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IN TERMS OF making politicians' knees quiver, or getting Republican administrations to do its bidding, no lobby in America is as armed and dangerous as the National Rifle Association.
The NRA has drawn a bead on America's scenic treasures.
It has persuaded Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to propose a "reform" that would allow visitors to pack loaded, concealed firearms in some national parks, wildlife refuges and monuments.
It shows how even a detested administration can do damage as long as it clings to power.
The proposal has roused the ire of National Park Service professionals, who manage our scenic, cultural and historical crown jewels, from Alaska's Bering Sea to Florida's Biscayne Bay.
The NRA argues that the national park experience includes animal attacks, meth labs, even rapes. In such danger zones, people need to pack a piece.
Government figures show, however, that the chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in a national park is one in 708,333. You are more likely to get struck by lightning.
In proposing to let visitors pack a piece, Kempthorne has overruled his own park managers and ignored a don't-do-it letter signed by seven former National Park Service directors.
"Untrained visitors with firearms will be tempted to use firearms when they feel threatened," and opening fire "could result in injury and death to employees and visitors, not to mention wounding of animals," Michael Snyder, the Park Service's Denver regional director, wrote in an April 11 memo.
It is one thing to shoot your neighbor's dog with a BB gun. But it is quite another to confront a large wild animal.
Gun-packing visitors would "feel a false sense of empowerment," Snyder warned. In turn, wounded animals would immediately pose a danger to other park visitors.
Jon Jarvis, the Park Service's Western regional director, was in Seattle this week. He administers 54 units of the park system, from big parks such as Yosemite and Olympic to the campgrounds and boat launches of the Coulee Dam National Recreation Area.
"We are concerned that a change in the rules will have a negative impact on public safety and natural resources," Jarvis said, sounding like a manager.
Speaking as one who loves the land, he went on: "If you go up to the meadows at Paradise, you see wildlife, deer and maybe a coyote. The animals know they are safe. If someone takes a potshot, you don't have that kind of experience on public lands.
"With national parks, we provide a different kind of experience than with other public lands agencies. When you cross that border, and go through the entrance gate, you come in peace. You come to enjoy nature and your public lands."
Guns are not currently banned. Travelers in parks and refuges must keep weapons "inoperable or packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their heavy use."
Some units of the park system, such as the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, are open to sport hunting.
"This is purely and simply a political effort to solve a problem that doesn't exist," said Bill Wade, a former Mount Rainier climbing ranger and head of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.
As well, the "reform" would create administrative chaos. The proposed rule would apply weapons laws of states in which parks and refuges are located. If people can pack a piece in state parks, they could do likewise in a national park.
National parks cross state lines. Yellowstone National Park occupies land in three states. Whose laws would apply in Death Valley National Park, California's strict prohibition on carrying loaded guns or Nevada's much more open policy?
We already have killing fields in, or adjoining, national parks.
Bob "Action" Jackson used to be backcountry ranger for the Thorofare region at the southeast corner of Yellowstone Park, a remote, gorgeous place.
Commercial outfitters have virtually taken over adjoining national forest wilderness areas, constructing elaborate camps and catering to wealthy hunters -- promising an elk on three-day pack trips into the backcountry.
Before he was forced to retire, Jackson revealed that some outfitters were improperly building salt licks to lure elk. In turn, this attracted grizzly bears. Bear kills -- supposedly in self-defense -- soared around Thorofare.
Allowing hunters to carry loaded weapons into Yellowstone would be an invitation to more killing of animals, grizzly bears and elk that wander back into the supposed sanctuary of the national park.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells have signed a letter opposing the proposed rule. "The NRA and its allies are fanning hysteria by asserting that guns are 'prohibited' in national parks: This is not true," their letter said.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), usually a mellow green group, is up in arms over the pack-your-piece proposal. It is urging park visitors to voice their feelings.
Even if you normally keep your head down, consider writing. Here's the address: The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, 1849 C Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Or hit NPCA's Web site at npca.org/keep_parks_safe.
The deadline is Aug. 8.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/370344_joel11.html
FOR ANYONE WHO HASNT SUBMITTED THIER COMMENTS TO MR. KEMPTHORNE PLEASE DO SO, THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED.
ps: Read the comments, looks like people smell this crap for what it is!
