A wildfire burning in a section of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia on Thursday promptedthe closure of nearly ten miles of Skyline Drive as well as sections of the Appalachian Trail.

An ecologically rich and culturally important 125-acre tract of land adjacent to Redwood National and State Parks will be transferred to the Yurok Tribe with plans to transform it into a gateway for visitors to the park.

Rule number one when hand-feeding Britain’s only free-ranging reindeer herd is not to touch them. It seems impossible because the charismatic animals nuzzle your cupped hands full of feed with their soft, velvety noses. But you must resist the urge to take things one step further and stroke their furry coats, even as they brush up against you and sniff your pockets.

A hearing Wednesday before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will focus on proposed legislation to weaken the Antiquities Act that presidents from both parties have used to establish national monuments.