Olympic National Park, which has been beaten and battered in recent years by powerful storms, lost a 100-foot section of roadway leading up to Hurricane Ridge when soil saturated by recent heavy rains spurred a mudslide.

They might not be the economic draw that wolves are to Yellowstone National Park, but fishers seem to be taking to Olympic National Park just about as favorably as the larger predators did to Yellowstone in their recovery program. This week a third batch of the cat-sized predators will be set free in Olympic to build on two successful years of a recovery program designed to repopulate the park with fishers.

Lichens, which sprout throughout the National Park System, are the Rodney Dangerfield of the natural world. They just don’t get any respect. Lichenologists likewise don’t garner much recognition for their lifetimes spent poking around the crusty grey stuff on tree trunks. Among others, one intrepid man in California is taking steps to remedy both of those deficiencies.

December can be an intriguing month in Olympic National Park. Crowds are non-existent, stormy seas can kick up incredible waves that explode against sea stacks, while in the high country deep snows can accumulate. And through December 30 you can catch a break on lodging at either Kalaloch or Lake Quinault lodges.