Here They Go Again - National Parks Threatened by HR 1505

[Tim Seaver]

Legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives that is being falsely touted as improving U.S. border security would instead "have the potential to devastate 54 of America's national parks, historic sites, national monuments and other popular park icons and negatively impact the nation's economy," according to a warning issued today by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR). H.R. 1505, the mistitled "National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act," would gut a century's worth of proven federal lands protection, potentially opening up millions of pristine acres of national parks to off-road vehicle use, road construction, air strips and helipads, fencing, base installations, and other disruptions.

.....Among the National Park Service areas that fall within H.R. 1505's proposed 100-mile zone of potential devastation are Acadia, Big Bend, Carlsbad Caverns, Cuyahoga Valley, Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Guadalupe Mountains, Isle Royale, Joshua Tree, North Cascades, Olympic, Saguaro, Theodore Roosevelt, Voyageurs, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The combined total acreage of these 15 parks is 21,657,399, nearly 25 percent of the overall footprint U.S. National Park System. They are located within the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.

More destruction under the bogus banner of "keeping us safe".

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Yes, it appears they're at it again. Hopefully the right people/organizations are able to block this bill. Let's hope we don't see another attempt to sell off the National Parks and other federal lands, much like Gingrich tried to earlier, under the guise of paying off the national debt.

 

[JacobH]

Well, I'm glad I'm going to Acadia next week before they destroy the place.

I'll also be leaving this somewhat related link here:

http://www.amazon.com/Before-Theyre...1198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332247599&sr=8-1

 

[Red Oak]

I can not help but wonder if this is being used as a back door attempt to open up these parks for natural energy exploration?What about that gas line that is to go from Canada to Mexico?Politicians on both sides have a nasty habit of appeasing the gas/oil industry in election years.Maybe the powers that be in Washington are concerned about Nova Scotia invading Maine along the coast somewhere.Money has to be the driving factor in this travesty of a bill.Thanks for bringing attention to this Tim.....

 

[griffin]

I can not help but wonder if this is being used as a back door attempt to open up these parks for natural energy exploration?

Well they certainly aren't doing it because Boarder Patrol or Homeland Security is asking for it.

 

[DSettahr]

Not to lessen the importance of whats at stake, but it's worth noting that this article is an opinion piece masquerading as a non-biased news report (which it is not).

 

[Tim Seaver]

?

The article makes it clear both in the title and in the byline that it's an opinion piece by the Coalition of NPS Retirees. That's reinforced in the article, and then there is the "About" section at the end.
Hard to see where the "masquerade" is, but maybe I need to squint.