Consider it a birthday present to the National Park Service: $48 million to be doled out across the National Park System on projects ranging from improving trail systems and park facilities to bringing youth into the parks.

Weary roads in the National Park System stand to benefit from the federal transportation bill passed last week, as it carries an 18 percent increase in funding for the National Park Service, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

If “October” and “travel” are in the same story, odds are good that it’s an article about the best places to see fall foliage. Of course, to those of us with birds perpetually on the brain, October is the conclusion of fall migrant season. With that in mind, I got to wondering about the best national park to maximize migrant-watching and leaf-peeping in one trip.

Skim down through the list of centennial projects that will help paint buildings, repair trails, restore fisheries, help giant sequoias thrive, involve youth in the parks, and you have to give thanks to park friends groups. Corporate America? Not so much.