Just a handful of days old, the Piping Plovers looked like cotton balls on toothpicks as they merrily darted around the foredune exploring the marram grass in the June sun. They were going at full tilt, though, so it was tough to get a good look with binoculars and even harder to capture a decent photograph.

Congress needs to pass more effective policies for battling, and managing, wildfires, according to the Outdoor Alliance, which points out that nearly 24,000 miles of trails across the country have been impacted by fires over the past five years.

Preservation work is taking place on the historic Commissary Building at Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas with funding provided by the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund.

Sea-level rise and potent hurricanes have the National Park Service looking to strengthen its facilities at Fort Pulaski National Monument in coastal Georgia. At the same time, the agency wants to improve the visitor experience and better equip the staff.