A former Interior Department official under the Bush administration has been added to the National Parks Conservation Association's Board of Trustees, bringing to the group valuable perspectives and skills that can benefit the parks, the advocacy group said.

An exhibit that looks at the contributions African-Americans made as nurses, surgeons, and hospital workers during the Civil War will be on display at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park from December 17 through January 26.

Not quite 20 years ago the experiment to recover wolves in Yellowstone National Park got under way with a relative handful of Canadian wolves brought into the park. Today that genetic feedstock has produced what biologists had hoped for: a more natural wild kingdom, one with checks and balances on itself.

The Fern Lake Fire, which has gone through varying stages of smoldering and flaring up since it was first spotted back in October, has cost the National Park Service more than $3 million to combat and the bill continues to rise.