National Parks Good, Budget Cuts Bad!

National Parks aren't just pretty places, they are sites for affordable family vacations, home to endangered wildlife, sources of clean water and uncut forests, as well as huge economic engines. 

Recently I was on the "Joe Show" on Bellinghman's KGMI to discuss the pending fiscal cliff and the potential impacts budget cuts will have to our economy, public health/safety, and national heritage.

National Parks Good, Budget Cuts Bad.  It's that simple.

Photo Contest: Win an autographed copy of Unleashing Colter's Hell

Have you read Unleashing Colter's Hell, the exciting new thriller set in Yellowstone National Park?  Do you want to win an autographed copy of the novel? 

Send us a picture of you reading/holding the book and get automatically entered to win an autographed copy. 

Enter Today!


Official rules:

1. Email a digital photo of you and/or friends reading the novel to seanwrites@yahoo.com
2. Entrys will be posted on www.seandavidsmith.blogspot.com, as well as linked to on www.facebook.com/unleashingcoltershell and on twitter @parkthrillers
3. In your entry email, please include an address where the book should be sent.
4. Contest officially begins November 10, 2012.  Entry deadline is December 31, 2012.  The winner will be selected January 2, 2013.
5. Individuals limited to one entry per week.
6. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries.

Technology's Spread through Parks: Good or Evil?

When Yellowstone, the world's first national park was established Congress envisioned it would be a place "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Nearly fifty years later, when the National Park Service was create Congress commanded the new agency to promote enjoyment of natural and cultural wonders, but only allow those activities that leave the resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

Activities such as hunting, artifact collecting, and timber harvesting are generally prohibited in the national parks. At Yellowstone the use of private automobiles were even barred for a time. Yet, uses such as camping, hiking, mountain climbing, fishing, and a host of others have predominately been authorized. The thinking guiding these decisions has been to authorize activities that bring visitors a close interaction with the park without causing lasting damage to the park resources and wildlife.

In the nearly 100 years since the Park Service's creation billions of people from around the world have visited the nearly 400 national park units. In 2012, the Park Service has seen more than 271 million visitors, up more than 6 million at the same time last year. Hard to argue the parks are underutilized. Yet despite their popularity and maybe because of it the parks continually face development threats from the outside world.

In my experience as a ranger, most visitors come to parks to escape the hustle, noise, and stress of the modern urban world.  Yet technology such as cell phones, iPads, and GPS push deeper into parks making some of the world's last truly remote places more accessible but also susceptible to the spread of invasive species such as angry birds.

In my new novel, Unleashing Colter's Hell the use of technology plays a central role in the story's plot.  Both hero and villain use machines to achieve their objectives.  One uses technology to destroy, the other to protect.

When you travel to the national parks, what technology expectations shape your experience?

Thrillers reflect political divides?

A recent Washington Post article notes that political thrillers often reflect the nation's political divides. The Post notes that while most read thrillers for pure entertainment, the genre can also have powerful messages -- American's relationship to government, the rise of private power, the value of constitutional law -- that tend to fall into a right/left divide.

Thrillers that appeal to those on the right tend to have middle eastern villains that are at their core evil, with heroes who are fighting both the bad guys and the constraints of the governmental systems within which they work. In left leaning thrillers the villains tend to be high government officials operating in a world of gray, while heroes are often flawed. Conservative thrillers tend to focus on national security, while liberal leaning novels focus on law and its application.

If the Post's take on the political analysis is accurate, Unleashing Colter's Hell should appeal to a wide range of readers. It's central villain is al Qaeda intent on destroying the United States. While the park ranger hero struggles with balancing the demands of his job with a normal life. My villains are limited by their operating deep within the United States and lacking support, while the heroes are on the defensive (trying to stop an attack), don't have perfect knowledge, and must operate within the law.

As I set out to write the thriller my goal was to have heroes, villains and plot points that were plausible. The book's villains would be driven by perverse, but recognizable motives.  Meanwhile, the book’s heroes can distinguish between good and evil, but are limited in their ability to confront the bad guys by society’s rules.  If the book's initial feedback is to be believed, I feel its a "believable" thriller.

Whether thrillers are written from a left or right perspective, at their heart they are about good people stopping evil.  Thankfully, neither side has cornered the market on the topic.

What aspects of a thriller appeal to you?

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Get your copy of Unleashing Colter's Hell today.

Enjoyment vs. Preservation? Can't we have both?

The National Park Service's mission is to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of the park system unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations. In years past the Park Service believed this mission included removing predators such as the wolf and mountain lion in order to boost deer and elk populations. These ungulates were animals the Park Service thought the public came to see. The Park Service also encouraged activities such as the Yosemite Fire Falls and the Yellowstone bear dump shows.

However, over the years the Park Service learned activities such as the bear shows were bad for the bears and the public and rightly put an end to it and other questionable uses. The Park Service realized it mission wasn't to allow all uses, only those that gave the visitors a better understanding of the natural and cultural wonders, as well as left the parks unimpaired.

Today, park management is based on insuring the park's natural functions are viable. This management can still include removing species; however these are ones determined to be non-native such as the Yellowstone lake trout. Yet, also includes reintroducing fire and predators such as the wolf and grizzly bear.

How do you feel about the balance the Park Service has struck between enjoyment and preservation?


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