Lifetime passes to National Parks for seniors, disabled now available by mail

Lifetime passes to America’s national parks for senior citizens and Americans with disabilities are now available through the mail.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said the Senior Pass and the Access Pass will still be available at national parks, "But the option of receiving a pass by mail may better suit some people and any change that makes it more convenient to prepare to come to the parks is a change for the better."

The Senior and Access passes provide admission to, and use of, federal recreation sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees. Pass users also receive a 50 percent discount on some amenity fees for activities like camping and launching a boat. They are available to citizens and permanent residents of the United States age 62 or more or who have permanent disabilities regardless of age.

The "Senior" and "Access" versions of the America the Beautiful Pass – the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – are good for a lifetime. The Access pass is free and the Senior pass is just $10. There is a $10 processing fee to receive either pass by the mail.

To get your Senior pass through the mail just submit a completed application, proof of residency and age, and $20. The fee covers the cost of the pass and a document processing fee. You can print out an application at this web site: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html. Once the application package is received and the documentation verified, the pass will be mailed to you.

The application for the Access pass is also available at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html. To receive the Access pass, mail the completed application along with proof of residency and documentation of permanent disability plus the $10 document processing fee. Once the application package is received and verified, the pass and the documentation of permanent disability you provided will be mailed to you.

For more information, please visit http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: A National Park getaway

You might expect that the world’s largest urban national park would be among the most crowded. So, you may be surprised to learn that this week’s National Park Getaway, with its endless sandy beaches and hundreds of trail miles, is not one of the top 100 most visited national parks.

That’s not to say that it isn’t loved. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is an easy drive from the busy streets of Los Angeles, making it a popular recreation site for local outdoor enthusiasts and out of town visitors alike. Bikers, birders, campers, hikers, photographers and horseback riders make full use of this legendary region. Still, you’ll find plenty of opportunity to get away and to soak in the scenes and scents of
canyons, valleys, scrub oak and ocean.

The Santa Monica Mountains are richly diverse: culturally, geologically and biologically. Home to more than 1,000 plant species and more than 450 animal species, the recreation area also protects significant cultural and archaeological resources. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area preserves one of Earth’s finest Mediterranean climate ecosystems.

The recreation area extends from the giant Hollywood sign in the Hollywood hills north all the way to Ventura. And though there are no RV campgrounds in the recreation area, several private and state park campgrounds are adjacent to it.

You can read more on the Santa Monica Mountains NRA at NPS Getaways.

Visit the world's largest urban national park

It's something of an anomaly: the world's largest urban national park, but not even in the top 100 list of most-visited parks. Less than an hour's drive from the second most-populated city in the US (Los Angeles), yet home to over 450 different animal species and 1,000 plant species. Do you know it?

It's the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. If you bike, bird, camp, hike, horseback ride, or photograph, you're in good company. Outdoor enthusiasts will find plenty to love in the region. And the scenic variety? Oceans, canyons, valleys, plains. Not only natural wonders, cultural history: Over 1,000 pictographs from ancient peoples exist in the area.

It's not just a single park, per se, the National Recreation Area covers over 154,000 acres, ranging through the Santa Monica Mountains between the Pacific Ocean and the valleys inland. the National Park Service maintains general oversight of the Area, controlling some 21,500 acres, while California State Parks own 42,000 acres. The balance of this huge area are tied up in other ownerships, but much accessible to the public.

Learn more on the NPS website.

National Park Service announces fee free days for 2012

Glacier National Park

To encourage Americans to explore America’s natural beauty, rich history and culture, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the National Park Service will waive admission fees on 17 days in 2012, when the USFWS, BLM, and US Forest Service will also waive entrance fees on certain days to encourage folks to get outside and get active.

"From Independence Hall to our newest national park, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, our national parks tell the story of America, from the beauty of our land to our struggle for freedom and justice,” Secretary Salazar said. “Whether or not it’s during one of the 17 fee free days next year, I encourage everyone to visit a park near them and enjoy the remarkable landscapes and historical and cultural sites that are unique to our great country.”

Recreation in national parks, refuges, and other public lands fueled nearly $55 billion in economic activity and supported 440,000 jobs in 2009.

The fee free dates for 2012 are January 14 to 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend), April 21 to 29 (National Park Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), September 29 (National Public Lands Day), and November 10 to 12 (Veterans Day weekend). More information is available at:
http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.

In addition, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service will waive their entrance and standard amenity fees January 14 to 16, June 9, September 29, and November 10 to 12. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will also have a fee free day on October 14 in recognition of National Wildlife Refuge Week. The Bureau of Reclamation will waive standard amenity fees on September 29 and November 12.

Many park-related hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and tour operators will offer specials on fee free days. There is something for everyone at each of the country’s 395 national parks. So mark the dates and come visit one of your national parks.

NPS announces winners of Natural Landmarks Photo Contest

Crystal clear emerald waters of Colorado, the sun rising over Florida rosemary scrub, and sedimentary rocks against a starry Kansas night sky epitomize the beauty and diversity of America’s natural places.

These are just a few of the scenes captured by photographers in the 2011 National Natural Landmarks (NNL)Photo Contest. A National Park Service-wide vote took place in mid-August.

The winning photos and 10 Honorable Mentions will be featured in the 2012 NNL calendar, specially designed to commemorate the NNL Program’s 50th Anniversary.

“These stunning photographs not only highlight the beauty of these spectacular places, but the longevity of the National Park Service’s relationship with partners for resource conservation,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

There are 591 national natural landmarks across the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. NNLs are designated by the Secretary of the Interior following rigorous scientific study, and include features on private, state, municipal, and federal lands.

To view the 13 winning photographs from this year’s contest, visit the National Park Service website. A complete list of national natural landmarks and additional information about the program can be found on the NPS Index page of the website.

Park visitation down throughout system

The Voice of America (VOA) reports that visitation rates in the US National Park system are off again, down five percent from last year's rate. This makes for at least two years of declines in visitors: In 2010 park counts were down about seven and a half percent from 2009.

The VOA says the situation has left park officials scratching around under their Smokey Bear hats. Usually with a downturn in the economy, the parks see an uptick in visitation. After all, it's less expensive to visit the parks than to travel elsewhere. But the VOA suggests that the economic downturn is exactly the cause of the fall-off in visitation. It says the high price of fuel used by RVs, "notorious gas guzzlers" is to blame.

While no hard statistics are at hand, park personnel comment on a decrease in the number of visitors from Europe. Since the value of the Euro has fallen with that of the US dollar, the radio network hypothesizes that foreign tourists are spending their currency closer to home.

Bryce Canyon National Park: R&T DeMaris photo.

New study predicts how climate change could affect Yellowstone

What would happen if, as a recent study examined, the temperature of Yellowstone National Park were to rise--in this case a computer model possibility of 9.7 degrees by the end of the century?

By taking the average of sixteen computer models of climate future that were fed data from five different local weather stations, the model indicated that drastic changes could come to the park.

For instance, the elk herds could diminish because the new climate, nearer to what sea level Los Angeles is like rather than at the average of 8,000-foot elevation of the park, would find their food source of grasses drying out too soon in summer cutting off their food supply.

Tree-killing beetles, once kept under control by extremely cold winter nights--that in this model would cease to be as cold--would destroy entire forests (photo) similar to what is happening now in Colorado, and the chilly rivers that flow through the park would become too warm for the native cutthroat trout to survive.

The report, written by Leslie Kaufman for Green, A Blog About Energy and the Environment was published in the New York Times September 27th.