

Should the national parks have greater cellphone coverage?/PEER Should the national parks have greater cellphone coverage?/PEER

Should the National Park Service work to see 4G coverage extended to as much of the National Park System as possible? Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility doesn't believe that should happen, and is behind a petition drive to have that idea spiked before we find visitors experiencing the parks in the palms of their hands, and not by using all their senses.

"Our national parks are on the cusp of being wired for streaming videos, music downloads and on-line games for visitor-subscribers to extend 4G (4th Generation) coverage into parks such as Yellowstone. These developments will allow visitors ' particularly young people ' to experience our parks not through their eyes but with noses buried in their electronic devices," PEER says in pushing its petition drive.

"The proliferation of this cyber-infrastructure in our parks means more, ugly cell towers marring vistas, 'spill-over' coverage in wilderness and backcountry and the loss of solitude ' being disconnected from the electronic tendrils of the modern world. Do not further 'Disney-fy' our national parks. Disconnect the devices and reconnect with nature."

The petition is to be sent to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. PEER hopes to get 15,000 signatures. As of mid-day Friday, it had 63.