The ruins at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument do more than just remind us of Spain’s shattered dreams of empire in the American Southwest. They also remind us that climate change is an old phenomenon that has powerfully influenced human well-being through the centuries.

Millerton Lake near Fresno, California is a 1940s era impoundment that the NPS administered as a (National) Recreation Area from May 22, 1945, to November 1, 1957. The recreation resources of the property are now administered by the state of California as Millerton Lake State Recreation Area.

Most people making the drive between Las Vegas and Los Angeles are in a hurry to just get across the desert. As a result, they miss an easy opportunity to visit the third largest unit in our national park system outside of Alaska. Even more surprising, given the size and rugged nature of this park, is the fact that it's bordered by not one, but two Interstate highways: I-15 and I-40.

During the past eight years the Bush administration has "pushed a concerted strategy of reducing the protections for our public lands, parks, and forests, and opening up these lands for every type of private, commercial and extractive industry possible." So says Congressman Raul Grijalva.