Recent Stories
Spring highlights Barataria wildflowers
MARRERO, La.— Strolling down a wooden boardwalk through the green swamps of the Barataria Preserve on a spring day in 2004, you would have been taken aback by fields of giant blue irises standing over three feet tall, raising their striking purple petals towards the sun. In fact, the flowersRead More…
Swamp walk teaches about Big Cypress
OCHOPEE, Fla. — Trekking through waist-high waters in slosh-filled shoes and dodging tree limbs may not seem like the most romantic of activities to partake in on Valentine’s Day, but for a group of adventurous nature-loving individuals, it might just be the perfect way to spend the day. I wokeRead More…
Visitors drawn to Biscayne’s manatees
HOMESTEAD, Fla.— Far off U.S. 1, past speedways and tarmacs and copycat housing developments, lies a quiet little patch of shoreline and islands known as Biscayne National Park. The park covers 207 square miles, 95 percent water, of shoreline, islands and coral reefs. It is a safe haven for manatees,Read More…
Park offers unique camping location
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — My idealistic view of “camping” is preferably somewhere deep and secluded in the mountains, among towering trees, vegetation and perhaps even a little snow. Located at the southern tip of mainland Florida, Everglades National Park does not offer this idealistic setting for camping. What the park doesRead More…
Artist focuses on endangered species
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Entering Biscayne National Park, the entrance road is lined on both sides by red flags. At a distance, they look like simple decorations but upon a closer glance each flag has a specific image: an endangered or threatened animal representing all seven continents. There are a totalRead More…
Sunny day in a kayak on bay, has price
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — I was watching the hours go by on my digital clock as if they were minutes. Two, three, four. Now five, five in the morning and I still couldn’t manage to stay asleep as I fought nausea and a pounding headache so intense it was as though someoneRead More…
Wildlife is big attraction for park visitors
FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — “That’s an alligator!” Jason Park, age 10, shouted pointing at the rippled surface of the water at the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades National Park. “And that bird over there is an anhinga,” his father, Neal Park, answered indicating a large black bird perched on aRead More…
Joshua Tree offers desert ‘Promised Land’
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif.— The joshua tree raises its spiky green arms up to the clear blue desert sky and it’s easy to sense the spiritual presence Mormon pioneers are believed to have felt when they named the plant after the prophet who waved his people towards the Promised Land. TheRead More…
Ellis Island visit offers family insight
NEW YORK— Feb. 14, 2010: Nina Ruggiero, age 20. I woke up, got dressed, drank a vanilla latte and got into the car. My mom, 49, drove and my grandmother, 84, sat in the back seat. We didn’t hit traffic and after 25 minutes on the expressway we were inRead More…
New federal law allows guns in parks
Beginning in February 2010, a new law passed by Congress last spring will allow people to carry guns into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are allowed to do so by state law. Until this new legislation takes effect, gun owners are required to lock and storeRead More…
Large numbers of visitors place parks at risk
There is a delicate balance between the visitors and Mother Nature in America’s national parks and right now the visitors are throwing off the balance in their favor. All of the 275 million annual visitors attending the nearly 400 parks and other units in the National Park Service system lookRead More…
Center is gateway to Big Cypress history
OCHOPEE, Fla. — Walk into the Oasis Visitor Center at Big Cypress National Preserve and the first thing you’re greeted by is a 14-month old panther. But no worries, this cat isn’t on the prowl; after being struck and killed by a car, the panther was stuffed and placed inRead More…