Just because it’s winter and many trails, areas, and facilities within the national parks are closed for the season doesn’t mean a shutdown of the parks’ news. Below are a few items that have come to the Traveler’s attention and are now brought to your attention.

Compendium Changes

Alaska's National Parks are inviting comment on proposed changes to parks’ Compendiums. The Compendium is a compilation of all designations, closures and restrictions adopted under discretionary authority within the regulations covering national parks. The Compendium, as part of the park-related regulations, helps provide for the use, enjoyment and protection of Alaska's National Parks. Information on proposed changes, including how to submit a comment is available at https://www.nps.gov/locations/alaska/proposed-compendiums.htm

Yosemite Fire Management

January 25, through the end of the week, fire crews plan to continue work in the Mariposa Grove and Wawona area, as well as around Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park. Smoke may be present throughout burning operations and may linger into the following weeks as larger logs are consumed.

Mechanical thinning (the removal of some trees to reduce hazards and/or density in a forest) and pile burning is one of our fire management tools that helps to prevent larger fires. It also provides "defensible space" around structures in the event of an unwanted fire, which can help firefighters better defend buildings and communities. Burning some of the debris in place allows us to reintroduce limited healthy fire to these areas and continue cycling nutrients back into the soil. Learn more about fire management at Yosemite: https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/wildlandfire.htm.

Research In Rocky Mountain National Park

Are you a graduate student interested in doing a research project in Rocky Mountain National Park? If so, there is still time to submit an application for the 2022 Bailey Fellowship Program. Each year the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and Rocky Mountain National Park co-sponsor a research fellowship opportunity for one graduate level student to spend three to four months conducting research in Rocky Mountain National Park. Areas of research can include wildlife management, vegetation and riparian studies, fire ecology, cultural sciences, archeology and historic structures preservation, as well as topics in botany, zoology, geology, history, ecology, and ornithology. Proposed research projects should aim to promote the informed decision making and adaptive management of Rocky Mountain National Park or the education of staff to promote professional development and growth.

The Bailey Fellowship Program is generously supported by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. For more information on the 2022 Bailey Fellowship application, visit https://rmconservancy.org/work.../rmnp-research-fellowship/. The deadline for accepting applications is February 1, 2022.