The high surf resulting from Hurricane Bill's travels off the east coast last weekend got plenty of press, but an unrelated storm that hit Glen Canyon National Recreation Area with little warning offered a reminder that coastal areas aren't the only ones affected by high winds and waves.

The Cape Royal Road on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park has been closed for several days due to a wildfire. It has reopened with pilot car escorts from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily. Five other small fires in the area are not affecting visitor activities.

All major roads leading to and within Yellowstone National Park are opening for the Memorial Day holiday weekend—and for the summer season. There will some construction delays beginning in late May.

The five U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Observatories are receiving $15.2 million to help upgrade their monitoring of volcanics across the West, in Alaska, and in Hawaii, including within Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Lake Clark national parks.

Illegal poaching of resources from national parks has a long, unsettling history. In Great Smokies, it’s ginseng poaching. In Petrified Forest, it’s thievery of fossilized trees.