Parks in the News

Speak Out on Pending National Park Service Proposals

Now the Traveler is making it even easier for you to comment on pending National Park Service proposals, be they general management plans or the proposal to allow park visitors to carry concealed weapons in the parks.

Comment Period for Proposed Gun Rule Change in National Parks Extended 30 Days

Interior Department officials have agreed to extend through July the comment period on a proposal to allow visitors to national parks to carry guns.

Yellowstone National Park Sees Record Visitation in June

If you went to Yellowstone National Park in June, you weren't alone. The park saw record visitation last month as more than 610,000 folks made their way to Yellowstone.

Senators Willing to Legislate Clean Air Over National Parks if EPA Does Protect Airsheds

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has gone on record with the director of the Environmental Protection Agency that they will find legislative solutions to provide clean air over national parks if his agency can't protect those airsheds.

NPR on the National Parks

National Public Radio is on the road in the National Park System this week, visiting both iconic and obscure parks. But is there a chink in NPR's coverage?

Yellowstone National Park Bison Unhappy With Photo Shoot Tosses Pennsylvania Boy

A 12-year-old Pennsylvania boy has been hospitalized after a Yellowstone National Park bison, evidently perturbed that he was part of a family photo shoot, tossed the boy about 10 feet into the air.

Prescribed Fire in Grand Canyon National Park Now Out of Control

Best laid plans literally have gone up in flames in Grand Canyon National Park, where a prescribed fire has blown out of control. The Walla Valley Fire on the park's North Rim is burning across 225 acres and is just 15 percent contained. It's located about 9 miles west of the North Rim's developed area.

Park Advocates Rallying Around Theodore Roosevelt National Park

A friends group is forming to support Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The group, Friends of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is holding an organizational meeting on Sunday, June 29.

Celebrating Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road

It's an engineering wonder, one that not only delights, but also perplexes and confounds, both motorists and road crews. And today the 75th birthday of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park is being celebrated. It's a time to both reflect on the history of this 50-mile pathway across the park's interior and look as well at the effort to rebuild it.

Comment Period For Revised Gun Regulations for National Parks About to Close

Barring a last-minute change of heart, the Interior Department on Monday will close the public comment period on a proposal to allow national park visitors to arm themselves.

Deal to Close Sugar Plant and Preserve 187,000 Acres Should Benefit Everglades National Park

In what's being called an unprecedented chapter in land conservation history, the state of Florida has agreed to buy 187,000 acres north of Everglades National Park and preserve the land to help ensure water flows into the park from Lake Okeechobee.

Oglala Sioux Just Might Reclaim Southern Half of Badlands National Park

The Oglala Sioux Tribe might regain exclusive control of 133,000 acres of tribal land that was incorporated into Badlands National Park and is being jointly managed with the National Park Service. If the tribe gets its land back it will establish a major precedent.

NPCA Report Offers Poor Grades For Protection of National Parks

If the National Park Service were graded on how it's managing the National Park System, its latest report card would reflect a mediocre student, one with poor attention to detail.

Mount Rainier National Park Officials Mulling Future of Carbon River Road

Heavy rains frequently wash out sections of the Carbon River Road in the northwestern corner of Mount Rainier National Park. In fact, the road has been closed since torrential rains destroyed sections in 2006. Now park officials are wondering whether they should even try to reopen the road to vehicles.

Yellowstone National Park Relocates the 45th Parallel

Geographers might blanch at the thought, but Yellowstone National Park officials have pushed the 45th Parallel a bit north in an effort to make park visitors safer.

Congressman Calls for Emergency Declaration to Protect Grand Canyon National Park from Mining

The chairman of the House national parks subcommittee believes sufficient threat exists to Grand Canyon National Park to withdraw more than 1 million acres from the possibility of being mined for uranium.

Search and Rescue Trivia From the National Parks

Ever wonder what's the most dangerous day to be in a national park? That would be Saturday. And the most dangerous region of the National Park System? That would be the Intermountain Region, home to Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Grand Canyon national parks.

Commentary: Who Runs the National Park System?

Who runs the National Park System? Is it the National Park Service, or communities that fuel their economies off the parks? That's a good question to consider in the wake of the moxie and clout that tiny Cody, Wyoming, summoned to turn the heat up on its golden goose, Yellowstone National Park.

Winter Exiting Yellowstone National Park "Kicking and Screaming"

Heat waves baking the East Coast, torrential rains dousing the Midwest. In Yellowstone National Park, it's snow that's highlighting the park's weather.

Bird Nests and Closures Spurring Civil Disobedience at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

As more nesting plovers and oystercatchers lead to more temporary beach closures at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, it appears more folks are acting in civil disobedience to protest the closures.

Glen Canyon NRA Starting Random Boat Inspections to Prevent Mussel Infestation

In a bid to keep non-native and invasive Zebra and Quagga mussels out of Lake Powell, officials at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are beginning random inspections of boats heading to the reservoir.

Ribbon-Cutting Planned for $70,000 "Bio Toilet" at Mount Rainier National Park

From the outside it looks pretty much like any other composting toilet in the National Park System. But the new $70,000 'loo' at Mount Rainier National Park has been deemed worthy of a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Hamilton Grange National Memorial Relocation Update

If you're going to be in New York City on Saturday, you might want to head over to the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem to see the Hamilton Grange National Memorial arrive at its new location.

24 Trails Added to National Trails System

The National Trails System, launched 40 years ago, has gone through a growth spurt courtesy of the addition of two dozen trails in 16 states. The segments added range from the 62-mile-long multiple-use Black Canyon Trail in Arizona to roughly 100 miles of water trail in Florida.