Tom Huang utilized several national parks in the West and Southwest as a backdrop for an independent film that is not as obvious as it might seem.

For want of timber and other natural resources, the federal government during a three-decade period early in the 20th century steadily whittled away at Yosemite National Park, eventually carving off about a third of that icon of the National Park System. Leap forward to early in the 21st century, and for want of energy and multiple-use benefits President Trump is trying to remove 85 percent of Bears Ears National Monument from within its original borders.

Crowds are expected to descend on the Yosemite Valley during the long Memorial Day weekend. One place you won't be able to head to escape the crowds will be Half Dome. Yosemite National Park staff say the cables up the iconic granite dome won't be up before May 30.

A long-running project to see California red-legged frogs return to the Yosemite Valley is making strides this spring, with the sightings of some of the frogs' eggs in ponds and meadows in the valley. It marked the first documented breeding activity of the amphibians since some adult red-legged frogs were released in the valley two years ago.