Free Republic

The Hopi Tribe has a message for the Sierra Club and other environmental groups: Keep out! That is the response of the Hopi Tribal Council on Monday to what it says has been continuous concerted attacks from local and national environmental groups "bent on advancing their interests and agenda at the expense of the Hopi Tribe and its sovereign interest." The council wants the Sierra Club and other environmental groups and on-reservation organizations affiliated with these groups to know they are not welcome on the Hopi Reservation, declaring them persona non grata - no longer favored or welcome. By a...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 29, 2005 Conservation Groups File Lawsuit to Protect National Parks From Harmful Off-Road Vehicle Use: Survey of Parks Reveals Extensive Damage from Off-Road Vehicles, Lack of Funding for Enforcement WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth; the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA); and Wildlands CPR today filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and theDepartment of Interior in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that those agencies have failed in numerous ways to protect the National Park System against the extensive damage caused by all-terrain vehicles and other off-road...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - National parks in California are so underfunded and understaffed that they've eliminated educational programs and are turning away thousands of children each year. According to a study this week from the National Parks Conservation Association, roughly 80,000 kindergartners through 12th graders participate in educational programs each year at parks such as Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Lassen Volcanic. That amounts to only 1 percent of the state's 7 million public and private school students. "Part of providing a high-quality education to our children is ensuring access to the unique learning opportunities in our national parks," said Deborah...