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Is It Time to Overhaul the National Park Service and the National Park System?

With the National Park Service's centennial eight years off, it's not too early to take the measure of both the service and the National Park System it manages. Has the time arrived to overhaul and strengthen this venerable agency?
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Fort Donelson National Battlefield Commemorates the North’s First Major Victory in the Civil War

In February 1862, the Battle of Fort Donelson yielded the North’s first major victory of the war and propelled General Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight. Today you can visit Fort Donelson National Battlefield, which celebrated its 23rd anniversary August 9, and see where the Union’s greatest military hero earned the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

Pilgrim Places: Civil War Battlefields, Historic Preservation, and America’s First National Military Parks, 1863-1900, Part II

The event in American history prior to the Civil War that had the most potential to inspire the preservation of historic places was the American Revolution. Yet, between the Revolution and the Civil War, historic site preservation in America was limited and sporadic.

Decisions on Controlling Elk in Theodore Roosevelt, Wind Cave National Parks Likely to Linger Into 2009

Don't expect a final decision this year on how the booming elk populations at Theodore Roosevelt or Wind Cave National Parks will be brought under control. National Park Service officials say they don't expect to have the National Environmental Policy Act process completed before year's end for either park.

Saturday: Pilgrim Places: Civil War Battlefields, Historic Preservation, and America’s First National Military Parks, Part II

Where, and when, did Americans first think of preserving places for history's sake? In part two of his look at the history and preservation of America's Civil War battlefields, historian Richard West Sellars takes a look at efforts in the United States to preserve places of history prior to the Civil War.