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Experts Piece Together A Jigsaw Puzzle of Broken Gypsum at Mammoth Cave National Park

Piecing together a Jigsaw puzzle is challenging even when you have a picture to guide you. Imagine the challenge Jim Werker and Val Hildreth-Werker faced when they were confronted by 600 pounds of fragile gypsum pieces that they were tasked with putting back in place in a passageway in Mammoth Cave National Park's Crystal Cave.

The Dark Side of National Park Visits

When you're planning a visit to a national park, don't overlook the dark side. No, we aren't suggesting you join forces with Darth Vader, but many parks offer a great opportunity to enjoy a view that's unfortunately becoming increasingly rare—the night sky. An upcoming nationwide event and several other opportunities can help you protect and enjoy the beauty of the night.

Dinosaur National Monument Crews Recognized For Removing Ruins From Recommended Wilderness

Not all proposed wilderness areas are always pristine. Some have waning vestiges of an early day. In Dinosaur National Monument, for instance, there long have been some falling down structures in an area along the Green River that has been recommended for wilderness designation. It took a while, but crews from the monument were able to remove all the facilities from the setting.

1,000-Mile Yukon Quest Dogsled Race Under Way in Alaska

In one of the "Iron man," or perhaps "Iron dog," events of sled-dog racing, the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest race is under way, with 24 teams mushing from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon. The trail follows historic Gold Rush and Mail Delivery routes from the turn of the 20th Century, and passes through part of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

With Some Quick Flourishes Of the Pen, Great Smoky Mountains National Park's "Road to Nowhere" Saga Ends

It promised to be the biggest event in Western North Carolina in 67 years – bigger certainly than when Eric Rudolph was caught dumpster diving in Murphy. The North Shore Road controversy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was over. Swain County was going to get its $52 million over 10 years -- an amount calculated as the present value of the road that was flooded in 1943 to create Fontana Lake and Fontana Dam.

Much Work Remains to Complete A Wilderness Landscape in the National Park System

The Wilderness Act was enacted in 1964. After nearly a half-century, the wilderness edifice of the national park system is only half complete. Ten years ago, Wes Henry, the NPS Wilderness Coordinator, directed that a report document the unfinished wilderness agenda of the parks. Some progress has since been made. The year ahead may be a good year. Much remains to be done.