A Year in National Parks
Lots to Contemplate When Not Focused Only on Iconic Landscapes When the log footbridge across Colonial Creek came into view, I breathed a sigh. It initially was of relief, until I noted that the creek was roiling and swollen enough to slap furiously against the...
System failure
A change in hiring programs cost the NPS a diverse, young ranger You may never have heard of him, but Masyih Ford is arguably the third most-recognizable African-American ranger in the National Park Service. The first and second are, of course, Shelton Johnson at Yosemite,...
Feds Expunge Racist Name
Above: Howard Lake in Washington state (NPS photo) NOTE: The following is a release from the office of Sen. Pramila Jayapal of Seattle. After that is my original story, which provides some context to this development. State Senator Pramila Jayapal joined Washington state leaders and...
This Land is ‘Your’ Land
by Glenn Nelson It must be nice being a white columnist for The New York Times, able to outfit yourself and your daughter with the equipment and food necessary to hike 210 miles, freely travel to the Pacific Crest Trail, and not have to fret...
Lost in the Fires
I am haunted by a scene from about a week ago of young U.S. Forest Service firefighters taking a break at The Mazama Store, which I consider the best “hang” in the Methow Valley, just across the Cascades in central Washington state. They were such...
Low Snow’s Mixed Blessing
The mixed blessing of record low snowpack along the West Coast is that access to national parks is earlier than usual – in some cases, far earlier. National parks, from North Cascades in Washington state to Yosemite in California, are already are virtually at summer...