Article: Uncle Yosemite Sam
Location: Yosemite National Park, CA, USA
Classification: OPEN WILDS
Words by N.A. Napolitano
Ol' J.M. must be writhing in his grave. Yosemite NP is closing just in time for its 123rd birthday, along with countless other national parks, monuments and museums all across the United States.
This Yosemite closure, the first in seventeen years, is not because of the Rim Fire that has been burning since August, and it is not being closed due to a special and rare pathogen similar to last years Hantavirus outbreak. If the threat of some potential danger or the loss of life isn't enough to close a national park, then what is?
A congressional budget agreement. Or in this case, the lack thereof.
Below is an excerpt from the statement issued by President Obama posted on the Dept. of the Interior website.
Apparently the United States Federal government is shutting down today, indefinitely. Which essentially means that anything the Fed has a hand in is also closed.
How are we affected? Click USA.gov for a summary of suspended services.
It is not the authors intention to bore you with bureaucracy or to get mired in political debate, so instead, just be reminded that they can't technically "close" 1,200 square miles of wild nature.
Whatever the outcome, these events are an appropriate formal beginning for Terra Signata and it's various exterior research projects, namely, OPEN WILDS, which aims to take a close and critical look at open and free spaces, their management, use, sustainability and to help ensure these areas remain in pristine form well beyond the time when our great grandchildren were walking this planet.
Happy birthday Yosemite! Sorry no one can visit for your birthday!
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