With hopes of luring more visitors to the National Park System, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar is extending a freeze on fee increases at the parks through the upcoming fiscal year.

A deadly lightning strike killed one visitor and injured two others Sunday afternoon on a Sandy Hook beach in Gateway National Recreation Area. The lightning hazard is worse than most people think, but putting lightning safety precautions into practice dramatically lowers the risk of injury and death.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Border Patrol have agreed to jointly fund and occupy a new 30,000 square-foot operations center at Lake Amistad National Recreation Area. Both agencies stand to gain a great deal. The new arrangement will not only consolidate and upgrade scattered facilities, but also foster interagency cooperation in an area of the U.S.-Mexican border that is difficult to manage and patrol.

An 18-year-old hired at Olympic National Park in June to fight fires has been killed on the fire-lines in California. Andrew "Andy" Palmer died shortly after a tree fell on him during his team's first day on the fire.