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Save Our Parks! How to Keep National Parks Open During a Government Shutdown

[…] campgrounds are already managed by private companies, and campers generally aren’t able to tell a difference. A different structure for our treasured public lands could have kept Yellowstone open during the shutdown. Due to the recent government shutdown, federal agents forced privately owned and managed parks to be shut down. However, these private parks […]

Published on: October 8, 2013

Funding the National Park System for the Next Century

[…] and facility upgrades, among other critical infrastructure projects. To name just a few examples, at least $15 million is needed to replace water and wastewater facilities at Yellowstone National Park, and more than $16 million is need to ensure safe drinking water is available at Grand Canyon National Park. Such unfunded maintenance needs adversely […]

Published on: July 24, 2013
Perc

Clearing the Roads in Yellowstone

While politicians continue the budget cut stalemate, entrepreneurs are quick to provide goods and services to the public. Covered with a winter’s snow, the roads in Yellowstone National Park are typically plowed beginning in March. This year, the federal budget sequestration has cut park funding and postponed road clearing. Local communities, however, depend on […]

Published on: March 19, 2013

The Art of Managing Nature

“People in this world today crave something real, and our society is lacking that and they could come to Yellowstone and see real nature unfolding in front of their eyes with this very unique personality of a wolf and they loved her. They thought it was great,” said biologist Douglas Smith in December on […]

Published on: February 7, 2013

The Nature of Nature and Humanity’s Place in It

[…] parts of the country,” says Marris. She quotes one authority that claims that “virtually all the continent’s ecosystems as being in some sense man-made.” “Protected areas like Yellowstone are not the wrong model, but a crucial part of an expanded model,” says Marris. “Such protected areas become anchors, with overlapping zones of various protection […]

Published on: February 7, 2013

Enviropreneur Unlocks Private Capital for Conservation

After the creation of Yellowstone National Park, Charles Eliot published a letter in a small New England periodical, Forest and Garden. In “Waverly Oaks,” Eliot proposed an infrastructure for protecting “special bits of scenery.” His idea was to preserve lands and open them to the public. Eliot’s idea provided a foundational model for the […]

Published on: January 23, 2013

Wolf 832F and the Yellowstone Hunting Ban

Terry Anderson, interviewed by John Batchelor, considers the gray wolves in Yellowstone and the apparent paradox that hunting creates a healthy population of wild species.   https://www.perc.org/sites/default/files/media/JBS%20Anderson%20010313.mp3

Published on: January 3, 2013

Sell Yosemite, Hold a Smithsonian Yard Sale?

[…] discount rate, the present value would easily exceed $200 billion. Then there are the crown jewels: national parks. Disney might pay many billions for the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone. Throw in Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and the Everglades, and we might be talking another trillion. Why stop there? Uncle Sam possesses any number of other […]

Published on: January 2, 2013

Of Moose and Man

That there are moose in Yellowstone today tells us something about nature and our role in it.

Published on: October 30, 2012

Q&A with Emma Marris on the Rambunctious Garden

[…] Thanks to Emma for taking the time to answer our questions. For more PERC Q&As, see the series archive. Q: Given that PERC is just miles from Yellowstone National Park, we are keen to learn more about the “Yellowstone Model” described in your book. Can you summarize the model? A: The phrase “Yellowstone Model” is […]

Published on: October 26, 2012