National Park News | Park Reservations in ’24, a Daring Whale Rescue, and More

for heading outdoors and exploring all the possibilities of the season.

Now that it's getting cold out, layering up for warmth is more important than ever.

If you're doing something active like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or hiking, a good rule

of thumb is to start out dressed like it's 10 degrees warmer than it is, so once you

start generating body heat, you won't get overly hot.

Then layer up or down as conditions require.

For more tips, easy how-tos, and inspiring stories, visit LLBean.com slash guide.

I'm Jason Epperson, this is the America's National Park Podcast, and welcome to our

monthly National Park News Roundup.

On Thursday, November 9th, the National Park Service announced that Arches, Glacier, and

Rocky Mountain National Parks will bring back their pilot entry reservation systems for

2024, rather than implementing a more permanent timed entry plan that is coming in the future

for sure.

So, you will have to make reservations at these popular parks in order to visit for

the most part, but the way it all works is different depending on the park and it could

change over the course of the year.

But beginning on April 1st, Arches National Park will require visitors to have a timed

entry permit, and you can begin booking those reservations as soon as January 2nd.

Glacier National Park will require reservations beginning on May 24th for the western side

of Going-to-the-Sun Road and North Fork, and another on July 1st for Many Glacier.

At Glacier, unlike last year, 2024 reservations will only be good for one day due to data

that showed that only 2% of participants entered the park during all three days their

permit was good for 2023.

Rocky Mountain National Park will bring back its timed entry system beginning on May 24th

as well, and the same as in 2023, visitors will be able to get a permit for either the

entire park or everything excluding the popular Bear Lake Corridor, so that second permit

is going to be a bit more available.

If you don't land a permit or want some more spontaneity in your travels, in most

cases you can enter these parks early, like before 7am or late in the afternoon, usually

after 4pm.

They usually hold some reservations back until a few days beforehand, so if you aren't

able to snag one when those reservations open, you might have another chance.

Reservations for all parks that have reservations, and there are a few more, for the 2024 season

can be made on recreation.gov.

The National Park Service has announced a seven-year initiative to focus efforts on

hiring more women in law enforcement positions across the country, joining hundreds of other

law enforcement agencies and committing to increase female representation in our law

enforcement workforce by signing on to the 30 by 30 pledge, an initiative to advance

the representation and experiences of women in police agencies across the U.S., bringing

their levels up to 30% by 2023.

The Department of the Interior released a report from the Law Enforcement Task Force

recommending improvements to bureau law enforcement organizations, and in that report the task

force recommends agencies implement programs and initiatives to recruit and retain a diverse

workforce.

Women currently only represent 16% of the entire NPS law enforcement workforce.

With the pledge, the NPS is committing to almost doubling the number of female law enforcement

officers.

Back in 2021, the Park Service piloted a centralized hiring program designed to reduce those barriers

to entry.

After two years of centralized hiring, the Park Service is adapting its recruitment processes

to permanently implement the strategy.

Of the 100 new law enforcement rangers hired in fiscal year 2023, about 20% were women

and 25% were non-white.

Yellowstone National Park has announced that a mule deer buck inside the park's borders

has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

It's the first positive for the park even though the disease is prevailing in the surrounding

areas.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department tested the carcass of a radio-collared mule deer

that died in the southeastern section of the park near Yellowstone Lake.

CWD causes physiological and behavioral changes in infected animals that ultimately leads

to their emaciation and death.

It's a transmissible neurological disease similar to mad cow.

There's no effective way to eradicate chronic wasting disease once it's been established.

CWD is most common in white tail and mule deer, but it's also been detected in elk

and moose elsewhere in the country.

Ah, you hear that?

The sound of a crackling fire.

But this isn't just any old campfire.

This is a smokeless, solo-stove fire pit.

How can you tell?

Well, you don't hear any coughing, hand wafting, or people complaining about smoke

in their eyes.

All you can hear are logs turning to coals as the night sky becomes a cosmic canvas.

With Bonfire by Solo Stove, you get a fire pit that's portable, burns smoke off before

it ever leaves the pit, and is backed by a lifetime warranty.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

Humpback whale season was winding down in icy strait at Glacier Bay National Park back

in October when a whale was found anchored to the seafloor entangled by a 300-pound crab

net with 450 feet of heavy-duty line.

