David Vela encountered little turbulence Thursday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, pledging to set the standard for accountability and transparency as director of the National Park Service.

An ambitious endeavor is getting underway to safeguard the Grove of Titans and adjacent forest in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park unit of Redwood National and State Parks in California.

As containment of the Woolsey Fire in California nears 50 percent, the extent of damage to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, its wildlife, and its historic structures, is becoming more clear. Nearly 90 percent of the NRA has been blackened by the fire, with such historic structures as the Morrison Ranch House and Western Town at the Paramount Ranch destroyed.

Winter is a cold, snowy, and decidedly solitary season at Voyageurs National Park, where fellow visitors can be hard to spot. Take December 2017, for instance. The park recorded just 110 visitors, down from 196 a year earlier. But if you relish skimming through the woods on skis or snowmobiles, like to study tracks of what crossed the meadows and frozen ponds, or crave to see the dancing Northern Lights overhead, well, a visit to Voyageurs should be given serious consideration.