Just read something that really got under my skin about what's happening at Yosemite right now. Apparently the new park superintendent decided there's "zero evidence" that crowds hurt the ecosystem, so they're removing the reservation system. More cars, more people, more chaos.

Beth Pratt, who's spent 30 years studying Yosemite's wildlife, basically called this out as completely backwards. She pointed to something that stuck with me - back in 2021, a mother bear watched her cub get mangled and killed by a car on a park road. Just sat there for hours next to her dead cub. And now this policy is basically guaranteeing we'll see more of that.

Here's what's wild: bears getting hit by vehicles is already one of the leading causes of death for Yosemite bears. Every year, dozens get struck. The park puts up warning signs at collision hotspots, but visitors rarely slow down. Pratt's analysis shows a clear pattern - more visitors equals more vehicle strikes. It's not complicated.

But apparently some people see this differently. Congressman Tom McClintock was celebrating the policy on Facebook, talking about how it's good news for local businesses. The implication being: more tourists, more money. Pratt's response was direct: "Despite these misguided celebrations, in Yosemite, overcrowding can mean a wild bear who once frolicked in a meadow is mangled and killed by a car. Shouldn't reducing overcrowding and saving the lives of the park's bears be what we celebrate in our national parks?"

This fits into a bigger pattern with the current administration's approach to environmental policy. They're basically anti-conservation across the board. The Interior Department has been taking down hundreds of signs and educational materials from the National Park Service - stuff about climate change, Native American history, slavery. All because it doesn't fit the ideological agenda.

What bothers me most is how straightforward this is. More vehicles on park roads = more bears getting mangled. That's not a debate. That's observable reality. But somehow "business profits" trumps wildlife protection. And the bears pay the price.