With the continued growth of the Cerro Pelado wildfire in New Mexico, firefighters were to work Thursday on protecting structures at Bandelier National Monument and Valles Caldera National Preserve from the approaching flames.

Long-awaited restoration of the Big Spring Lodge and Cabins at Ozark National Scenic Riverways is expected to get underway in the near future now that a contract has been issued for the project.

To give the native fisheries in the Elwha River and its tributaries in Olympic National Park more time to recover, a closure on recreational and commercial fishing on those waters has been extended through June 2023.

Efforts by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to make it easier to visit and enjoy federal lands managed by the Interior and Agriculture departments make strides in the right direction, but also raise troubling questions when it comes to the protection of the National Park System and the workload and resources for the staff-strained National Park Service, according to the National Parks and Conservation Association.