From pest control to pollination, so important are bats to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that the park in Arizona and Utah hosts an annual festival to celebrate the flying mammals.

The history of Death Valley is intimately connected with the California gold rush and dreams of striking it big. Today, the National Park Service protects many of these early mining sites allowing us to catch a glimpse of a bygone era. In this fourth episode of Death Valley Explorer, discover how miners extracted gold at the Skidoo stamp mill, the largest water powered stamp mill in the Mojave Desert.

A recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service falls far short of enabling the species to rebound, according to conservation groups that panned the plan for not providing enough habitat or allowing wolf populations to grow large enough before delisting.

Just 10 minutes east of Flagstaff, Arizona, on a densely forested plateau, the serpentine chasms of Walnut Canyon long ago gave refuge to hundreds of Native Americans. Occupied from approximately 1100 to 1250 CE, the Sinagua people were experts in growing crops and living in an arid environment. While this national monument might simply be a quick stop for travelers heading to Petrified Forest National Park or Grand Canyon National Park, it deserves a visit unencumbered by a tight timeframe.