A free backcountry tour of Scotts Bluff National Monument in western Nebraska is being offered on June 27, when Ranger Matt Salomon will lead visitors into the monument's badlands.

Growing fire danger is leading to fire restrictions at Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks in California, where fire restrictions taking effect on Wednesday will prohibit campfires and charcoal fires in the hot, dry, low-elevation areas of the parks, including Potwisha Campground and Hospital Rock and Ash Mountain Picnic Areas.

Emergency repairs to replace a culvert will require closure of a short section of the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park in Maine between Kebo Street and Sieur de Monts in Bar Harbor.

A coalition of environmental groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association, has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce the Regional Haze Rule required by the Clean Air Act. That failure could lead to "continued release of preventable haze-causing emissions that harm the health of our communities and blur landscapes at our most scenic national parks and wilderness areas," the groups maintain.