Posted on February 26, 2021, 3:07 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Here are the draft first two parts of the introduction I wrote for “Our National Monuments”. I would appreciate any feedback, either through the linked poll or via comments. I Ask a person on the street to name a national monument, and you will probably hear about the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, or memorials […]
Posted on December 19, 2019, 6:00 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
If you thought the reduction in size of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument was bad, wait until you look at Bears Ears National Monument, which lost even more protections that same day of December 4, 2017. See some of the vast landscapes to be excluded from the monument. The proclamation of Bears Ears National Monument […]
Posted on December 13, 2019, 12:40 am, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Grand Staircase Escalante is arguably the crown jewel of national monuments, however, the Trump administration wants to reduce it to half its size. Follow me on a tour of six of the most remarkable areas of the monument to lose their protection. When designated in 1996, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, stretching over 2938 square […]
Posted on March 14, 2019, 9:42 pm, by QT Luong, under
Books,
Esthetics.
Chicago Tonight I was honored that WTTW, the Chicago area’s PBS affiliate which is one of the most-watched public television stations in the country, aired a story about my visit to the Indiana Dunes, produced by multiple Emmy-winning Jay Shefsky. The four-minute Chicago Tonight piece, which is very accurate, took about two hours to film […]
Posted on January 8, 2019, 7:06 pm, by QT Luong, under
Resources.
What have we learned from the fate of the national parks during the government shutdown, should you visit them, and how do you prepare yourself for an enjoyable visit that doesn’t have negative impacts on the parks? The government shutdown A U.S. government shutdown first affects unpaid federal workers, but beyond them, the most visible […]
Posted on December 3, 2018, 8:14 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
This year, I’ve written about quite a few national monuments. Some of them are larger and, in my opinion, more interesting than some national parks. However, they form a disparate collection with a huge range of resources, and Yucca House National Monument is a case in point. Yucca House was first described in F. V. […]
Posted on April 21, 2018, 11:05 am, by QT Luong, under
Resources.
On National Park Week, you will get plenty of reminders of what makes the national parks one of our greatest treasures, and of how much they have to offer. In this post, instead, I will outline the many ways you can do something for them in return. While the links within are about the national […]
Posted on April 1, 2018, 12:11 pm, by QT Luong, under
Locations.
Gateway Arch just became America’s 60th national park. Following my visit to photograph it, I elaborate on why it is an odd choice, try to understand why and how the name change happened, and voice my personal opinion about the new name. Why was Jefferson National Expansion Memorial renamed Gateway Arch National Park? In the […]
Posted on October 13, 2017, 6:10 pm, by QT Luong, under
Resources.
I have seen quite a bit of confusion about how many national parks there are in America, and what distinguishes them from other public lands, including state parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and other units managed by the National Park Service. In this article, I break down the names of the public lands and examine […]
Posted on May 13, 2017, 11:55 pm, by QT Luong, under
Announcements.
The Department of the Interior is reviewing the protected status of 27 national monuments. After explaining what they are, I will be giving the perspective of a photographer of the national parks, with the hope that it will encourage you to speak out for the national monuments. People know what a national park is, but […]
