| National Parks Traveler

28 Years Ago, the National Park System Gained Millions of Acres

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 2, 2008 - 3:47am

Imagine if the National Park System could grow, overnight, by 43 million acres. That's exactly what happened nearly three decades ago in a place called Alaska.

Greening the National Parks: Environmental Achievement Awards Highlight Sustainable Design, Energy-Efficiency, and Recycling

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on September 14, 2008 - 3:00am

To encourage eco-friendly operations, the National Park Service presents Environmental Achievement Awards each year to parks and concession companies that have excelled in incorporating high environmental standards into their operations. The 2007 awards were presented to Blue Ridge Parkway, Yosemite National Park, Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, and Xanterra Parks & Resorts.

National Park Quiz 15: Ring of Fire

Submitted by Bob Janiskee on August 13, 2008 - 4:00am

This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of geologic features and processes in the national parks that lie within the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that rings the Pacific Basin. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we'll make you write "convergent boundary" 100 times on the whiteboard.

Login or register to post comments
Read more
By Bob Janiskee

Who Visits Alaska's National Parks?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 2, 2008 - 3:10am

Even though the world as a whole is getting smaller and smaller, Alaska still manages to cast an image of being that rugged land far, far away to the north. And yet, quite a few folks are managing to head to Alaska to visit the national parks there.

Twenty-seven Years Ago, Eight National Parks Came to Be

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on December 2, 2007 - 3:30am

Never before have, and probably never again will, so many national parks come into existence on the same date. Given birth by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act were Denali, Gates of Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark and Wrangell-St. Elias national parks.

Marketing Alaska's National Parks; Why Not All National Parks?

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 5, 2007 - 6:52pm

I hate jumping to conclusions. But that apparently is exactly what I did when I surmised that the proposed $1.5 million centennial project involving the Alaska Travel Industry Association would benefit the cruise-ship industry more than the parks.

Climate Change in Alaska Opens Window to the Past

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on July 14, 2007 - 8:17am

Warming temperatures are remaking the Alaskan landscape. Sea ice is shrinking, permafrost is melting, glaciers are retreating, polar bears are changing their habits. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the warming trend is opening a window into the past, as melting glaciers are revealing artifacts from both the somewhat recent past and prehistoric cultures.

Backcountry Bear Basics

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on January 10, 2007 - 2:34pm

One of the most direct books I've read on avoiding bears in the backcountry is Dave Smith's Backcountry Bear Basics, which just came out in its second edition.