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Battling A Pest To Save A Majestic Tree: The Eastern Hemlock Forests Of The Park System

The spine of the Appalachian Range runs north and south through the Mid- and South-Atlantic states, a rumpled stretch of mountains that long has provided a corridor for species. One uninvited species, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, arrived in 1951, and since then has attacked hemlock forests once commonplace in Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since 1988 the National Park Service has been battling the tiny insect, and has met with varying success in those three parks. While much work remains to be done, there is optimism some of the hemlock stands will be saved. In the following stories, we take a look at the campaign.

Changes Proposed For Oceanside Campground At Assateague Island National Seashore

The National Park Service is preparing an Environmental Assessment in support of a new flexible design strategy for relocating campsites at its Oceanside Campground that are lost or repeatedly damaged by coastal storm events. Several new locations within the developed area on Assateague Island will be considered.

Latest Additions Grow NPSHistory.com By More Than 200 Reports

The latest additions for npshistory.com and parkscanadahistory.com have now been posted to the web. Included in this update are back issues of Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: A Report to Congress; Park Newspaper: The Greenstone from Isle Royale National Park, Trends in Parks and Recreation, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Series and the Visitor Services Training Series. The March update is larger than usual with more than 200 new reports added to npshistory.com

Interior Secretary Zinke: Infrastructure Legislation Needs To Address National Park System Needs

In his first outreach to employees of the Interior Department and all its agencies, including the National Park Service, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrote Thursday that his top priority is to address the maintenance backlog within the National Park System and ensure that any bill to address the nation's ailing infrastructure includes "shoring up our nation's treasures."

Special Tours Offered To Flood-Stricken Scotty’s Castle In Death Valley National Park

No visitors have been allowed into historic Scotty’s Castle since the "largest flood event in recorded history of the area" washed through Death Valley National Park in October 2015, but that’s about to change. The park and the Death Valley National History Association are offering a limited number of tours this spring to see the damage caused by the floods and learn about the restoration of the historic district.