It turned out the whale had been entangled for at least three days.

A rescue effort was authorized by NOAA's Alaska Large Whale Entanglement Response Team, but

gale-force winds were forecast for later in the week and daylight hours were short, and

then a perfect brief weather opening came with flat, calm seas and sunny skies.

The whale was making 7- to 9-minute dives and was at the surface for only about 30 seconds.

The footage from a drone soon revealed why.

The whale had a loop of line through its mouth that led to a large, heavy glob of tangled

lines at its tail.

In effect, the whale was hogtied, its body bent sharply to the side as it swam in a predictable

clockwise circle each time it came up.

The team worked with the whale all day until daylight was disappearing using specialized

tools to remove some of the gear while remaining at a distance from the whale.

The whale was freed, and after the team made the last cut, it disappeared, which the team

took as a good sign that it was no longer hampered by the lines and could rapidly swim away.

It was a tremendous effort that involved lots of coordination quickly, including flying

in multiple experts to help disentangle the stuck whale.

On November 1st, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park welcomed National Park Service

leaders and the Johnson family to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Texas White House

Rehabilitation Project, funded by the Great American Outdoors Act.

After being closed to the public since 2018 due to structural and mold issues, rehabilitation

work at the Texas White House will now begin this January.

In the five years since its closure, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park has coordinated

numerous environmental and structural investigations, mold remediation, conservation of historical

artifacts, a year-and-a-half-long design process, and then a value analysis that confirmed the

optimal solutions for rehabilitation.

The complex is anticipated to reopen to the public in late 2025.

You can still go there and tour, you just can't go in the house.

They have a lot going on there, it's still worth a visit.

The construction will complete in 2025, and the buildings can then be restaged.

They're also updating the interpretive experience in the hangar, and a lot of other stuff that's

going to be incorporated well into the future.

After a year full of challenges, Olympic National Park has announced that the Hurricane Ridge

Road and Recreation Area will open for the winter season on the day after Thanksgiving.

During the closure, work crews have tackled multiple construction projects.

A restroom trailer and visitor contact station have been installed and connected to utilities.

By the end of the closure, crews will have completed utility trenching and the demolition

and removal of the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge debris.

Back on May 7th at 4.30 p.m., a law enforcement ranger on patrol reported that the 1,200-square-foot

Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge was fully engulfed in flames.

It was completely gone by the time fire crews even arrived.

In the wintertime, the lodge had rented out snowshoes and skis.

That stuff's not going to be available, but weather permitting, Hurricane Ridge Road is

scheduled to be open on Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays through March 31st, 2024.

Visitors should be prepared to use their vehicles as a warming area and pack extra food, water,

dry clothing, and blankets or sleeping bags.

There will be no indoor warming area, there's no food service, no potable water, or gear

rentals at all.

On the days that it's open, Hurricane Ridge Road will open at 9 a.m.

Weather permitting, the road will be closed to uphill traffic at 4 o'clock and vehicles

must exit the heart of the hills entrance station by 5 p.m.

All vehicles, including those with four-wheel drive, will be required to carry tire chains.

Three-year-old Journey Castillo has achieved the feat of visiting all 63 U.S. national

parks, likely becoming the youngest person in history to do so.

Okay, well, she didn't actually do much, but her parents did.

Journey was born in late 2020 during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic to parents Eric and

Valerie Castillo, who are avid hikers, and the family's adventure began as a pandemic

getaway but soon turned into a passion for visiting all the national parks.

The Castillos hailed from San Antonio, Texas, starting Journey's travels shortly after her

birth in 2020.

Their first trip was to Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

That marked the beginning of what would become a three-year adventure spanning the entirety

of the U.S.

The Castillos are well aware that Journey probably won't remember much of anything

of her trips, but wanted to instill in their young child a love for the outdoors and for

adventure and plan to revisit all the parks with her when she's older.

That's it for this month's National Park News Roundup.

If you aren't subscribed to the podcast yet, please take a moment to do so and we'll

see you on the next episode.

Thanks, everybody.

Bye-bye.