From improved roads and bridges and greater wildlife connectivity to healthier watersheds and climate-change mitigation projects, the $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress figures to reach into many corners of the National Park System.

The bear literature is rich, but with threats to bears proliferating today, writers and photographers are shining their lights on the plight of these charismatic megafauna. Several excellent books about bears have appeared that deserve our attention. Thankfully the news is not all bad, but as I’ve read through these recent publications, a sense of urgency grows – their prospects are not good.

With work to rehabilitate the Eagle Lake Loop of Acadia National Park's carriage roads complete, all 45 miles of the bucolic road system have been rehabilitated.

Fire is an unrelenting force. When controlled, it represents strength and power. When wild, it leaves behind visible scars. The latter is what the Great Smoky Mountains National Park landscape and community witnessed in recent years. Time provides space to heal, but despite nature’s attempts to renew, tangible evidence of tragedy remains.