National Park News

A Century of Sanctuary

Officials from Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park invite the public to Waterton-Glacier Science and History Day on Thursday August 6 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., at the Lake McDonald Lodge Auditorium in Glacier National Park. 

Mesa Verde National Park recently celebrated wilderness, and the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

FIRE PLANNING IS DISCUSSED AT PUBLIC MEETING
McCarthy, Alaska— Today’s activities for the Pioneer Peak Hotshot crew, three engines, and the Volunteer Fire Departments from Strelna and McCarthy involve identifying water sources, safety zones, and fire hazards for the six residential areas. These resources are also prepared to support suppression efforts as needed. The Augusta Hotshot crew remains staged along the Chitina River, to respond as needed to situations along the northern and northwestern perimeters. Firefighters will conduct burnout operations if conditions are right.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the National Park Service will reopen public comment on a proposed interim rule, first proposed last November under Secretary Kempthorne, to manage snowmobile and snowcoach access at Yellowstone National Park for the next two years.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Yosemite Valley today to commemorate the arrival of four hybrid (electric/diesel) tractors that will be used in the popular Yosemite Valley Floor Tours. Acting Superintendent Dave Uberuaga and DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. Chief   Operating Officer Dan Jensen cut the ribbon as 60 park visitors were embarking on their tour of Yosemite Valley.

Grand Canyon National Park search and rescue personnel are intensifying their search efforts as they re-asses who they are looking for.

North Cascades National Park Complex has signed a Finding of No Significant Impact and issued WeavTel a Special Use Permit for the installation and maintenance of public telecommunications equipment on public lands in Stehekin, WA, which is within Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

Work has been completed on Yellowstone’s first major project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

What is cuter than a bug’s ear, builds haystacks, lives in the high country of Glacier National Park and may be an indicator of climate change in mountain environments?  That would be the American Pika.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, July 28 to update an advisory panel on the agencies’ efforts to restore natural quiet in Grand Canyon National Park.

Today, Superintendent Cherry Payne announced  new boundaries for the special whale waters area in Park waters in Icy Strait, beginning at 5 AM Thursday July 23.

Chief of Resource Management Craig Smith recommends that campers avoid camping between Tidal Inlet and the peninsula between Queen and Rendu Inlets due to recent bear activity.

Visitors to Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road (Sun Road) will experience work related delays at night starting Monday, July 27.

Rachel Brockway joins the Glacier National Park staff this summer as part of the Teacher-to-Ranger-to-Teacher program.  Brockway teaches second grade at Evergreen Elementary School.

Yellowstone National Park is planning to reconstruct a section of the road which links Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs.   The project involves 15.4 miles of road from north of Norris Junction to Golden Gate.

Four historic fire lookout towers in Grand Canyon National Park, two on the North Rim and two on the South Rim, have been listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.

For the first time in history, Yellowstone National Park is conducting live ranger talks specifically for the online audience. 

A visitor from Southern California was gored by a bison in a Yellowstone National Park campground Wednesday morning.

North Cascades National Park Service Complex firefighters successfully contained the small One Mile Fire in the Stehekin area of Lake Chelan. Panther Creek fire continues to burn.

An opinion was filed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today, affirming the United States District Court’s entry of summary judgment for the National Park Service in a lawsuit titled “River Runners for Wilderness, et al v. Stephen P. Martin, et al.

A weekend lightning strike has started a small fire in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park.

Come meet Voyageurs National Park's first Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Mike Barnes.

A 62 year old man from Durango, Colorado, was roughly 110 yards from the summit of Longs Peak (14,259 feet) in the “Homestretch” area, when he had a cardiac emergency.

The investigation into the reported abduction of a woman from the Mohave Apartments housing area of Grand Canyon National Park came to an end this weekend when special agents with the Investigative Services Branch interviewed several local residents who admitted they were the cause of the report. 

During the July 29 and 30 Spiny Lobster Sport Season, a unified team of National Park Service Rangers, working in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, will be out on the water in both marked and unmarked vessels, including nighttime hours, to ensure both public safety and legal lobster harvest. 

Officials at Glacier National Park welcome Tim Ryan and Dr. David Hsiung for this summer’s Artist-in-Residence Program.

Chakina Fire Update…
As of July 5, the fire was 2,223 acres. During monitoring, it was 100% active, running, torching and spotting up to 150
feet…

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONISI) was signed Thursday, July 16, by Michael D. Snyder, Regional Director for Intermountain Region of the National Park Service for the implementation of the Exotic Plant Management Plan for Grand Canyon.