The following column was written by George Wuerthner and Lee Whittlesey in rebuttle to a recent Smithsonian Magazine article titled, "The Lost history of Yellowstone," which features the work and opinions of archaeologist Doug MacDonald. MacDonald is the author of Before Yellowstone: Native American Archaeology in the National Park.

Canada has pledged an extra $59.9 million towards a 142-item action plan to help save Wood Buffalo National Park from external threats like nearby hydropower dams, oil sands activity and climate change. But a State of Conservation report was filed late to UNESCO in December and environmental and Indigenous groups are still waiting to hear exactly how the money will be allocated in a bid to keep the park off a list of global World Heritage Sites in danger.

A review of accident reports from 54 national parks points to falls as the leading cause of death in those parks, with Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks ranked one and two for falling fatalities. When all causes of death are counted, Grand Canyon comes out ahead in terms of fatalities recorded in the parks since 2010.