Whitebark pines, a keystone species that can impact spring runoff, nourish grizzly bears when they most need protein, and provide feasts for other wildlife, face a variety of threats, from climate change to a fungal disease. So important are these trees that researchers with Parks Canada are working to raise a veritable disease-resilient forest of whitebark pines.

What now might be considered a "bad snow year" in Yellowstone National Park, one that limits snowmobile and snowcoach access, will in the not-too-distant future become the average snow year, according to a new study.

A study from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service shows that thinning forests with prescribed fire can reduce the effects of drought. Climate change is expected to amplify drought conditions in California so using science to better understand the impacts of drought is of great importance to resource managers such as the National Park Service.

Examples of how climate change is impacting the National Park System from Everglades National Park in Florida to Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska were cited by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this week to illustrate to a global audience the threats climate change poses.