A mid-March storm that buried Yosemite National Park and the surrounding area under heavy snow brought beauty and welcome moisture for the approaching summer, but it also created plenty of headaches for stranded travelers and residents alike. For one visitor marooned in the mountains this imperfect storm became a matter of life and death.

Olympic National Park would see a net gain in official wilderness and the Quileute Tribe would gain 785 acres from the park under a proposal recently introduced to Congress.

No one place in the country harbors the rich diversity in lighthouses as that which resides at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on the shores of Lake Superior. But preserving those historic buildings is neither easy nor inexpensive, but it is something the Park Service would like to do.

National parks are being wielded to build opposition to the congressional budget impasse that could lead to the first shutdown of the federal government since 1995-96.