Archive List

That was a quick winter. I mean, it must be near its end, for Yellowstone National Park officials have announced their spring road plowing plans.

Unusually high, and potentially toxic, levels of sulfur dioxide have prompted the closure of a popular drive at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

How do you like your fish seasoned? A little mercury, perhaps some DDT? That's what you might get if you eat fish caught in national parks in the American West.

Negative public reaction to a proposed increase in Olympic National Park's entrance fees has prompted park officials to leave the current fees in place through 2009.

Quick now, how old is Grand Canyon National Park, 100, or 89? Some might say both answers are correct.

Allowing national park visitors to carry loaded weapons would open a "Pandora's box" of problems, according to four groups hoping to build public opposition to such a change in park rules.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's rationales for potentially opening national parks to concealed weapons are "hypocritical in some cases and just plain wrong in others," according to the president of the Association of National Park Rangers.

In a sharply worded statement the National Parks Conservation Association accused the Bush administration of caving into the National Rifle Association in deciding to reexamine current regulations that prohibit the carrying of loaded weapons in the national parks.

The site of the first Civil War battle west of the Mississippi is growing by 42 acres thanks to an infusion of federal dollars and work by the battlefield's foundation.

If a wolf turns up in Rocky Mountain National Park, it will be protected by the Endangered Species Act. But plans by the Bush administration to remove ESA protection from Yellowstone's wolves could make it incredibly hard for the predators to migrate down to Colorado.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials want to spend roughly $750,000 to deepen the so-called "Castle Rock Cut" so boaters can gain quicker access to the main reservoir of Lake Powell.

It’s conceivable that the National Park Service might eventually have to take drastic measures to reduce peak-season crowding in our most popular national parks. Overcrowding and overuse lead to congested roads and trails, excessive air pollution, accelerated erosion, and many other problems that reduce recreational pleasure and damage park resources.

If you've been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon during the high season, which anymore runs nearly eight months a year, you know just how hard it is to find a parking space or to simply navigate the area around Grand Canyon Village in your rig. Now, following nearly two years of work, the National Park Service has released its preferred solution to the rim's transportation woes.

Where do America's national parks figure in the minds of the presidential candidates? It's a good question, but one that so far hasn't elicited much more than a sound bite.