blog

May 2009

Are national parks the place for loaded guns?
Make your voice count – urgently!

By Audrey Peterman

To get American citizens and credit card users a better deal with their credit card companies, President Obama may sign a bill which includes an amendment allowing visitors to openly carry loaded rifles, shotguns and semiautomatic weapons in our national parks. This development is considered so dangerous that seven former directors of the National Park System, along with current and former park rangers, have come out against it, saying that it will increase the risk of attacks on the protected wildlife (poaching), destruction of historic resources, and threaten the public’s safety.

As someone who loves the National Park System passionately and sees them as the balm to many of our society’s ills – from stress reduction in the natural rhythms of large ecosystems such as the Everglades or the Rocky Mountains to the inspiration provided at our historic sites -- this represents a veritable Hobson’s choice, i.e.  a “choice” with only one option offered.

I want the credit card protections that President Obama is seeking, and I also want to be able to enjoy the national parks in peace with every other American. But many members of Congress in the Democratic Party who oppose this rider fear that voting against it will jeopardize passage of the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights of 2009, which they are unwilling to do.

Under current law, visitors to the parks are required to unload their guns and store them safely. While I am seldom fearful for my safety because I focus on living my life on a spiritual plane, guns in the open in the parks adds a disturbing element that is at odds with the attributes for which I seek them out.

This is the place where the value of each of us as a citizen in a democracy comes into play. We must let the President and Congress know whether or not this is a choice we want to make. I do not presume to speak for you, and there’s still time to read about this issue and make your voice count for or against it. Go to the National Park Conservation Association’s website (I’m on the board of trustees) and take action at http://act.npca.org/campaign/guns_rider

It’s easy. And it counts.

Love, and peace in our hearts, our neighborhoods, our parks and the world.

Former NPS Director Bob Stanton
appointed to influential position at Department of Interior

By Audrey Peterman

Yipppeee!!! Hooray!!!

As part of President Obama’s administration’s commitment to choose the right person for the right position, we couldn’t be more ecstatic to learn today that our longtime friend and colleague, Bob Stanton, former Director of the National Park System, has been tapped by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) Ken Salazar to become Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Budget and Management at DOI, which has responsibility for the majority of America’s 600 million-plus acres public lands system.

"Since beginning his career as a National Park Service ranger 47 years ago,
Bob Stanton has dedicated his life to improving the conservation and
management of our treasured landscapes and national icons," Secretary Salazar said. "The Department of the Interior will benefit greatly from his vast
experience, extraordinary management skill, and dedication to our public
lands."

Director Stanton served in the National Park Service’s top spot from 1997 to 2001. As director, he oversaw major planning and resource preservation programs at the White House,Yellowstone, Yosemite, Gettysburg, and other national parks and inaugurated and oversaw the National Resource Challenge, a plan to revise and expand the agency's natural resource programs.

Since 2001, he has served as an executive professor at Texas A&M University and a visiting professor at both Howard University and Yale University. He also has provided consulting services to the National Resources Council of America on increasing cultural diversity in conservation organizations and programs.

Most exquisitely, Director Stanton’s commitment to the conservation of America’s natural, cultural and historic treasures is as legendary as his commitment to ensuring that the full range of America’s culturally diverse population knows, loves and sees their reflection in our public lands system. His leadership and support of the national “Mosaic in Motion” conferences organized by the National Parks Conservation Association’s Cultural Diversity Manager, Iantha Gantt-Wright in the 1990’s to early 2000s helped create a network of parks lovers around the country that are now prepared to take an even more pro-active role as we close out the first 100 years of the National Park System with big plans for the Centennial Celebrations in  2016.

Congratulations Director Stanton! We know of no better steward of our country’s prized natural treasures!