it was only a matter of time. and? what do they get from their sponsorship??? yeah. drilling rights and what else?
I’d like to buy Yosemite. Unfortunately, I don’t have the cash right now, so I asked around and all 300 million friends of mine in the US have ALREADY AGREED TO BUY ALL OF OUR NATIONAL PARKS.
Now, we just need to agree on maintenance fees at this point… sigh. Damn it.
I feel kind of guilty that every drop of water that comes out of my city’s taps comes from a huge municipal reservoir built in Yosemite only a few short years after the National Park Service was created. (Buh-bye, Hetch Hetchy Valley!) The fight against outside interests trying to undermine the parks has been there from the beginning, but corporations have had a century to work their influence and they’re only getting stronger.
Its really annoying how unwilling we’ve become to fund anything anymore besides the military.
Science funding? Sure we love science, fund NASA/NSF it so it can actually do stuff? Nah.
Infrastructure? Sure we think that’s important. Actually funding it so ti wont crumble? Nah.
National parks? We love our national parks. Funding them? Nah.
I just got back from a road trip through Craters of the Moon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, The Badlands and Glacier. I love the US’s National Parks. They should be properly publicly funded.
Two weekends ago I was one of a group of volunteers working at a state park. This is something I do regularly. Jobs range from simply maintaining trails and picking up trash to helping build an aviary that now holds, among other things, two bald eagles that were saved but too badly wounded to ever be returned to the wild.
Every time I’m there I’m reminded that the park is an area that was scheduled for development in the early 1970’s but, with matching state funds, it was individual citizens who preserved it. And I always toss a couple of extra bucks into the donation box in the visitor’s center to supplement the contributions made through taxes.
I’m not sure why. I just have this strange feeling it’s worth preserving the area for everyone to enjoy.
I wonder how many MORE studies will be needed to re-re-re-…re-underline the fact that humans who spend time outdoors and away from the standard fare of modern life are generally happier and healthier? And yet we can’t even spend the money to keep the parks in good working order. How much money do we spend on bombs and guns and such, again?
Opinion piece I’m linking because I like the cartoon up front:
<a href=http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/2765242-155/editorial-utah-needs-more-national-and#sthash.d9cNzpzt.uxfs&st_refDomain=t.co&st_refQuery=/SJBZ4P6wp3>Utah needs more national parks
Sponsorship is one thing, but the governor of the great state of Wisconsin is actually selling them off, for pennies on the dollar.
I’m pretty sure a state governor doesn’t have the authority to sell off Federal land. Not that I’d put it past Scott Walker to try.
He owns the legislature. The supreme court, too.
The Federal legislature and supreme court? I heard he was just trying to sell off STATE parks, which would make much more sense than National Parks.
Nope, the state also has one of each.
Right, but the state legislature and courts still can’t give Walker the authority sell off National parks on land owned by the Federal government. Are you sure you have that story right? I just read about Walker musing about downsizing the State parks.
O aha I see your point. I meant to say state parks about half an internet ago. Gomen nasai.
sounds like a hostile takeover by corporations hostile to the idea of unspoiled public lands.
#All y’all a bunch of granola crunchin’ hippies!!!
It’s about time that the parks start supportin themselves… Heck, they could at least be good citizens – I donate blood, why cant parks donate a bit of oil; my wife has donated hair, why cant the parks donate a bit of timber?
I’ve heard that people will pay beaucoup dollars to kill big critters – let’s round up some grizzlies and bison (perhaps some of those crippled eagles that @SpunkyTWS mentioned) and create a nice dispenser system that waltzes the critters to a designated target spot when the proper $$$ are deposited.
I don’t know why ya are putting down corporate people like Mr. Cola when they want to volunteer.
#Corporation
A notable improvement over Reagan’s plan…
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs-p-14/18-more-p-14.pdf
Sadly, that piece of shit still managed to auction off a significant chunk of federal land.
In my limited experience, the typical purchaser is a developer who turns the cheap land into this…
https://www.google.com/search?q=california+fires+homes+at+risk
I loved the point that at this specific moment in time someone employed by the state park system there (for example, a guide) doesn’t make as much per hour as an oil rigger, but over the long run pursuing a boom-and-bust economy isn’t as stable or otherwise good for the state or the residents as promoting the natural tourism industry instead.
Not to mention the carping that comes from various congresscritters and even locals when either the state or the feds designate land as being part of a park system. As though another strip mall or warehouse is going to save the economic day.
Sadly, the parks are taking fire from all sides–either developers want to weasel their way in, or state and local officials want to ‘take over’ management…so they can sell off the dev. rights:
As it is, America needs to recognize how much these spaces mean to our health so we can devote the necessary resources to maintaining them for future generations. Otherwise, mines and strip malls, yay!
