Though located in the arid landscape of the Colorado Plateau, the area around Canyonlands National Park attracts a lot of birds and provides valuable habitat for species such as the Mexican spotted owl. As such, the area has been identified as a "Globally Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society

At this time of year, winter waxes as fall wanes, so I thought it pertinent to now emphasize the concerns and rewards of winter photography, be it in the sub-zero temperatures of Yellowstone or along the balmy beaches of the Virgin Islands or the moss-carpeted downed tree trunks of Olympic National Park.

Wondering which national parks have been able to reopen with state funding? Here's a list, and the dates the parks are to remain open...barring some resolution in Washington or more funding from the states.

Among the many casualties of the government shutdown are some of the popular webcam views of locations around the National Park System, since NPS and some other government web services have been disabled for the duration of the dispute. If you enjoy the ability to check in on favorite park locations via those cameras, all is not lost, however, and we'll provide some tips about park webcam views provided by non-government sources.