National Parks and the future. Are we up to the challenge?

The national parks face Draconian budget cuts this winter.  Unless congress can find a solution to our budget problems, places like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Gettysburg face nearly 10 percent cuts! 

Critics of park spending often argue that the federal government is broke and must bring spending in line with revenues.  This position overlooks several facts.  First, the national parks are huge economic engines.   For every dollar spent on national parks, economic research shows that ten dollars is spent in park gateway communities and businesses.  In real terms, national parks pump $30 billion into the national economy.  An outstanding return!

Further, even if the national park service budget was cut to zero it would have little or no impact upon the deficit.  The national park service budget is 1/14 of 1 percent of the entire federal budget.  The country can't balance the budget on the parks.  However, even if the parks were zeroed out, irreplaceable natural wonders and historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore could be lost forever.  A classic example of the cure being worse than the disease.

National parks belong to all Americans, they preserve and protect some of our most sacred ideas, hopes, and places.  We owe it to ourselves and to all future generations of Americans to leave the park system in better shape than when we inherited it.  Previous generations were able to preserve and pass on the national parks through the end of the civil war, the first and second world wars, the great depression, the cold war and on and on.  Previous generations always seemed to find the resolve and resources to protect our parks.

Now the mantle has been passed to us.  Are we up to the challenge?

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Get my new national park thriller, Unleashing Colter's Hell here.

Public Lands Day: A great way to invest in the future

In my new novel Unleashing Colter's Hell, my central character is Grayson Cole, a national park ranger who works in Yellowstone national park.  On a nearly daily basis park rangers like Grayons are required to lead hikes, recommend places to eat and stay, know the name of every park flower and animal, as well as protect the visiting park from the public and the public from the park.  Park rangers are true "Jack and Jill's" of all trades and are among the most dedicated and well trained federal employees. 

Park rangers however, can't and don't protect the parks all by themselves.  Countless citizen volunteers also help to preserve and protect our national heritage whether through cataloguing civil war artifacts, answering visitor questions, or hosting park campgrounds.  The park service simply couldn't do its job without this help.

September 29th is National Public Lands Day, a national day of service where concerned citizens can give back to their favorite park, forest, or beach.  More than 17,000 people are expected to give their service at more than 2,100 sites in every state in the Union.  Here in Washington State, volunteers with the National Parks Conservation Association will travel to beautiful Mount Rainier to repair trails, clean up campgrounds, and plant native plants.

It's been my experience that people value those things that they have a personal investment in, be it their family, career, hobby, or community.  Volunteering for a National Public Lands Day event, allows one to become "invested" in the preservation and protection of our national parks and other public lands  Your repairing a trail, pulling weeds, or cleaning a campground will help the park rangers and other land mangers better insure that our national heritage is protected for years to come.

Where will you be volunteering on September 29th?

Will the United States end at Yellowstone?

CNN is running a story today on the threat posed by the Yellowstone super volcano. A Yellowstone eruption, even a minor one like that which occurred 640,000 years ago would dwarf any volcanic eruption humans have ever witnessed.  Tens of thousands of people would be killed instantly, while hundreds if not millions more would die in the weeks and months to come.  Depending upon prevailing winds, much of the entire mid-west could be buried under dozens of feet of ash.  The earth's climate would significantly cool, taking years to recover.  Meanwhile crops across the globe would fail, as the sun would be blotted out for months by the massive ash cloud.  According to Physicist Michio Kaku an eruption would destroy the United States as we know it. 

It's terrifying and sounds like the plot of a novel, which it is.  In my new novel Unleashing Colter's Hell, a terrorist has acquired an atomic bomb with the intent of trigger an eruption of the Yellowstone volcano.  Grayson Cole is a park ranger who along with Dianne Harris a rookie FBI agent are all that stand between the world and Armageddon.

