Presidents Obama and Calderon are trying to create an international park at the U.S./Mexico border modeled after the Waterton-Glacier Peace Park that we share with our northern neighbors. The new park would be an extension of BEAUTIFUL Big Bend National Park in Texas and would mean securing an extremely rugged area in Mexico that's the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The Mexico side boasts douglas firs and ponderosa pines at 10,000 feet, crystal mountain streams, black bears and bighorn sheep. It's far from paved roads, mostly untouched and is visited by the occasional sheepherder and biologist. And drug smugglers. Lots of them.When Big Bend National Park was established in 1944 in far West Texas, President Franklin Roosevelt wrote to President Manuel Avila Camacho of Mexico, "I do not believe this undertaking in the Big Bend will be complete until the entire park area ... on both sides of the Rio Grande, forms one great international park."More info at NPR.
Dolly Sods Wilderness
The 17,371-acre Dolly Sods Wilderness in Monongahela National Forest, WV is named after the Dalhe family, who in the mid-1800s, used open grassy fields called "sods" for grazing sheep in the area. Located high on the Allegheny Plateau, Dolly Sods is known for its rocky plains and upland bogs. It is the highest plateau of its type east of the Mississippi River with altitude ranging from around 4,000 feet to about 2,700 feet. The lower elevations consist of a forest of northern hardwoods and laurel thickets. Higher up, groves of wind-stunted red spruce stand near heath barrens where azaleas, mountain laurels, rhododendron, and blueberries grow.David Hunter Strother ("Porte Crayon") wrote an early description of the area, published in Harper's Monthly magazine in 1852:
"In Randolph County, Virginia, is a tract of country containing from seven to nine hundred square miles, entirely uninhabited, and so savage and inaccessible that it has rarely been penetrated even by the most adventurous. The settlers on its borders speak of it with a sort of dread, and regard it as an ill-omened region, filled with bears, panthers, impassable laurel-brakes, and dangerous precipices. Stories are told of hunters having ventured too far, becoming entangled, and perishing in its intricate labyrinths. The desire of daring the unknown dangers of this mysterious region, stimulated a party of gentlemen . . . to undertake it in June, 1851. They did actually penetrate the country as far as the Falls of the Blackwater, and returned with marvelous accounts of its savage grandeur, and the quantities of game and fish to be found there."
Lamprey River, New Hampshire
I had the joy of running beside the beautiful Lamprey River this last weekend while visiting my folks in New Hampshire. The Lamprey originates in the Saddleback Mountains, Northwood, New Hampshires and flows 47.3 miles to the Great Bay. It has the largest quantity of anadromous fish (fish born in fresh water, spending most of their lives in the sea and returning to fresh water to spawn. Salmon, smelt, shad, striped bass, and sturgeon are common examples.) in the Great Bay watershed and hosts substantial numbers of freshwater mussels. The segment of the Lamprey from the Bunker Pond Dam in the town of Epping to the confluence with the Piscassic River in the vicinity of the Durham-Newmarket town line is part of the Wild and Scenic River system. 11.5 miles were designated on November 12, 1996 and another 12 miles were designated May 2, 2000. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 states:
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.
AMC Volunteer Trail Building
If you live in New England and have done any hiking along the Appalachian Trail, there's a good chance that the Appalachian Mountain Club and their volunteers are to thank. According to the AMC, "In a typical year, people like you volunteer approximately 18,000 hours building approximately 1,200 feet of bog bridging, completing about 1,000 feet of screewall, installing more than 300 feet of drainage, and building about 100 cairns. Local volunteers help maintain 1,500 miles of trails each year." Sign up now for 2010 Trail Crew Opportunities at Acadia National Park (Maine), the Berkshires (Massachusetts), the White Mountains (New Hampshire and Maine), Connecticut, the Delaware Water Gap (New Jersey & Pennsylvania), Baxter State Park (Maine), Cardigan Mountain (New Hampshire), and more. And if you volunteer, you'll get one of these fancy shirts.See the full 2010 Volunteer Vacations schedule or the full 2010 Work Party schedule.
Fort Union Trading Post
Fort Union Trading Post was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri. Built in 1828 by the American Fur Company, the post was set up not as a government or military post, but as a business, established for the specific purpose of doing business with the northern plains tribes. This trade business continued until 1867 making it the longest lasting American fur trading post.At this post, the Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibway, Blackfeet, Hidatsa, and other tribes traded buffalo robes and furs for trade goods including items such as beads, clay pipes, guns, blankets, knives, cookware, cloth, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol. Historic visitors to the fort included John James Audubon, George Catlin, Pierre DeSmet, Sitting Bull, Karl Bodmer, and Jim Bridger.It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
14 New National Monuments?
Obama's administration is considering 14 potential national monuments in 9 states, according to a leaked Department Of The Interior document. And whenever there's talk of turning a place into a federally protected national monument, there's going to be debate. Some are happy with the idea of federal protection, thus helping to save these beautiful places for our kids, but with national monument status comes more regulation as to what types of activities are allowed in the area.In addition, government officials in Utah are angry because they claim that no state or local officials were contacted about the proposal. Utah Governor Gary Herbert claims, "I will challenge federal officials to explain to me how they could possibly be in a better position to know what’s best for our rural lands than those of us here on the ground in this state.” Below are the areas being considered for national monument status.San Rafael Swell, UTMontana’s Northern Prairie, MTLesser Prairie Chicken Preserve, NMBerryessa Snow Mountains, CAHeart of the Great Basin, NVOtero Mesa, NMNorthwest Sonoran Desert, AZOwyhee Desert, OR/NVCascade-Siskiyou National Monument, CA (expansion)Vermillion Basin, CO (pictured above)Bodie Hills, CAThe Modoc Plateau, CACedar Mesa region, UTSan Juan Islands, WAMore info at The Adventure Life.
Bull Hill
We took a train up to Cold Spring on Saturday morning to meet some friends (thanks for the pictures) at their Main Street mansion of an apartment and hike up Bull Hill, also known as Mount Taurus. Part of the handsome Hudson Highlands, Bull Hill (1,620 ft) is taller than its more famous neighbor, Breakneck Ridge (1,260 feet).Before the hike, we stopped at the farmer's market for some jalapeño-cheddar bread and dijon, then carried onto Bull Hill's south base, home to the remnants of an old quarry. It's an easy hike to the top, and although I wished I hadn't dragged the snowshoes on the train only to leave them in the car, there was enough snow, quiet, and views of the Hudson to remind us not to wish winter away just yet.
Harney Peak + Valentine McGillycuddy
Harney Peak, located within Black Hills National Forest, is the highest mountain in South Dakota, and at 7,244 feet, the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The peak was named after Williams S. Harney, commander of the military in the Black Hills area in the late 1850s. An abandoned fire lookout tower is situated on the summit with a plaque that reads "Valentine McGillycuddy, Wasicu Wacan." The plaque marks the final resting place of Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy (pictured above). Harney Peak is also the place where Black Elk had his "great vision" when he was nine years old.Dr. Valentine (good timing, eh? get it now?) McGillycuddy is famous for being the doctor who treated Crazy Horse at the time of his death. While he is known to the Lakota of the modern-day Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as "Friend of Crazy Horse", he was not so much loved by some other Lakotas, including Red Cloud, a major Sioux chief. Red Cloud's accusations of mismanagement led to several investigations of Dr. McGillycuddy's administration. In the days leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre, Red Cloud conceded that McGillycuddy had been a "young man with an old man's head on his shoulders." Whatever that means.
