National Park News

Major roadwork will occur in Zion National Park from approximately mid-May to October, 2010.

Beginning April 1, spring visitor center hours will be in effect at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The South Unit Visitor Center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MDT. Barring unforeseen inclement weather, the Painted Canyon Visitor Center, located on I-94 east of Medora, will open for the season; hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MDT. The North Unit Visitor Center will be open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CDT. All will be open daily, with expanded hours Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Great Smoky Mountains Superintendent Dale Ditmanson has announced that the popular Cades Cove Loop is expected to reopen Saturday, April 24, about a month earlier than had been projected.

The Zion Canyon Transportation (Shuttle) System will resume operation on Thursday, April 1, 2010.

Conditions are favorable for prescribed burns Wednesday through Friday in Mammoth Cave National Park. Some areas of the park will be temporarily closed for the safety of firefighters and visitors. 

JoshuaTreeNP: Art and nature come together on April 2, 3, & 4 at the JTNP Art Festival held at the Oasis VC, 9 to 5 daily.
http://ow.ly/1sKeP -sk

Road construction on the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park is set to begin in May. This project will vastly improve 24.4 miles of the Wawona Road starting from the South Entrance of Yosemite along the Wawona Road. This improvement project will end at the junction of the Wawona Road and Bridalveil Straight in Yosemite Valley.

The Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) has selected four research fellows for 2010. Two researchers are recipients of Discover Denali Research Fellowships for research in or near Denali National Park and Preserve. Two additional researchers are receiving Murie Science and Research Fellowships for research in one of the MSLC partner parks in arctic and subarctic Alaska, which are Bering Land Bridge, Cape Krusenstern, Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley, Noatak, Wrangell-St. Elias and Yukon-Charley Rivers.

From road and campground status, to park interpretation, fire, and search and rescue updates; learn the realm of communication possibilities through social media in Glacier National Park.

JoshuaTreeNP: Be prepared for high winds on Wed & Thur this week. Temperatures are expected to drop 20 degrees; rain possible. http://ow.ly/1sldo -sk

Your child can become a Junior Ranger April 3!
Come be part of Junior Ranger Day at Everglades National Park!

Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park successfully located two overdue hikers this afternoon. National Park Service search and rescue personnel located the hikers, Isaac Rabicoff and Michael Wu, along the Colorado River near Royal Arch, an area of the Grand Canyon west of the South Rim developed area and Hermits Rest. 

Grand Canyon National Park rangers are currently searching the South Bass and Royal Arch areas west of the Hermits Rest area on the park’s south rim for two overdue hikers, Isaac Rabicoff and Michael Wu, both from Kansas. 

Grand Canyon National Park rangers are currently searching the South Bass and Royal Arch areas west of the Hermits Rest area on the park’s south rim for two overdue hikers, Isaac Rabicoff and Michael Wu, both from Kansas. 

Invasive species, disease, and climate changes have all led to a decline in the native fish population of Yellowstone National Park. To help halt and eventually reverse that trend, the park has started work on a Native Fish Conservation Plan.

Ten students from Grand and San Juan Counties will have the opportunity to work in local national parks this summer as part of the Canyon Country Conservation Corps.

Ten students from Grand and San Juan Counties will have the opportunity to work in local national parks this summer as part of the Canyon Country Conservation Corps.

A sure sign of spring in Denali National Park and Preserve is the opening of the park road beyond park headquarters.

JoshuaTreeNP: Why do tortoises cross the road? To get to the other side! Here’s what to do if you see one in the rd (8th pargrph): http://ow.ly/1rr2P -kl

JoshuaTreeNP: The climbing area “Towers of Uncertainty” is closed to public use due to wildlife activity from March 25 until further notice. -kl

JoshuaTreeNP: Tortoises and other wildlife are out and about! Please watch for them on all roads & drive the speed limit to help keep them alive. – kl

Precipice and Valley Cove trails closed to protect nesting peregrine falcons.

The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced recently that the Wind Cave National Park wastewater treatment system is the recipient of the 2009 Operation and Maintenance Excellence Award.

The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced recently that the Wind Cave National Park wastewater treatment system is the recipient of the 2009 Operation and Maintenance Excellence Award.

With the onset of spring, now is the time to plan for recreation in the North Cascades. Many low elevation trails are open for day and overnight hikes and Diablo Lake makes a great destination for early season paddling.

Boaters and paddlers on Diablo Lake and hikers on the Diablo Lake Trail are advised, however, that a debris avalanche occurred on March 15 at the head of Diablo Lake, rendering unusable a local access road that connects Diablo Lake with Ross Lake. The approximately one-mile Ross Dam Haul Road provides Seattle City Light with access from Diablo Lake to the Ross Powerhouse and the top of Ross Dam. It also allows Ross Lake Resort to provide their guests with access from Diablo Lake and provides paddlers with portage between Diablo Lake and Ross Lake.

The Mariposa Grove Road in Yosemite National Park will open for the season tomorrow, March 26, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. The road provides visitor access to the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, the largest grove of Giant Sequoia in Yosemite National Park. The road is located near the park’s South Entrance, on Highway 41.

In a ceremony in Washington, D.C. yesterday, United States Mint Director Ed Moy, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, and other officials unveiled the designs for the first five coins in the new America the Beautiful quarter series. The America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state, the District of Colombia, and U.S. territories. 

JoshuaTreeNP: Warmer temperatures bring wildlife out of their burrows and, too frequently, onto park roads. Please slow down and watch out for them. -sk

The votes are in! Participants from Biscayne National Park’s Family Fun Fest chose their five favorite activities from the first 49 events, and we’re recreating them to wrap up the tenth year of the popular event.

Grand Canyon National Park’s greenhouse population of sentry milk-vetch blooming in early March 2010, representing a major landmark in the park’s effort to recover its only federally-listed, endangered plant species.