National Parks Traveler

Tropical Storm Claudette strengthened with surprising speed before making landfall in the Florida Panhandle, but the Park Service was ready to protect Gulf Island National Seashore visitors on very short notice. With Bill and Ana gathering strength over warm tropical waters, more powerful storms could soon arrive.

It may sound like just another fad, but a recent near-tragedy for two youngsters at Grand Teton National Park offered a grim reminder about the dangers of "teak surfing." Some people are still unaware of the risks, so here's why you shouldn't let your friends or family try this deadly "sport."

While the three "entrance-fee-free" weekends in the National Park System are now behind us, the debate over the propriety of park entrance fees no doubt will go forward, if not heighten, in the wake of some impressive visitor numbers logged by some parks. One organization that you won't hear lobbying for a permanent waiving of the fees, though, is the American Recreation Coalition, which was a strong voice for them more than a decade ago and continues that stance today.

The mountain yellow-legged frog was once one of the most abundant vertebrates in the Sierra Nevada. The flash of its yellow legs could be seen and the echo of its croaking could be heard across the Sierra’s alpine lakes, even those nestled at 12,000 feet that contain watery habitats typically too cold for amphibians. Unfortunately, that empire began to crumble as long ago as 1850 when non-native trout were first transplanted into some of those lakes to increase fishing opportunities.