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This fall has been a tough one for those who love the wolves of Yellowstone National Park, as more than a few of the predators have been killed outside the park by hunters. Wolf hunting and trapping also is an issue in the Midwest, and the controversy around that issue prompted writer Greg Breining to take a close look at how wolves and science intertwine. It's not always as neat as you might think

In the not-so-distant past, Republicans as well as Democrats were strong proponents of America’s public lands. And both parties usually supported the national parks—most beloved of all public lands. But now, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan reflect the contempt of the Republican Party’s far right for all public lands—even the national parks, long renowned as “America’s Best Idea.”

Spending summers in Kenai Fjords National Park and Preserve can be a wonderful experience, even if you're tasked with pulling invasive weeds out of a breathtaking landscape.

Pardon me for dampening your day with morbid thoughts, but it occurred to me that after you have done all that vigorous post retirement bucket list stuff like climbing all the 14,000 footers in Colorado or hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and the moment The Chief Ranger calls you to the Big Visitor Center in the Sky, you are going to need a place to hang your hat.

Four years ago we brought you a video that touched more than a few nerves. The subject was hunting brown bears in Katmai National Preserve and raised the question of whether it was really sporting or ethical. While the resulting uproar died down, it's creeping up again as Park Service officials seek public comment on a proposal to allow two sport-hunting guide businesses to operate in the preserve.

A tall stoic man stood at the back of his pack, consumed by his own thoughts. He had been listening to an instructor from the Yellowstone Association. For a couple of days, he squinted into roadside spotting scopes and absorbed eloquent discourses on natural history. He was there with family members who arrived to watch wolves together in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park.

We don’t expect adventure on a flatwater river, but sometimes it just happens.

Earlier this year the Traveler offered up a post on what priorities we hoped the National Park Service would address in the coming year. Mike Snyder, director of the agency's Intermountain Region, has his own list of issues his region has in its sights this year.

Images of volunteers filling sandbags in a race against rising waters have unfortunately become commonplace this year, in locations from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. You don't normally expect to see such scenes in the desert Southwest, but they were repeated last week in Big Bend National Park.

The park marking the spot where Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto probably didn’t land in North America in 1539 turns 60 today. On March 11, 1948, Congress created the De Soto National Memorial in the mangrove swamp on Shaw’s Point, in Bradenton, Florida.

Snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, and personal watercraft are perhaps the most polarizing recreational issues within the national park system. In this guest column, the specter of greater ORV access in Big Cypress National Preserve's Bear Island Unit is examined.