrats.com but I couldn't get the rest of the article to open. maybe someone else will have better luck


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bottom line is that they want to privitize national parks - the better to rape them.

[LittleApple81]

1. I started watching it this morning and I thought: TA TA: Parks are

dead. A BushCo shrill needs to come to C-Span to say how well they are doing... ALWAYS believe the opposite of what they are saying. And I turned it off.

[lanparty]

2. Limited snowmobiles are probably a GOOD thing ...

They need to curtail it and confine it to certain areas. Remember, that in order for an area to be RELEVANT it has to be USED. And snowmobiles while loud, are a good way to keep national parks relevant and funded. Just up the fees for the permits and make sure that those using the parks in this manner are PAYING for it.