Should rules meant to protect resources and visitors be less stringent if a National Park System unit is designated Recreation Area? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is spearheading a legislative campaign to have Golden Gate National Recreation Area redesignated Golden Gate National Parks. Bay Area dog owners oppose the proposed change, fearing that it would put an end to off-leash dog walking privileges they currently enjoy.

One-hundred-and-forty-five years had passed since Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded by "friendly fire" in the woods at Chancellorsville, and yet it might have been yesterday. Thick forest still hangs over the waning vestige of the Old Mountain Road where the general was riding, beyond the front lines, on the night of May 2, 1863, when members of the 18th North Carolina mistook him and his aides for a Union incursion.

Oregon Caves National Monument celebrated its 99th birthday July 12. The park’s marble cave has suffered significant physical damage and secondary effects since its discovery in 1874. Resource managers are using a survey method called Visitor Impact Mapping to better understand where and how visitors have affected the condition of the cave.

What do you get with 54 tons of concrete, 3,500 stainless steel bolts, and 35,000 pounds of structural steel? A new way to head toward the surface at Mammoth Cave National Park.