Tag Archives: National Park Service
Old Glory convoy headed to Alaska’s Denali National Park in wake of flag ban on construction trucks
Despite a decision by Denali National Park officials to bar construction workers in the park from displaying American flags from their trucks, Old Glory will be on full display on May 26. In the wake of park officials’ decision to ban U.S. flags from construction vehicles, Alaskans are planning a patriotic convoy to the park’s main entrance. News of the flag ban on construction vehicles has spread across the nation ever since the Alaska Watchman first broke the story on May 23, when a construction worker blew the whistle. He said the workers were barred from flying flags atop their trucks and equipment because the sight of Old Glory was deemed to detract from the visitors’ experience. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:52
Endangered coho salmon: California’s comeback kid with ‘surprisingly strong’ spawning season, says NPS
California’s coho salmon have made a surprising comeback. The 2023-24 spawning season is on track to be the best in more than 15 years, said the National Park Service in a statement. “On one of the creeks, Olema Creek, the one that we saw the most spawning on, we thought we’d see somewhere in the neighborhood of around 40 nests,” National Park Service Fishery Biologist Michael Reichmuth said. “And we’re looking at double that. So, that’s a pretty big surprise and encouraging to see those kinds of numbers because it means the fish had high survival through their life, getting to that point.” “We had an epic day on Olema, with a single-day count of 150 adult coho salmon. This is the highest single-day count that we have (ever) recorded,” he said. Video, photos, more, >>click to read<< 14:31
You gotta read this! Congress considers extensive appropriations for environment, fisheries
A congressional committee recently proposed billions of dollars in environment, and fisheries related appropriations, which may help protect and restore the North Carolina coast and its fisheries. Not everyone supports the proposed appropriations, however. N.C. Fisheries Association director of government relations Jerry Schill said in a strongly-worded email Oct. 9 to the News-Times he has no plans on reading, studying or lobbying for or against the proposed budget. Mr. Schill said he was in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28 to work on labor issues that relate to commercial fishing.,, “It was a frustrating day because, well D.C. just plain sucks,” Mr. Schill said. “ >click to read< 14:59 (Billions $$$ to NOAA!)
American Aquafarms salmon farm anxious to explain its vision. pssst, Eirik. No one wants it.
Officials representing a controversial salmon farm proposed for Frenchman Bay hope to meet with the public in the coming weeks to explain their vision amid vocal and visible opposition. Ten days ago, a flotilla of boats showed their opposition to the project in the water surrounding Acadia National Park. Company vice president Eirik Jors said American Aquafarms wants to open a U.S. location to help meet the growing demand for 
salmon. “The U.S. imports about 90% of its seafood,”,,, Save it, Eirik. National Park Service blasted the proposal in July., Other groups, including Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage and Frenchman Bay United, are worried about the loss of fishing grounds for lobstermen and others. James West, a fourth-generation fisherman from Sorrento, said the lease site is too big and he’s worried about impacts on lobsters and fish. >click to read< 15:39
Outer Banks quicksand! Recent shipwreck is sinking into the beach at Cape Hatteras
This odd occurrence is playing out at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where the 72-foot fishing vessel Ocean Pursuit ran aground on the morning of March. 1. The boat was stuck 50 yards off Bodie Island: surrounded by a few feet of water at high tide, but on dry land much of the time. It’s been two months now, and the bow has vanished below the surface and sand is filling the cabins. Is a boat actually sinking into the beach? Yes, it is, and this kind of odd occurrence has been seen before on the Outer Banks, the National Park Service says. The park is counting on the boat’s owners removing it before it completely sinks,,, Video, >click to read< 15:16
Efforts begin to remove grounded vessel off Oregon Inlet
Collaborative efforts have begun to remove a fishing vessel that was grounded off of Oregon Inlet on the night of February 29. The crew of the 72-foot scallop boat were safely removed by an air crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City the following morning, and until the vessel is towed away, it still remains stranded about 50 yards near the shoreline, and roughly a half mile south of ORV Ramp 4 on Bodie Island. more, >click to read< 19:08
Researchers, marine pilots work to prevent vessel strikes from killing Alaska whales
Over the past decade, federal officials have logged 77 incidents of vessels hitting whales in Alaska waters. About three-quarters of those, were endangered humpbacks. But, it’s not clear why those strikes keep happening. A group of federal researchers and marine pilots have teamed up to combine what scientists know about whale behavior with what marine pilots know about ships.,,, That’s important as NOAA has logged 182 whale strikes in U.S. waters over the last decade. But that’s an undercount: ships aren’t legally required to report when they hit whale. And sometimes they don’t even know it’s happened. >click to read< 12:18
Multi-organization effort believes Cashes Ledge deserves to be permanently protected
The team’s efforts of four years ago, including holding roundtables and giving talks across the region, were undertaken in hopes Cashes Ledge would be awarded a monument designation. The effort failed, but it did play a part in the creation, three years ago, of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the only national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. Lamb, who now works with the Witman Lab and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on various marine issues, believes Cashes Ledge deserves the same protection, especially since the Gulf of Maine is one of the fastest-warming bodies of salt water in the world. >click to read<09:37
