So Much for Our Plans to Get Chip on Rushmore

NPS won't loosen ad guidelines; Yellowstone contemplates wireless

A National Park Service proposal to accept money from tobacco and alcohol companies and engrave donor names on benches and bricks was shot down when new marketing guidelines were issued Monday. Public comment had been highly critical of the proposal. "We give the Park Service significant credit for releasing a strong guidance on the appropriate role of philanthropy," said Tom Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association. The park system has been struggling financially; rising costs and inadequate funding have forced parks to cut staff, close visitor centers, and reduce luxury amenities like restrooms and trash pickup. Meanwhile, Yellowstone National Park is mulling a different way to lure in tourists and visual blight -- more wireless towers and antennas. Because there's nothing we'd rather do at a national park than have a nice browse around the internet while on our cell phone.