Browse Through the Traveler Content

Lost - and Eventually Found - in the Big Thicket National Preserve

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 23, 2011 - 12:51am

The names of most areas in the National Park System are usually pretty descriptive of the main features of the site, and that's the case for the Big Thicket National Preserve. The woods and swamps are "big" and in places the vegetation is thick indeed. As more than one hunter has discovered, it's also an easy place to get lost.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers, A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on August 18, 2011 - 12:48am

Christopher Cokinos, an award-winning writer, poet, and English professor at Utah State University, has gathered up six long-lost bird species and taken a longing look at them from the perspective of personal loss for their absence in the skies above our heads.

Reader Participation Day: Where in The National Parks Do You Head To Bird, and What Birds Do You Hope To See?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on February 16, 2011 - 1:18am

Birding is one of the many popular activities in the National Park System, and by carrying your binoculars and perhaps a field guide to help you identify what you see, you quickly can expand your "life list" during a park visit. If you're a birder, where in the system do you go, and what are you looking for?

Longleaf Pines Making a Comeback at Big Thicket National Preserve

Submitted by Jim Burnett on February 6, 2011 - 12:51am

The Big Thicket National Preserve is often called a "Biological Crossroads of North America," and a key component of the Thicket is the longleaf pine. Many of those trees were lost to logging and other human activity prior to the park's establishment, but a recent volunteer effort is helping in a comeback by the trees.

National Park Mystery Plant 14 Revealed: It's the Devil's Walking Stick

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on November 25, 2010 - 1:59am

The Aralia spinosa acquired its devilish name for good reason

Easy Park Hikes – Big Thicket National Preserve

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 18, 2010 - 12:09am

The Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas has been called the "Biological Crossroads of North America," and some easy hikes in the park offer plenty of interesting sights. Just watch your step—it's a place where carnivorous plants catch their own lunch

National Park Mystery Plant 12 Revealed

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on September 23, 2010 - 2:59am

It helped to know your Mediterranean islands.

National Park Mystery Plant 11 Revealed

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on August 19, 2010 - 2:59am

Did you get this one right? The first clue might very well have been the only one you needed.

Big Thicket National Preserve Grows By 3,600 Acres Thanks To The Conservation Fund

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 11, 2010 - 12:16am

It's time to get a new map for Big Thicket National Preserve, which recently grew by 3,700 acres thanks to the work of The Conservation Fund.

Congressmen Honored For Work In Behalf of Public Parks and Recreation

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 18, 2010 - 12:00pm

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives is being honored for the work on behalf of the nation's parks by the National Recreation and Park Association.

National Park Service Revising Regulations To Better Manage Oil And Gas Exploration in Parks

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 30, 2009 - 2:33am

Call it long overdue housekeeping, but the National Park Service is working to revise 30-year-old regulations that affect non-federal oil and gas development that could occur, or already is occurring, in some of its units. In other words, energy development within a park on lands owned by anyone other than the federal government, such as states or even private landowners. The bottom-line of the revisions is to better protect parks from energy development.

Taxpayers Get a Nice Present on April 15th

Submitted by Jim Burnett on April 16, 2009 - 2:30am

Most taxpayers don't associate April 15th with good news, but national park supporters received a nice present on "Tax Day 2009," thanks to a major donation from the Conservation Fund at the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Now “Thirtysomething,” Big Thicket National Preserve Has Matured Nicely

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 11, 2008 - 2:00am

On October 11, 1974, Congress grafted a new and controversial branch onto the National Park System family tree by creating the first two National Preserves – Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. Big Thicket, like its Florida cousin, is now a nicely maturing “thirtysomething” park with a lot of visitor appeal.

Upon Further Review – A Rare Photo Op

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 10, 2008 - 2:21am

National parks are great places to take photos, and there are some opportunities for unusual images at the Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas. But even after working there as a ranger for several years I was surprised one afternoon to witness the reported sighting of a large mammal not previously known to inhabit the area.

At Big Thicket National Preserve, a Combative Drug Dealer Changes His Mind When Ranger Stafford Shows Him His Taser

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on September 10, 2008 - 8:02am

At Big Thicket National Park, a man involved in a drug transaction started to resist arrest. He abruptly changed his mind when ranger Johnny Stafford drew his Taser and displayed the spark. Did the miscreant holler “Don’t taze me, bro!”?

Congressman Introduces Legislation To Double The Size of Big Thicket National Preserve

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 30, 2008 - 2:33am

Big Thicket National Preserve, a rich crucible of biodiversity, would double in size under legislation introduced by a congressman from Texas.

Biodiversity Studies in the Parks Reveal Previously Unknown Species

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 24, 2007 - 2:11am

Imagine taking the time to go into your backyard, or the nearby woods, or even a pond close to your home, to catalog all the life you found in it. Not just the deer or snakes or fish, but the birds and insects, reptiles, plants and fungi and everything else biological or botanic. Imagine how fascinating that would be. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park they've been working on just that, and what they've found has been incredible.