On Friday, it was announced that President Obama wants Jon Jarvis who has strong ties to Mount Rainier and the North Cascades to become the next director of the National Park Service.
Jarvis spent three years as superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park, a stint that included overseeing Mount Rainier's centennial celebration in 1999.
Since 2002, he's been director for the NPS' Pacific West Region, overseeing the 54 units in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada and Hawaii.
Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, said in a statement, There is no substitute for experience, and Jon Jarvis has three decades of hands-on experience in our parks that will be invaluable as we seek to reinvigorate and improve our National Park System in time for its 100th anniversary in 2016.
Mary Bomar retired in January as the NPS director. Her background was in administration and moved into the job in October 2006. She toured Mount Rainier not long after the November 2006 flood that destroyed much of the backcountry.
Jarvis' background seems centered on science rather than bureaucracy. He was the chief of natural and cultural resources at North Cascades National Park, and he earned a biology degree from William & Mary.
President Obama has made a commitment to bring new life into our National Park System, and Jon Jarvis has proven he is the right person to make sure that happens, Salazar said.
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RAINIER: State Senate honors slain park ranger
RAINIER: State Senate honors slain park ranger
The Washington state Senate has passed a resolution honoring Margaret Anderson, the Mount Rainier National Park ranger who was fatally shot on New Year's Day.
MOUNT RAINIER: Snowshoer, 66, found alive after 2 days
MOUNT RAINIER: Snowshoer, 66, found alive after 2 days
LONGMIRE — Rescuers have found snowshoer Yong Chun Kim alive at Mount Rainier National Park, spokeswoman Lee Taylor said.
He is in stable condition and still in remote terrain, Taylor said. He is conscious and alert and it will likely take rescuers several hours to evacuate him, Taylor said.
Kim will be taken to hospital. Rescuers found him at about 1:40 p.m. at the upper end of the Stevens Creek drainage.
IT'S FROSTY: First snow of season falls at Mount Rainier
IT'S FROSTY: First snow of season falls at Mount Rainier
The first measurable snow of the season was recorded Wednesday at Paradise on Mount Rainier.
Ranger Kevin Bacher says it came just 43 days after last winter’s snow melted out in late August.
A National Weather Service station is located at Paradise, elevation 5,400 feet. The national park visitors’ center at Paradise attracts about 1 million visitors a year.
Mount Rainier climbers faces risks with rewards
Mount Rainier climbers faces risks with rewards
SEATTLE -- As the search for four people on the slopes of Mount Rainier stretches into its second week, experts said the rewards for the hearty few who attempt the summit of the 14,411-foot heavily glaciated volcano in winter are great -- as are the dangers.
"The surreal and sublime austerity of being up in the wilderness on the mountain is heightened in the winter," said Stefan Lofgren, mountaineering district ranger in charge of the climbing, search and rescue and aviation programs at Mount Rainier National Park.
Part of the appeal is being able to get away from everything by heading out in the snow, he said, adding that "the park becomes bigger in the winter time because of the (limited) distance you're able to cover in a day."
Gun ban nonsense
Gun ban nonsense
The year has only begun, but I thought it might be fun to nominate each month our candidate for the "Idiot Congressman Award." My nomination this month is for Washington's own Rep. Norm Dicks, who claimed the murder of park ranger Margaret Anderson could have been prevented if only there had been a sign posted at the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park saying "No firearms allowed." Had such a sign been there, Benjamin Colton Barnes, who was fleeing Skyway for the shooting of four people there, would have obviously either left his weapons outside the park in obedience to the law or turned around and not entered so as to not violate it. After all, why would a law-abiding citizen like crazed shooter Benjamin Colton Barnes ignore such a sign?
Does Dicks now plan to sponsor legislation requiring "No Bank Robbers Allowed" signs to be posted in all FDIC insured institutions, making it then impossible for them to be robbed?
I suggest the mental help that Benjamin Colton Barnes failed to receive be offered
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