In what surely is an uncanny coincidence, there are proposals to turn state parks in Oregon and West Virginia that are built around waterfalls into national parks.

A small lizard that skitters about Death Valley National Park might soon gain protection under the Endangered Species Act.

In a bid to protect endangered species as well as national park viewsheds and landscapes, a coalition of conservation and environmental organizations is suing the U.S. Department of Energy over its National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors plans for the Mid-Atlantic and Southwestern states.

Spring 2005 in Death Valley National Park gained venerated status among flower lovers for its incredible wildflower blooms. Those blooms --dubbed the "bloom of the century" -- were trigged by heavy fall and winter rains that dumped nearly 6.5 inches of moisture on Death Valley. So, with 2008 starting out stormy in the West, how will Death Valley's blooms be this spring?