Parks in the News

A windstorm that left areas of Devils Postpile National Monument littered with life-sized Pick-up Sticks could push back the spring opening of facilities and campgrounds in the monument.

Rangers continued Wednesday to look for a mountain lion that attacked a young boy in Big Bend National Park and which is thought to have aggressively approached a family out hiking the same day.

Years of acrimony over how to regulate off-road vehicle use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore are, barring another lawsuit, nearing an end, as final rules governing ORVs on the seashore are set to take effect next week.

The League of Conservation Voters has released its annual ranking of congressional delegations from around the country, and it's not very pretty for most members of the House of Representatives.

Several areas of Big Bend National Park have been closed to the public in the wake of a mountain lion attack on a young boy, who received non-fatal injuries to his face.

Might there be a new concessions company running the lodgings and retail outlets at Shenandoah National Park? Stay tuned, as the Park Service recently released a prospectus soliciting proposals for a 10-year concession contract for the park.

A grant from the National Park Foundation will help officials at Dinosaur National Monument develop a monitoring and preservation plan for 150-million-year-old fossils in the monument's new exhibit hall.

Efforts to educate motorists to watch carefully for wildlife on roads seem to be working in Grand Teton National Park, where officials cite a decrease in the number of animal deaths from vehicle collisions.

​ Grand Canyon National Park will eliminate the in-park sale of water packaged in individual disposable containers within 30 days under a plan approved today by National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director John Wessels.

More than 40 years after deciding that they would ban the use of stock animals in the high country of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, park officials have both failed to do so and have been found in violation of The Wilderness Act for failing to assess the environmental impact of the animals.

Tracking down bad guys in the Old West usually required skill in following some literal footprints in the sand, but a case at Capitol Reef National Park with connections to some famous outlaws was recently solved by rangers adept at following a different kind of tracks—those left in cyberspace.

National parks often are the setting for some incredible traffic issues, be they related to "bison jams," lack of parking, or simply high visitation. To help parks find solutions to some of these problems, the National Park Foundation has offered a program that places transportation experts in the parks to brainstorm solutions.

Yellowstone National Park officials, in looking down the road at how the Lake area of the park might evolve, are leaning towards a plan that could allow the reconfiguration of the RV park at Fishing Bridge and which would permit 121,000 square feet of buildings to be built over roughly 3 acres.

Paddlers anxious to dip their blades in water have a new trail to explore in northeastern Washington along the Pend Oreille River thanks in part to the National Park Service.

Old ways of using sod roofing on log cabins hold up only so long, but Grand Teton National Park officials have received a grant to use new techniques to re-sod a number of historic cabins in the park.

A reward fund has been established for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the poaching of two bull elk at Wind Cave National Park.

A computerized system is being turned to with hopes it can reduce both pollution and congestion at Gettysburg National Military Park by more smoothly directing visitors to parking areas.

With hopes of connecting more kids to national parks, the National Park Foundation is underwriting a transportation program to enable classes to take field trips to the National Park System.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for shooting two elk in Wind Cave National Park.

It's been a week since the conclusion of America's Summit on National Parks, but in truth the work is just beginning.

Four million dollars from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund bought at least 385 acres for Richmond National Battlefield Park, a purchase that preserves hallowed ground and is seen as economic development for tourism.

Grand Canyon National Park is now accepting applications for private river trip permits to float the Colorado River through the park during calendar year 2013.

Not quite $1 million is being dispensed for 14 projects around the country that will improve trails and trailheads that tie national historic and scenic trails to national parks and other federal lands.

A $2,000 grant from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to Friends of Smokies is going a long way to help backpackers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park keep their food out of the reach of bears.

Non-native Burmese pythons, which are exploding in number across Everglades National Park, are being blamed for "precipitous declines" in mammals that once were commonly seen in parts of the park, according to a study.

A survey of Westerners shows overwhelming support for conservation of the landscape, with strong pluralities agreeing that "national parks, forests, monuments and wildlife areas, are an essential part" of their state economies.

The National Parks Conservation Association has entered the blogosphere to help you keep track of key issues confronting the National Park System.

Eastern National, a non-profit organization that works to enhance the interpretation of the National Park System, was started by a group of park rangers back in 1947. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the organization is applauding current Park Service staff who have helped it with interpretation and supporting Eastern National in the parks.

Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park leave quite a bit behind when they head home after visiting the park. In fact, a study shows that in 2010 the park's 9 million or so visitors spent more than $818 million in gateway communities surrounding the national park.

A new grant appears likely to popularize outdoor education and exercise for families with national franchising of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's TRACK Trails concept.