A federal appellate court has given the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration until late July to explain why they are so behind in crafting air-tour management plans for many units of the National Park System.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual synchronous firefly viewing opportunity at Elkmont beginning Friday, June 3 through Friday, June 10. The public may apply for the limited viewing opportunity by entering a lottery for a vehicle pass through www.recreation.gov. The lottery opens for vehicle pass applications on Friday, April 29, at 10 a.m. through Tuesday, May 3, at 10 a.m. All applications, regardless of the time or date of entry, are considered equally in the pool of lottery applicants.

We all know that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the United States. In 2021, the Smokies had 14.1 million visitors. Maybe it was a pandemic response and wanting to be outside or just greater appreciation of the outdoors. The bottom line is that there was a 57 percent uptick in visitation in a decade. But the park doesn’t get more money because of increased visitation; that’s not how the National Park Service works.

Unable to charge a traditional park entrance fee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are getting creative in an effort to raise needed funding by calling for a parking fee.