Scientists with the United States Geologic Survey, the National Park Service, and state and private universities are keeping a close eye on Yellowstone.  Volcanologist believe a Yellowstone eruption would give warning through increased earthquakes and gas venting, as well as massive land displacement.  Thankfully, no abnormal activity is taking place today and no pending eruption is predicted.   But one must remain forever vigilant.

What do you think?  Are you worried about a Yellowstone eruption?


Unleashing Colter's Hell is now available in paperback and kindle.  Get your copy today.

National Park Thriller "Unleashing Colter's Hell" Now Available On Amazon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE 8/29/12

http://seandavidsmith.blogspot.com/

Contact: Tommy Hough

E-Mail: tommy@primaryfocusproductions.com

Phone: (206) 291-4145

National Park Thriller "Unleashing Colter's Hell" Now Available On Amazon

Former Park Ranger Sean Smith Releases First Novel

Seattle, Washington – The first novel from former Yellowstone National Park ranger and parks advocate Sean Smith is being made available today on Amazon.com. Called Unleashing Colter's Hell, the book is receiving strong reviews from not only fans of parks and outdoor literature, but also mainstream fiction and thriller readers accustomed to the pacing of Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy.

A taught, gripping page-turner, Unleashing Colter's Hell is also a thought-provoking and timely thriller, tinged with an unnerving ring of truth. "I loved it!" said former Capitol Hill staffer Tom Hill. "This is the epitome of summertime beach reading, made all the more compelling by the plot’s real-life disaster scenarios creatively pulled into one streamlined super-threat."

Under the tranquil setting of Yellowstone National Park lies a killer: the world's largest super volcano. The Yellowstone Caldera erupts roughly every 600,000 years, and according to scientists and seismic experts, the next blast is long overdue. A present-day eruption would destroy much of the central and eastern United States, and quite possibly western civilization.

In Unleashing Colter's Hell, a religious fanatic armed with a nuclear device is sent to the Yellowstone wilderness to trigger an eruption and spell the end of the U.S. Veteran park ranger Grayson Cole, along with Dianne Harris, a rookie member of the FBI's domestic terrorism task force, are the only two who stand between the world as we know it and certain Armageddon.

"Unleashing Colter's Hell will give campers and politicians plenty of reasons for sleepless nights this summer," said Tommy Hough, host of the Treehuggers International radio program. "Sean Smith uses superb storytelling, park and outdoor experience, and keen political insight to tell a plot-twisting, action packed adventure."

With a story spanning the world from North Korea, South America, to Yellowstone, Unleashing Colter's Hell draws upon science, history, technology, and current events to deliver a story with terrifying, tangible realism. "Unleashing Colter's Hell is a gripping rollercoaster of a story, ideal for someone looking for a great read while traveling to National Parks," said Debbie Bird, former National Park Service Superintendent. "Sean has accurately captured the work of Park Service rangers at Yellowstone, the world's first national park, which is even more reason to read this book."

Available now on Amazon.com and other on-line outlets, paperback versions of Unleashing Colter’s Hell are $9.99, and Kindle copies are $4.99.

Check back at Sean Smith's website for information on Sean's book tour appearances and readings, and to order a limited edition signed copy of Unleashing Colter’s Hell from author Sean Smith.

Does America have an Achilles Heel?

In Unleashing Colter's Hell, my new political thriller, the plot centers around a terrorist attack at Yellowstone that could lead to the death of the president and quite possibly the destruction of the United States.  It couldn't happen here many say.

Well, the Internet is abuzz today with news of a foiled terrorist plot to kill the president and overthrow the government.  The alleged scheme included several members of the U.S. military who planned to seize an army ammo dump, blow up a dam and poison the food supply.

In Unleashing Colter's Hell, the story hinges on a single man who with limited resources has the ability to inflict a massive blow that might ultimately lead to the destruction of the United States.  A bee sting to take down a bear in other words.

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying that no foreign force would ever conquer America.   If we are to fall the threat, the 16th president stated would come from within. 

Yet is America truly that vulnerable?   Could committed individuals take down the country and destroy what has taken more than two centuries to build?  What do you think?