A weeklong celebration of high country wildflowers kicks off Friday at Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah, where the Cedar Breaks Wildflower Festival highlights the many beautiful species of wildflowers (some found nowhere else in the world) that bloom each year in the park’s subalpine environment along the rim of the Cedar Breaks Amphitheater.

The 30-mile highway through Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California has opened for the summer season, though sections might seem like winter. A higher-than-average snowpack slowed operations, but through the hard work of National Park Service and Caltrans road crews, the road has been fully cleared. Visitors to the park should prepare for winter conditions at higher elevations, and possible delays due to ongoing road work.

Congress needs to pass more effective policies for battling, and managing, wildfires, according to the Outdoor Alliance, which points out that nearly 24,000 miles of trails across the country have been impacted by fires over the past five years.

Western snowy plovers at Point Reyes National Seashore have been having a good nesting year and it's possible the outcome could be just as big or bigger than last year's 40-45 individuals, according to the National Park Service.