Bayou country is a hard place to live sometimes. It’s home to tough survivors. Locals in beat-up pickup trucks roar past me up highway 69/285, the Big Thicket National Preserve Byway, as I turn off at the visitor center. I’m looking for just that kind of adaptability to harsh conditions. Specifically, I have come to find Big Thicket’s carnivorous plants. More generally, I want to learn how life survives here. Because, as I look around, the Thicket seems undaunted by the recent storms.

Dozens of firefighters on Friday were battling flames in Big Bend and Theodore Roosevelt national parks, marking a somewhat early start to the wildfire season.

National Park Service funding would improve under President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2022 discretionary budget request released Friday, and the administration also is seeking money to address climate change and reduce wildfire threats.

What better way to celebrate International Dark Sky Week than with and announcement that the National Park Service is teaming up with Illuminating Engineering Society to develop night sky-friendly lighting standards that will improve outdoor lighting in national parks without affecting your ability to stargaze.