Petition to remove ban from National Parks

[Dan M.]

Originally Posted by Quietpi

#871. Funny. When this issue came up some time back, the chief of NPS responded to the request with a letter that said, among other things, "the national parks are safe." I've done a lot of work in national parks. Did you know that Yosemite NP has a jail? With tenants? And jailers? And a federal court? And a federal prosecutor? and a federal public defender? And all those people don't spend their time sitting on their laurels.

Granted that most people who are sentenced to jail time are transported to another facility, but it is possible that you could go to Yosemite, commit a crime, be arrested, tried, convicted, and do your time, all without leaving the park boundary.

981. It's the same in Yellowstone.

[luckylogger6]

#985

[flyingm]

Signed #995

I will definitely be passing this around.

[ttsail]

1000 something.... I did not get the number but I signed it.

[OCRancher]

#1088

[sealbeach]

And you really can't tell a grizzley bear not to attack humans on THIS side of the line, because they are now in a "SAFE NATIONAL PARKK" as opposed to the "DANGEROUS WILDERNESS" on THAT side of the line. Gimme a break!

[1buba]

#1089

[Mad Geek]

#1133

[damjo]

#1135

[EM2]

# 1292

[IAmASensFan]

Originally Posted by sealbeach

And you really can't tell a grizzley bear not to attack humans on THIS side of the line, because they are now in a "SAFE NATIONAL PARKK" as opposed to the "DANGEROUS WILDERNESS" on THAT side of the line. Gimme a break!

now thats not accurate...I was watching Nat Geo the other day, and they've conditoned the bears up in Churchill Manitoba to not enter into a certain area by "Challenging them" with their vehicles...

the bears have been conditioned not to cross the road anymore, so that people can continue to watch them safely in their natural habitats.

<--- The Mark of Sarcasm.

[CenterX]

1304
Where is the one for CA state parks?

[Quietpi]

I advise against using the argument of dangerous (natural) environment/animals in this debate, in part because of the natural mindset of NPS-types, and in part because the risk is so low. Besides, we don't need it. Let me explain...

The NPS, particularly, views Man as the interloper in the wild animals' rightful "home." They are willing to accept the small number of conflicts that occur as the inevitable risk of placing oneself in an environment that is not, and cannot be, perfectly risk-free.

Besides, even when they occur, very very few (and I do mean very very few) cannot be laid at the feet of stupid humans. Even moving "problem bears" is done for the benefit of the bears, not man. Bears, particularly, have learned to "bluff charge" picnickers, in order to get people to leave behind their goodies. NPS people would recognize the real potential for a lot of people to panic, and NPS could end up with dead bears on their hands. And what would be the justification for the shoot? "I feared for my life" is almost never legitimate. Common, but not legitimate.

Also, launching lead in a developed campground, for any reason, is very, very bad news.

Here's a parallel situation. I don't know how many times some tourist came up to me (in Northern California), and announced that he had killed a "coral snake." Then he would proudly produce a beautiful, 5- or 6-foot, very dead, California Mountain ("coral") King snake (You know, "red and black - venom lack"), IMO one of God's most beautiful creatures. And harmless, unless you're a mouse or a rattlesnake.

In short, the majority of park visitors, taken out of their own natural environment ("the city,") do stupid things. I'm not complaining, mind you. Getting them out of their "situations" was a great way to make a living.

Besides, we don't need the "wild animal" argument. Parks are no more crime-free than your average small city. They have every issue and conflict, or a parallel one, that a city has -- sewage disposal, property disputes, educational facilities, fire departments, police departments, emergency medicine, etc. Burgs, assaults, alcohol, drugs, even murders. You should see the "blotter" of a major national park. Have a national park nearby? Enter their dispatch frequency on a scanner. Heh, heh...

So THAT is where I see our strong argument -- NOT in conflicts with grizzly bears. The latter will actually work against us.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

Have you guys checked the validity of this petition site? I want to be careful where I put my full name, email and town on the net.

[CCWInstructor]

According to federal law it is not. They require adresses to make it legal.