The National Park Service and the U.S. Border Patrol have agreed to jointly fund and occupy a new 30,000 square-foot operations center at Lake Amistad National Recreation Area. Both agencies stand to gain a great deal. The new arrangement will not only consolidate and upgrade scattered facilities, but also foster interagency cooperation in an area of the U.S.-Mexican border that is difficult to manage and patrol.

An 18-year-old hired at Olympic National Park in June to fight fires has been killed on the fire-lines in California. Andrew "Andy" Palmer died shortly after a tree fell on him during his team's first day on the fire.

A Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area visitor summoned police after spotting a group of armed men apparently getting ready to execute a handcuffed man. Quickly arriving on the scene, police officers arrested one guy and gave the others tickets and a stern lecture.

Despite internal concerns for safety and high costs for a small number of people, the National Park Service has agreed to provide winter access across Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone National Park. However, conditions tied to that access could make it easy for the pass to stay snow-bound as Yellowstone officials initially wanted.