The Western Snowy Plover: A Tiny Shorebird On A Long Journey
A tiny shorebird that helps us monitor coastal ecosystems has a sandy toehold at Point Reyes National Seashore.
- By Rita Beamish - May 14th, 2023 7:00am
Featured Stories
Some stories, whether focused on travel or a specific issue, deserve a longer treatment.
The Ancient Salt Trails: Once A Journey For Life; Now It’s A Ceremonial Quest
It was a well-trekked sandy trail leading us into the thick brush. A gentle breeze rustled the shrubs and straggling mesquite and ironwood trees. In an instant on the short track, we seemed to leave the Sonoran Desert behind and move into a stunted but lush preserve.
- By NPT Staff - May 8th, 2023 3:00am
River Runners Will Need To Strap In For A Wild Ride
What better way to spend a summer vacation than floating down a wild river? Whether in a canoe down the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, a day-trip down Montana’s Flathead River, or a multi-week adventure deep in the Grand Canyon, it’s time to plan your trip.
- By Patrick Cone - May 2nd, 2023 3:15am
UPDATE | California's Mountain Parks: When All That Snow Melts
The pivot from being blasted by snow and pelted by rainstorms is speeding straight to the next challenge — a powerful melt that can engorge waterways and send torrential flows down wildfire-scarred mountainsides that are just out of the driest three years on record.
- By Rita Beamish - April 28th, 2023 9:41am
Hopewell Culture: A Sacred Landscape
The vast collection of earthworks at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park were the temples of a complex religion, practiced by people throughout the entire Eastern United States, and on high holy days would have been cosmopolitan cities full of elaborately dressed practitioners who spoke a panoply of languages.
- By Kurt Repanshek - April 26th, 2023 3:15am
Mount Rainier’s Astronomy Interns Share The Stars And Start A Park Service Career
Cat Burleaud, originally from Southlake, Texas, wouldn’t have dared to imagine that her 2019 internship at Mount Rainier National Park would open the door to a burgeoning career with the National Park Service.
- By Kurt Repanshek - April 23rd, 2023 3:00am
Valles Caldera: A Diamond In The Rough?
Valles Caldera is a mountainous, forested landscape broken by sweeps of grasslands and which in places rises more than 11,000 feet in northern New Mexico. It is also, figuratively, a not quite 90,000-acre blank canvas upon which the National Park Service is working to create what it envisions will be a masterpiece.
- By Kurt Repanshek - April 16th, 2023 3:00am
Defending National Parks Globally
"Ecocide" in Venezuela's national parks, elephant and rhino poaching in African parks, wildlife trafficking in Vietnam's parks, and illegal gold mining in Belize's parks are just some of the blights on the global collection of national parks and protected areas
- By Lori Sonken - April 5th, 2023 2:45am
Grand Canyon's Archaeological Sites Degrading Due To Glen Canyon Dam
Archaeological sites deep within Grand Canyon National Park have been damaged, and lost in some cases, due to changes in the Colorado River caused by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam.
- By Patrick Cone - March 31st, 2023 2:45am
A Mammoth Family Story
As Jerry Bransford leads tours through Mammoth Cave, he can point to more than 150 years of family history in the passageways.
- By NPT Staff - March 15th, 2023 2:45am
A $25 Million Boost For Bison
Mythic, iconic, and nomadic, bison are an American relic, the continent's largest mammal that once roamed from Canada to Mexico, from Nevada to Virginia. Reduced in number from an estimated 60 million to just thousands, the species is being given a $25 million lifeline from the Biden administration to bolster its genetics and herds.
- By Kurt Repanshek - March 12th, 2023 4:00am
The Trouble With Horses On Cumberland Island
Feral horses — especially the females — live a short, sickly life on Georgia’s largest barrier island, advocates say.
- By Kurt Repanshek - March 6th, 2023 2:30am
Critical Infrastructure Improvements Coming To Grand Canyon National Park
When the waterline breaks — as happens almost monthly on the South Rim and canyon floor of Grand Canyon National Park — the canteen at Phantom Ranch and other park restaurants break out disposable plates and plastic utensils instead of dishware requiring water to wash.
- By Lori Sonken - February 26th, 2023 2:30am
UPDATE | Lawsuit Alleges Recreation.Gov Is Cluttered With "Junk Fees," Seeks Refunds
A lawsuit seeking class-action status alleges that Recreation.gov, a national portal for accessing recreational activities on federal lands, is cluttered with unauthorized and possibly illegal “junk fees.
recreation.gov_-_as_filed_complaint.pdf delappe_declaration.pdf kotab_ruling.pdf
- Read more about UPDATE | Lawsuit Alleges Recreation.Gov Is Cluttered With "Junk Fees," Seeks Refunds
- By Kurt Repanshek - February 20th, 2023 10:22am
Nurturing Plants At Olympic National Park's Plant Center
While walking along almost any trail in Olympic National Park it’s hard to imagine that the dense and diverse plant life would need any help to grow.
- By Kurt Repanshek - February 15th, 2023 3:00am
Study: States And NPS Need To Reach Cooperative Goals On Wolves
With its home territory squeezed hard up against the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park, the Phantom Lake wolf pack ran into a slaughterhouse when it roamed into southern Montana.
frontiers_in_ecol_environ_-_2023_-_cassidy_-_human-caused_mortality_triggers_pack_instability_in_gray_wolves.pdf
- By Kurt Repanshek - February 12th, 2023 3:00am
A Celebration Of Volcanoes
Have you ever stopped to think about the number of National Park System units created around volcanoes and volcanic features?
- By Rebecca Latson - February 10th, 2023 3:00am
Night Sky Magic Over Olympic National Park
Night sky programs introduce Olympic National Park visitors to the other half of the park.
- By Kurt Repanshek - February 6th, 2023 2:30am
Exploring Pecos National Historical Park
Pecos National Historical Park in New Mexico is rich in history and stories, from its Spanish mission to the surrounding pueblos, kivas, and Indigenous culture.
- By Kurt Repanshek - February 3rd, 2023 3:00am
Protecting Migratory Corridors For Bottled Up Wildlife
There is a need to link Western national parks that are home to many species of wildlife that otherwise would be stranded on biological islands.
- By Kurt Repanshek - January 29th, 2023 3:00am
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