Top Stories of the National Parks for 2017

Twenty seventeen came to an end last week.  Many history making and world changing events from Donald Trump's taking of the oval office to the mass killings in Las Vegas took place. America's national parks were caught up in many of these history making events as well, here are the top national park stories from 2017.

National Park Service told to stop Tweeting
The day after Trump's inauguration, the National Park Service tweeter account put out a tweet seeming to contradict the President's claim that his inauguration enjoyed the largest crowds ever.  The National Park Service (NPS) twitter site sent a message that compared images of Obama's crowd vs. those for Trump's.  The obvious conclusion from the images was that the president was over exaggerating at best and lying at worst. The NPS site was shut down for several days.  As a result several alternative tweeter sites including one for the NPS, as well as the EPA, NASA, and Forest Service popped up to counter the new gag orders.

Trump proposes to raise Park entrance fees
The National Park Service proposes at nearly two dozen sites to more than double the entrance fees.  The agency claims the additional revenue will help with park improvements. Others fear, the higher costs will make traveling to national parks unaffordable for many.

Trump orders the reduction of several National Monuments
Following a review of less than a year, President Trump ordered the largest reduction of national monuments in American history. Specifically, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments were both cut by 1 million acres.  These cuts were made despite overwhelming public support for maintaining them as were.  The final decision will likely be rendered by the courts.

Park Visitation continues to Break Records
It wasn't all bad new in 2017.  The National Park Service reported early last year that 2016 saw record breaking numbers.  In fact, nearly 331 million people visited the national park system during its centennial year.  Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Blue Ridge Parkway, Smoky Mountains National Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, and Gateway National Recreation Area rounding out the top five visited park sites.  Twenty seventeen saw similar visitation numbers and experts expect this past year to be a record breaker as well.

Solar Eclipse Casts Shadow Across Several National Parks
On August 21, a total solar eclipse passed across the entirety of the continental United States. This was the first total eclipse visible from the US in 38 years.  The 2017 eclipse passed over 21 national park units from Oregon to South Carolina.  Millions of people traveled to be in the path of totality.  Another total eclipse won't be visible again in the United States until April of 2024.

Huge Fires Scorched the West
Twenty Seventeen made history for other reasons besides astronomical phenomenon.  Huge wildfires ripped across the west this past year as well.  Infernos torched thousands of acres in Yosemite and Great Smokey's National Parks. Meanwhile, at Montana's Glacier National Park, wildfire destroyed the historic backcountry Sperry Chalet.

That's it.  Did we miss anything?  Let us know in the comments.

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Sean Smith is an award winning conservationist and author. He is a former National Park Ranger at Yellowstone, Glacier, and the North Cascades. He is a TEDx speaker, and private pilot. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a degree in Political Science. He got his master's in Natural Resources Management from Central Washington University in 1996. He currently runs Washington State's efforts to reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals from consumer products and serves as the Mayor Pro Tem of Covington.

He has been writing stories and books since he was a child and currently writes national park thrillers from the shadow of Mount Rainier.

All his novels can be found here: Mr. Sean D Smith