National parks: Let freedom--or cell phones--ring?

In a move that will no doubt deeply stir emotions, Yellowstone National Park managers are giving consideration to allow a new cellular communications tower in the park. Presently cell phone and other electronic device users have little or no access to the wireless world from the big Montana park, but that could change.

In a world plauged by polarized views, here's another one to add to the list. Do you want electronic ring tones to spoil the quiet of your park visit, or do you find yourself on the opposite end of the spectrum--feeling unplugged if your iPad gives you blank looks for want of an Internet connection?

Cell phone tower
disguised as a tree.
Coming to your
favorite National Park?

It may seem odd, but there is no Park Service-wide ruling on the case of cell towers in parks, and as a result, many of the larger parks, including Yellowstone, don't have much in the way of connectivity. The reason is simple--the mandate that national parks have to maintain a precarious balance between protecting park resources and still providing the appropriate visitor experience.

As Americans become more and more "connected," the thought of being without e-mail or even phone service is disconcerting to some. Others, to quote Thoreau, "Went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." For them, cell phones and laptops are anything but desirable for fronting those essential facts of life--in their hands, or anyone else's.

Yellowstone's current cellular policy allows for only limited cell tower construction in the park. No towers in wilderness areas, none along road corridors, and none in campgrounds. While concessionaires are given the nod to provide WiFi service in some places, none are allowed in the Old Faithful Inn and the park's Lake Hotel in order to, "preserve the historic lodging experience."

Historic experience aside, some clamor for extended digital service. They call for service in the name of safety. But opponents respond that bringing in more cellular service to the nation's parks could just provide a false sense of security. It wouldn't likely be possible to get coverage to all areas of all parks, and back country visitors might think no matter where they go, if they get in trouble they could always call for help--to no avail.

In Montana, both at Yellowstone and at Glacier, the matter of more cellular service is one being given consideration. A Reuters story provides more details on it. Meantime, what say you? We'd love to hear your comments.

America has a new national park

photo: TheBrockenInaGlory on wikimedia.com

America's newest National Park, its 59th, calls California home. Pinnacles National Monument became a National Park with a stroke of President Obama's pen on January 10.
Rising out of the Gabilan Mountains east of central California's Salinas Valley, Pinnacles is the result of millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement. Within the park's boundaries lie nearly 27,000 acres of diverse wild lands. Visitors will find beauty and variety of its spring wildflowers and more than 400 species of native bees. The Pinnacles rock formations are a popular destination to challenge technical and beginner climbers alike.

Designated as a national monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the park's management will not change by the legislation that brought about its birth. The Pinnacles National Park Act recognizes the broader significance of park resources, specifically the chaparral, grasslands, blue oak woodlands, and majestic valley oak savanna ecosystems of the area, the area's geomorphology, riparian watersheds, unique flora and fauna, and the ancestral and cultural history of native Americans, settlers and explorers.

NPS photo

Pinnacles serves as a California Condor incubator, one of only three release sites in the nation. Thirty-one free-flying condors call the park "home." Wild chicks are monitored by biologists and volunteers. Aside from condor watching, there are other draws to visitors. If you're a "heavy duty trail hiker," than you may find some great views from the steep trails throughout the park's volcanic pinnacles.

NPS photo

Not in to the high stuff? Cave exploration is possible in the park's talus caves, created when narrow canyons filled up with boulders, leaving passages in between the big rocks. Popular Bear Gulch cave on the park's eastern side, like its cousins the Balconies caves on the west, are home to colonies of Townsend's big-eared bats. Park managers try to keep the caves open as much as possible, up to ten months out of the year, but occasionally do close them, either by section or in entirety, when "pupping" season rolls around.

NPS photo

You'll find camping on the east side of the park at the Pinnacles Campground. There are both tent and RV sites, and many of the latter offer electric hookups, and water and a dump station are available. Bring your swim gear--the pool is open, generally from mid-April to the end of September. Leashed pets are OK in the campground, and on roads and in parking lots.

The rock formations of Pinnacles National Monument and the Gabilan Mountain Range divide the park into East and West Districts which are connected by trails, but not by a vehicle road. More than 30 miles of trails access geological formations, spectacular vistas and wildland communities. Pinnacles National Park is a day-use park, with occasional full moon hikes and dark sky astronomical observations led by ranger-interpreters.

Get more information at the park's website.