IN TERMS OF making politicians' knees quiver, or getting Republican administrations to do its bidding, no lobby in America is as armed and dangerous as the National Rifle Association.
The NRA has drawn a bead on America's scenic treasures.
It has persuaded Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to propose a "reform" that would allow visitors to pack loaded, concealed firearms in some national parks, wildlife refuges and monuments.
It shows how even a detested administration can do damage as long as it clings to power.
The proposal has roused the ire of National Park Service professionals, who manage our scenic, cultural and historical crown jewels, from Alaska's Bering Sea to Florida's Biscayne Bay.
The NRA argues that the national park experience includes animal attacks, meth labs, even rapes. In such danger zones, people need to pack a piece.
Government figures show, however, that the chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in a national park is one in 708,333. You are more likely to get struck by lightning.
In proposing to let visitors pack a piece, Kempthorne has overruled his own park managers and ignored a don't-do-it letter signed by seven former National Park Service directors.
"Untrained visitors with firearms will be tempted to use firearms when they feel threatened," and opening fire "could result in injury and death to employees and visitors, not to mention wounding of animals," Michael Snyder, the Park Service's Denver regional director, wrote in an April 11 memo.
It is one thing to shoot your neighbor's dog with a BB gun. But it is quite another to confront a large wild animal.
Gun-packing visitors would "feel a false sense of empowerment," Snyder warned. In turn, wounded animals would immediately pose a danger to other park visitors.
Jon Jarvis, the Park Service's Western regional director, was in Seattle this week. He administers 54 units of the park system, from big parks such as Yosemite and Olympic to the campgrounds and boat launches of the Coulee Dam National Recreation Area.
"We are concerned that a change in the rules will have a negative impact on public safety and natural resources," Jarvis said, sounding like a manager.
Speaking as one who loves the land, he went on: "If you go up to the meadows at Paradise, you see wildlife, deer and maybe a coyote. The animals know they are safe. If someone takes a potshot, you don't have that kind of experience on public lands.
"With national parks, we provide a different kind of experience than with other public lands agencies. When you cross that border, and go through the entrance gate, you come in peace. You come to enjoy nature and your public lands."
Guns are not currently banned. Travelers in parks and refuges must keep weapons "inoperable or packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their heavy use."
Some units of the park system, such as the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, are open to sport hunting.
"This is purely and simply a political effort to solve a problem that doesn't exist," said Bill Wade, a former Mount Rainier climbing ranger and head of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.
As well, the "reform" would create administrative chaos. The proposed rule would apply weapons laws of states in which parks and refuges are located. If people can pack a piece in state parks, they could do likewise in a national park.
National parks cross state lines. Yellowstone National Park occupies land in three states. Whose laws would apply in Death Valley National Park, California's strict prohibition on carrying loaded guns or Nevada's much more open policy?
We already have killing fields in, or adjoining, national parks.
Bob "Action" Jackson used to be backcountry ranger for the Thorofare region at the southeast corner of Yellowstone Park, a remote, gorgeous place.
Commercial outfitters have virtually taken over adjoining national forest wilderness areas, constructing elaborate camps and catering to wealthy hunters -- promising an elk on three-day pack trips into the backcountry.
Before he was forced to retire, Jackson revealed that some outfitters were improperly building salt licks to lure elk. In turn, this attracted grizzly bears. Bear kills -- supposedly in self-defense -- soared around Thorofare.
Allowing hunters to carry loaded weapons into Yellowstone would be an invitation to more killing of animals, grizzly bears and elk that wander back into the supposed sanctuary of the national park.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells have signed a letter opposing the proposed rule. "The NRA and its allies are fanning hysteria by asserting that guns are 'prohibited' in national parks: This is not true," their letter said.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), usually a mellow green group, is up in arms over the pack-your-piece proposal. It is urging park visitors to voice their feelings.
Even if you normally keep your head down, consider writing. Here's the address: The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, 1849 C Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Or hit NPCA's Web site at npca.org/keep_parks_safe.
The deadline is Aug. 8.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/370344_joel11.html
FOR ANYONE WHO HASNT SUBMITTED THIER COMMENTS TO MR. KEMPTHORNE PLEASE DO SO, THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED.
ps: Read the comments, looks like people smell this crap for what it is!
