Is that a mountain goat or a sheep?

Is that a mountain goat or a bighorn sheep?

Our friends to the north from Banff National Park have possibly provided the definitive answer to this age old question in this "musical" video:



Any more questions?


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Moose battle near Grinnell Glacier

In 2011 Jake Bramante became the first person to hike all the trails in Glacier National Park in one year. To help document this accomplishment, Jake recorded many (if not all) of his hikes on video. One of the last hikes that season was to Grinnell Glacier. The video below contains some awesome footage of the trail, as well as some amazing wildlife shots. What makes this video stand out is the battle he caught between two bull moose (around the 3:30 mark):




For more information on the hike to Grinnell Glacier, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

National Park System Advisory Board Report Offers Strategies to Strengthen 21st-century National Park Service

Strategies to strengthen the work of the National Park Service as it prepares for its centennial in 2016 are included in a report released today by the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB). The report, Engaging Independent Perspectives for a 21st-Century National Park System, summarizes the board’s recommendations to National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis for the future in four areas: stewardship, education, relevancy and the National Park Service workforce.

The NPSAB consulted with National Park Service employees and more than 100 outside subject matter experts, including scholarly and professional organizations, and private sector representatives. Their report focuses on 10 separate tasks designed to:

■ Plan for a future National Park System.

■ Recommend national historic landmarks that represent a broader, richer representation of America’s story.

■ Propose national natural landmarks that increase awareness of America’s diverse natural history and explore new opportunities for public and private support.

■ Support the economic valuation of National Park Service parks and programs, including cooperative programs outside the National Park System.

■ Revisit the “Leopold Report,” a 1963 report that influenced the philosophy, policies and people of the National Park Service, and prepare a contemporary version to help the National Park Service confront modern challenges in resource management.

■ Expand collaboration in education to broaden contacts with educational institutions and incorporate National Park Service parks and programs into educational media.

■ Explore American Latino Heritage by developing a theme study to identify American Latino related places for inclusion in new national historic landmarks and national parks, as well as existing National Park Service sites.

■ Support the National Park Service centennial by providing advice for a centennial public awareness initiative.

■ Build community relationships to explore new approaches for broader relevancy and public engagement.

■ Support leadership development by providing advice on National Park Service leadership, workforce, organizational development, and more effectively advancing innovation.

Established under the Historic Sites Act of 1935, the NPSAB is a congressionally chartered body of 12 private citizens appointed by the Secretary of the Interior that provides advice to the Secretary of the Interior and to the Director of the National Park Service on matters relating to operation of the parks and management of the NPS. A primary purpose of the NPSAB is to provide independent perspectives on current issues and to identify long-range opportunities and possible solutions to Systemwide challenges. Its 2001 report, Rethinking the National Parks for the 21st Century, recommended a 25-year vision for the NPS; today’s report builds on that work.

The report is available online at www.nps.gov/resources/advisoryboardreport.htm.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Swan Lake Ranger District Proposes Condon Mountain Fire Salvage Project

The Swan Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest is proposing a salvage harvest of burned and beetle-infested trees in the area of the 2012 Condon Mountain Fire. The project is proposed for about 583 National Forest System (NFS) acres.

The purpose of this tree salvage project is to recover merchantable wood fiber affected by the Condon Mountain Fire in a timely manner. The project will provide forest products to the local timber industry, contributing to short term timber supply and long-term sustainability of timber on NFS lands. Due to expected decay rates of fire-affected trees, timely harvest is essential to ensure their merchantability.

In late July, 2012, the Condon Mountain Fire started as a result of a lightning strike and affected approximately 5,500 acres. The fire was contained in late October. The project area is a few miles northeast of Condon in the Swan Valley.

There will be a two week scoping/comment period on the Condon Mountain Fire Salvage Project. To have your input included in the Forest Service analysis, please provide comments by Friday, April 26th. The proposal is available on-line (www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/projects), or from the Swan Lake Ranger District Office, 200 Ranger Station Road, Bigfork, Montana, or call the ranger station at (406) 837-7500.

For more information, please contact Michele Draggoo, Project Leader, at (406) 387-3827, or Rich Kehr, Swan Lake District Ranger at (406) 837-7500.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Obama's Budget Proposal Slashes National Parks Budget by 13%

The National Park Service announced today that the "President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget requests $2.6 billion to support the critical conservation, preservation, and recreation mission of the National Park Service."

This request represents a 13% reduction in the amount from the original 2013 NPS budget, which gave total budget authority to the NPS in the amount of $2.99 billion. That figure was recently reduced by 5% as a result of sequestration, which brought the NPS budget down to roughly $2.84 billion for fiscal year 2013. When compared to the revised sequestration budget, the President’s budget is still 8.5% below 2013 levels.

More importantly, the President’s 2014 budget request takes National Park funding back to 2004 levels, when the NPS had $2.56 billion in total budget authority. Indeed, each year since 2010, when total NPS budget authority reached $3.16 billion, the budget for National Parks has decreased.

According to the National Parks Traveler, the President's 2014 budget:

"calls for a reduction of more than 100 full-time employees to an agency that currently has 900 full-time vacancies"

"The budget also calls for a reduction of 92 employees under park operations, and 30 from the construction programs."

"According to a synopsis of the budget provided by the department, the proposal calls for more than $600 million in programmatic reductions to offset spending. It also would sustain current administrative cost reductions in travel, contract services, and supplies and equipment that would save $217 million."

Given that Obama's overall Federal spending remains relatively flat in 2014, versus 2013, the decision to reduce the National Parks budget in the amount he's requesting is extremely disappointing. Are National Parks a lower priority when compared to other government agencies?

For more details on what's in the NPS budget, you can click here to read the NPS press release.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com