Environmental Citations Issued For Boat Captain During NOAA Environmental Research Cruise
The captain of a charter boat carrying government scientists on an environmental research cruise near the Keys has been cited for violating environmental regulations. The Ultimate Getaway is a 100-foot charter boat that takes people to the remote Tortugas, west of Key West, for diving and spearfishing trips. This month, it was chartered by the federal government for the Coral Reef Monitoring Program research cruise, which surveys reef and fish in Florida every other year. The FWC patrol saw the Ultimate Getaway at anchor inside the reserve. When they came alongside, they saw fishing poles and gear on the vessel’s stern, according to the FWC report. >click to read<11:19
Clammers, wormers can coexist with Acadia’s conservation mission
A recent BDN OpEd criticized Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s legislation to clarify the status of clamming and worming on the flats in Acadia National Park. The bill in question and companion legislation in the U.S. Senate are supported by all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation. It permits traditional harvesting while protecting the park against expansion of other harvesting activity or the use of mechanized harvesting equipment. Clammers and wormers have worked the flats around the park for ages. Only two years ago, when enforcement actions were taken against harvesters, did the practice come into question. >click here to read< 12:12
Little red salmon
The wolves of Southwest Alaska share something in common with the wolves of Denali, according to a new National Park Service-sponsored study, they love fish – salmon to be specific. Following on the pioneering work of U.S. Geological Survey biologist Layne Adams in Denali National Park and Preserve in 2010, researchers who spent five years monitoring the diets of six wolf-packs in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve have documented high use of salmon by wolves there. A few Lake Clark area wolves even appear to have adapted to a prey-switching strategy that takes advantage of the decades that Alaska state salmon managers have devoted to boosting salmon runs to streams draining into Bristol Bay. click here to read the story 14:38
81 False killer whales die off South Florida coast
81 false killer whales have died after stranding themselves off the South Florida coast. NOAA announced the grim news on Monday afternoon. NOAA initially reported that 95 false killer whales were stranded in South Florida. Then on Monday afternoon, NOAA Fish Southeast tweeted that 81 whales had died and also said the whales were at a remote location off of Hog Key in the Everglades. One whale was seen alive on Monday and 13 others are unaccounted for, NOAA Fish Southeast said on Twitter on Monday afternoon. The National Park Service has closed the area around the whale stranding location. The National Park Service is asking that aircraft not fly over the area and that boats stay away from the area. Read the rest here 15:14
New superintendent named to head Biscayne National Park
A seasoned ranger with posts in the chilly north including Glacier Bay and Crater Lake will become the new superintendent at South Florida’s subtropical Biscayne National Park, the National Park Service announced Monday. Margaret Goodro, now superintendent at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska, takes over from Brian Carlstrom. In November, Carlstrom was promoted to deputy associate director for the service after overseeing a controversial new management plan that for the first time establishes a marine preserve to help protect part of the park’s ailing reef. “I look forward to working with the park staff, stakeholders and partners to continue the great work of providing amazing recreational opportunities for visitors, while protecting and preserving this rare tropical park,” Goodro said in a statement. And while Goodro may have roots in the north where her family ran a commercial fishing business, she does have some local ties: Her spouse, Melinda, is a Tampa native. They plan to move to South Florida in late October. Read the rest here 10:38
Biscayne National Park’s General Management Plan – No-fishing zone no solution to coral loss
Were Charles Dickens alive today, it’s possible that the drama surrounding the inclusion of a no-fishing zone in Biscayne National Park’s General Management Plan (GMP) could be mistaken as part of the inspiration for his great story A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens’ famous opening sentence from that novel is: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” But the way that the (NPS) and its activist allies talk about the no-fishing zone seems to reflect part of the rest of that opening line: “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” Read the rest here 11:02
Field Hearing Highlights Draconian Rejection of Science, Local Stakeholder Input with National Park Service’s Plan for Biscayne Bay
Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Small Business Committee held a joint field hearing in Homestead, Florida, on the National Park Service’s (NPS) General Management Plan (GMP) for Biscayne National Park released in June 2015. The GMP, which includes a Marine Reserve Zone (MRZ) that would be closed to all commercial and recreational fishing, conflicts with the position of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the recommendations of the park’s own stakeholder working group. Read the rest here 16:06
After a long battle, Drake’s Bay Oyster Co. packs it in
On Dec. 31, after a long battle with the National Park Service, the California Coastal Commission, the Department of the Interior and wilderness advocates, owner Kevin Lunny and his family will vacate the starkly beautiful Drake’s Estero, a 2,500-acre estuary where some of the tastiest oysters on the West Coast have been farmed for more than half a century. Read the rest here
