They're small, easily disturbed, and are looking for a little peace and quiet at Buck Island Reef National Monument for nesting. "They" are least terns, a locally protected migratory sea bird, and they've come to Buck Island's West Beach to raise their broods.

When the gates to national parks swing open in the coming weeks, expect to find initial restrictions as to what you can do and where you can go, restrictions that will be eased based on the current coronavirus status. In some cases, states might require non-residents coming into their states for non-work-related purposes to self-isolate for two weeks.

With planning now underway for how best to open national parks that have been closed by the coronavirus pandemic, it's the perfect time for superintendents to institute visitor carrying capacities that Congress long ago called for, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Once upon a time, in the last century, there were big ideas for a huge jetport in the swamps of Florida. The project was known as the Big Cypress Swamp Jetport. Those who produced an environmental impact statement on the project said it would, in short, kill Everglades National Park.

Weather is warming across the country, and desires to get outside and into the National Park System are growing, but exactly how parks will go about reopening continues to be a work in progress not entirely ready for public disclosure. At least one major park concessionaire, unable to safely house workers, announced Tuesday that two of its lodges in Grand Teton National Park are not expected to open this year.

Seated in Jackson Hole, just south of the main entrance to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, the town of Jackson is another gateway community struggling with the impact of curtailed tourism, with business owners wondering how long they can survive.

In what might just be the first canceled Memorial Day Weekend event, officials at Shiloh National Military Park have decided to cancel their annual Memorial Day activities.

Three scientists have been awarded fellowships to conduct research in Acadia National Park as part of Second Century Stewardship, an initiative of the National Park Service, Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, and the National Park Foundation.

With Colorado now entering a scaled-down phase of its coronavirus response, transitioning from “Stay at Home” to “Safer at Home,” Estes Park’s Chamber of Commerce has launched a full-court press to provide its members with consistent information to ensure a safe, yet limited, reopening of local lodging and curbside retail service.

A portion of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in California is going to the goats, as National Park Service staff is turning to the livestock to graze back vegetation and fuel loads.

While more than 52,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, and the global death toll has passed 200,000, political and economic pressures are mounting for a return to pre-coronavirus economic activity. While the National Park Service is beginning the planning to reopen parks that have been closed by the pandemic, there's no firm timeline yet for when those openings will occur.

Wildfire seasons seem to be getting worse, and the coronavirus pandemic could make a bad fire season more devastating.

Under a deal worked out with Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials agreed to open the Wahweap Marina on Friday to select boaters.

In a biting response to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' charges that his company's oil exploration in Big Cypress National Preserve was damaging the landscape, Burnett Oil Co. President Charles Nagel said the Corps' compliance chief in Florida was terribly misinformed and seemed to be being fed misinformation by opponents.

Wyoming officials by month's end plan to ease off on restrictions put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus, but that doesn't mean access to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks or other park system units in the state will quickly return.

The Wawona Hotel in Yosemite National Park will remain closed for the upcoming visitor season in order to complete necessary electrical repairs and upgrades.

A woman and her dog were recovering from an attack by a rabid white-nosed coatimundi at a private inholding within Coronado National Memorial in Arizona on Saturday. The coati attacked the dog first, and then bit the woman as she tried to pull her dog away from it. The woman’s husband shot and killed the coati.

President Trump used an Earth Day event in Washington on Wednesday to say some national parks that have been closed by the coronavirus pandemic could soon reopen, though the National Park Service largely has been quiet on how long it would take parks to reopen.

Firefly events at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina have been canceled for this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A Canadian man has come forward to claim responsibility for leaving graffiti on rocks and historic structures in Death Valley National Park, though what punishment he will face remains to be seen. His dog, however, is blameless.