More sunshine, warmer temperatures, longer days, and birdsong at dawn build our excitement for spring. And no one is more joyous than a gardener. Or in this case, the gardeners at the Darrington School Greenhouse in northwestern Washington state.

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. A number of units within the National Park System are opening their roads, or in some cases, delaying openings.

The National Park Service has approved a proposal from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory to improve the lahar detection system at Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier is an active volcano with a history of large lahars (volcanic mudflows) that have previously impacted areas now populated both within and outside of the national park.

There are inequities when it comes to funding units of the National Park System that protect and interpret cultural and historic sites vs. those that are focused on natural resources and sweeping vistas.