Proposed Ban on Commercial Fishing Off Miami – Video report
With fish populations decreasing, the National Park Service is proposing a ban on commercial fishing in Biscayne National Park off the coast of Miami, an area that’s been fished for generations. <Video, Read more here> 12:24
New rules would ban commercial fishing, lobster mini season from Biscayne National Park
“It’s always so easy to take a swipe at fishermen whether they’re commercial or recreational,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “It’s going to have a severe socio-economic impact. We’re talking generations of fishermen — a cultural heritage.” Read more here 08:55
National Park Service Biscayne Park Fishery Management Plan ruffles fishermen
The head of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association says he’ll take the fight to Congress if need be to fend off the implementation of a series of fishing restrictions proposed this week by Biscayne National Park officials. Read more here 08:12
National Park Service seeks to ease tensions with Point Reyes farmers
Fed in part by a vitriolic dispute between the federal government and a rancher who also runs an oyster farm, the ill will here directed at the park is the worst anyone can remember. “There is a level of intensity here that I’ve not seen before,” said park Supt. Cicely Muldoon, 48, a longtime resident of Marin County who this month launched a “truth and reconciliation” campaign to try to ease tensions. Read more here 14:49
Government Shutdown: Feds Try to Close the OCEAN Because of Shutdown
Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was “closed” due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown. more@breitbart 13:30
Seafood certification – who’s really on first? Nils Stolpe
“Sustainability certification” has become a watchword of people in the so-called marine conservation community in recent years. However, their interest seems to transcend the determination of the actual sustainability of the methods employed to harvest particular species of finfish and shellfish and to use the certification process and the certifiers to advance either their own particular agendas or perhaps the agendas of those foundations that support them financially. continued here
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the largest international organization – headquartered in London – providing fish and seafood sustainability certification. It was started in 1996 as a joint effort of the World Wildlife Fund, a transnational ENGO, and Unilever a transnational provider of consumer goods.
David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Monterey Bay Aquarium, National Park Service, NOAA, Obama Victory Fund., Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, Resources Legacy Foundation, Senator Lisa Murkowski, The Writings of Nils Stolpe, US Department of the Interior, Walmart, Walton Family Foundation, World Wildlife Fund
Certified salmon: Park Service director endorses Alaska fish without the MSC label. He does NOT go far enough.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski put Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service on the hot seat, and he tried to wiggle his way off the hook by seeking closed door discussion over the Alaska Salmon issue. That’s all well and good for Alaska, while the point is missed that by law all US fishery’s are regulated to be sustainably fished. What about other sustainable by law fish that does not carry the British ENGO label? This NPS issue is just getting started.
From newsminer – So Mr. Jarvis obviously felt a little uncomfortable at a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, dug into a Park Service recommendation that could curtail Alaska salmon sales by park concessioners nationwide. continued@newsminer
Senator Murkowski demands answers as Interior Dept’s National Park Service is busted for ENGO Intoxication
This is nut’s! The oh so trendy and hip National Park Service is caught policy making under the influence of the controversial Marine Stewardship Council, the Gen Ex red-headed step child of Boomer World Wildlife Foundation and Monterey Bay Aquarium. It appears the Interior Park Service had a serious lapse in judgement because instead of being responsible, using NMFS FishWatch, the prepaid sustainability vehicle, they succumbed to peer pressure of the foundation funded ENGO strong arming bad seed! Murkowski Demands Answers on Harmful Federal Fish Policies Seafood Coalition Letter
National Park Service ignores National Marine Fisheries Service FishWatch Program while endorcing two private enterprises eco-labeling programs
Last month the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) announced that it was now requiring that vendors at all of the food service establishments in its parks, monuments, etc. serve seafood that is certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or identified as “green” or “yellow” in reports prepared by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Read the Seafood Coalition notice
Drakes Bay Oyster Co. sues U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, claiming he violated federal environmental law
The owner of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, Kevin Lunny at his oyster farm in Point Reyes, Calif. on Thursday Nov. 29, 2012. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rejected a proposal to extend the lease of the popular Drakes Bay Oyster Farm at Point Reyes National Seashore Thursday, effectively ending more than a century of shellfish production on the 1,100 acres in Drakes Bay. The lawsuit accuses Salazar and Jonathan Jarvis, the director of the National Park Service, the director of the National Park Service, of revoking the property rights of the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. without due process provided by the National Environmental Policy Act. The suit also claims the federal leaders based their decision on false, biased and misrepresented science. Read More
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Drakes-Bay-Oyster-Co-sues-feds-in-fight-over-farm-4090937.php
Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle / SF
