Recent Stories
Park visitors must be wary of Lyme disease
Ticks are just the approximate size of a sesame seed but are capable of feeding upon large animals. Their small size makes it very difficult for one to recognize the tick’s presence, but early detection of these disease-spreading creatures could reduce the chance of transmission of Lyme disease. Click onRead More…
Wildbirds feel impact of humans in parks
Most of the time, people don’t think much about the impact their behavior can have on what surrounds them. For example, we don’t often notice that tourism in popular national parks is affecting the natural environment. At right, a campsite on Garden Key at Dry Tortugas National Park. Below, aRead More…
Biking at Shark Valley offers wildlife views
SHARK VALLEY, Fla. – An alligator is on the bike path – again. Sunning itself languidly, the gator pays no regard to passersby as they snap photographs at a dangerously close distance, preferring instead to focus on filling its cold blood with the sun’s warm rays. “We’re from Canada. We’veRead More…
Vehicles diminish air quality in Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the 59 national parks that is most significantly affected by air pollution. Research conducted for more than 30 years shows that park resources such as streams, soils, vegetation, and visibility have degraded. At left, Ramsey Cascades, at 100 feet high, isRead More…
Muir Woods shares history with parks
SAN FRANCISCO – The roots of Muir Woods National Monument are tied to National Park Service history. William Kent and his wife, Elizabeth Thatcher Kent, purchased the land in 1905 in order to protect the redwood trees in the area. Kent would eventually serve in the U.S. House of RepresentativesRead More…
Gladesmen took care for land — then, now
SHARK VALLEY, Fla. — Once upon a time, when concrete roads and highways were still futuristic dreams of urban developers, when alcohol was forbidden and the Great Depression looming, there was a South Floridian wilderness that was still untamed and free. It offered an ecosystem that was rich with deer,Read More…
Melaleuca thrives, but creates problems
FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — Melaleuca quinquenervia, or better known simply as melaleuca trees, are one of South Florida’s most invasive species next to the Burmese python. The main problems with the melaleuca in the Everglades National Park is that it drains the wetlands, kills native Florida vegetation, and gives manyRead More…
Alcohol use risky for Grand Canyon visitors
The beauty of Grand Canyon National Park can be so encapsulating, visitors become incognizant to the treacherous environment they are in, resulting in 685 deaths that have occurred at the nation’s jewel. According to coauthors Tom Myers and Michael P. Ghiglieri of “Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon,”Read More…
Government shutdown means lost revenue
This fall, at a time when most U.S. national parks would be bustling with guests, they were instead deserted. Because of budget disagreements within Congress, the federal government shut down on Oct. 1, 2013. For the next 16 days, this affected not only the Senate and the House of Representatives,Read More…
Festival fosters community of family, fun
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — For the past 14 years, Biscayne National Park’s Family Fun Fest has fostered a loving community of family, fun and environmental education in South Florida. Each season, December to April, the park opens its doors every second Sunday of the month to dozens of families. Every seasonRead More…
Preserve looks to change hunting plan
The National Park Service is developing a new Hunting Management Plan for the Big Cypress National Preserve. The service has opened up the process to the public and various organizations to include their input on proposed changes. The area that is under review is what is called the “Addition.” AddedRead More…
Rare Schaus Swallowtail butterfly found
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Endemic to South Florida and found nowhere else in the world besides on the islands of Biscayne National Park and on northern Key Largo, the Schaus Swallowtail butterfly is among Biscayne’s most celebrated insects. Due to drastic population declines over the years however, it has also becomeRead More…