Recent Stories
Safety at Columbus Day Regatta improving
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — In 1954, a group of sailors began a friendly race in Biscayne National Park to mark Columbus Day weekend, making their way down Biscayne Bay and then camping out for the night. It was an event free of spectators, free of outside attention, comprised mainly of localsRead More…
NPS moves toward sustainable healthy food
SAN FRANCISCO — About 20 miles north of the heart of San Francisco, including a final mile of winding curves through the mountains that takes visitors a couple hundred feet above sea level, is Muir Woods National Monument, a park densely packed with redwood trees reaching heights of more thanRead More…
Geocaching gains popularity in Everglades
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – It’s the dream of countless children to stumble across a cryptic map and embark on a treasure hunt. Digging through the underbrush in an attempt to find that elusive X marks the spot, heart pounding in anticipation as the mysterious chest is unearthed – what could beRead More…
Rising sea levels pose threat to Everglades
When people think of the Everglades, they often picture vast wetlands, nesting birds and alligators lurking in the sawgrass. But, rising sea levels are starting to change how that picture looks. For the Everglades, being at risk from encroaching factors is not a new experience. From early development of Florida,Read More…
White nose syndrome threatens ecosystems
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a relatively new disease found to wreak havoc on the bat population in North America. Many national parks, including Mammoth Cave National Park, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Acadia National Park, have been affected by this devastating disease. White-nose syndrome threatensRead More…
Parks work to improve visitor diversity
The image of the American melting pot unifying all Americans into one culture has vanished from the American psyche and transformed into the image of a salad bowl, with each culture adding their distinct flavor. Minorities now make up about 35 percent of the population in the United States, anRead More…
Nightskies are at best in national parks
On clear, pristine nights when not a single cloud disrupts our view, we look up and remark on the beauty that is the night sky. Orion and the Big Dipper have never looked so real. And yet, some of us may never know the true magnificence of the cosmos. EveryRead More…
Eco-Tent debuts at Everglades’ campground
The Everglades National Park has come together with other South Florida institutions to open a new overnight lodging option, the Flamingo Eco-Tent, in the park. The Flamingo Lodge, located in the Everglades since 1959, closed after two major hurricanes, Katrina and Wilma, swept through the southeastern United States in 2005.Read More…
Gettysburg readies for 150th anniversary
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Seven score and 10 years ago Gen. George Pickett led his unsuccessful charge as the Union forces repelled the Confederacy in one of the bloodiest, yet most significant days in American history. Now, the Gettysburg National Military Park prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the BattleRead More…
Film puts Lincoln historic sites in spotlight
Steven Speilberg’s latest blockbuster “Lincoln” has been in headlines for months, most recently for winning two Academy Awards including best actor. This film helped refocuses our nation’s attention on one of our most significant Presidents at a most opportune time: 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation andRead More…
Park rangers serve as NPS ‘backbone’
Pebbles crunched and waves gently lapped the beach as Park Ranger Gary Bremen strolled down the narrow path, a bucket in hand and a straggly line of visitors behind him. After about 10 feet, Bremen, who works at Biscayne National Park in Homestead, Fla., stops at a clearing in theRead More…
Statue of Liberty is tourists’ favorite
NEW YORK — New York City is on par with Paris, Rome and London among the most frequently visited cities in the world. It’s no surprise that, along with those three cities, New York also has an iconic monument that makes it attractive as a tourist destination. Paris has theRead More…