The privatization of Mount St. Helens: A sign of things to come

The current US crony government and their cronies in the private sector want Americans to shop 'til we drop even while we're visiting our national parks and monuments.  As I've noted before on this blog, the cronies that be want to overhaul our national parks system through a kind privatization and commercialization that would drastically change the mission of our parks.

Today's O has a story about plans in the works to commercialize the Mount St. Helens National Monument in neighboring Washington state.  It sounds like the guinea pig of park privatization even though the monument is overseen by the Forest Service.  Plans include:  Helicopter rides, mobile food and gift (kitch) carts at all of the lookout areas, snowmobile rentals, guided hikes for a fee, transitioning more than half of the education center into commercial uses (read: a store that sells kitch) and a possible resort near Cougar Reservoir.

Your children will no longer enjoy free educational hikes with the rangers or learn about the volcano in the visitors center.  Instead they'll be screaming at you to buy them a plastic blow-up cougar in the gift shop.  When you take them outside to get away from the insanity of the gift shop and to enjoy the view of Mount St. Helens, they'll see the same plastic cougar at a mobile gift cart and they'll start screaming again.  But you won't hear them because helicopters are flying overhead.

For more information on the subject of our national parks, please visit the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees website.