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Newsletter: Your American West

WNP publishes a digital newsletter several times a year. Your American West, showcases park happenings, research stories, WNP news and more to keep you connected to our national parks. Browse the newsletters or sign up to receive them via email in the footer of this website.

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What Fueled Sunset Crater’s Explosive Past?

“Long time ago the ground trembled, a big black smoke came,” was the memory the Hopi passed from generation to generation. It was a thick, choking, even poisonous smoke, preceded no doubt by shuddering earthquakes and precipitated by a furious...

Irresistible Distractions At Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

The beginning of winter found me feeling torn between the sleepy comforts of home and the satisfying challenges of rugged wilderness camping. As usual, the mountains won. “I’m headed north on Highway 15 out of Silver City, New Mexico,” I had texted...

Understanding a Decade of Dietary Competition in Two Endemic Island Carnivores

UPDATE: This WNPA-funded research project is entering its second year as of June 2022. Off the coast of southern California, on a scattering of islands, lives a suite of plants and animals that are found nowhere else on earth. Five of these islands...

Saguaro flowering is changing according to wildlife scientists

The mighty saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) is an icon of the American Southwest. Under a blazing sun, these majestic cacti can grow upwards of 50 feet if the conditions are right. A cursory glance with an untrained eye leaves one with the impression...

Finding Beauty And History In New Mexico’s Sandstone

El Morro, or “the headland,” has been a gathering place for centuries (Jim Stratton) Our first big surprise when we arrived at the visitor center was learning that President Teddy Roosevelt protected this area on December 8, 1906, with his second...

Three Days In Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park covers little more than 90,000 acres, which is small compared to Yellowstone or Death Valley national parks, and less than a quarter the size of nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. But that doesn’t mean you should take a...

Bat Biologists Monitor CAVE Bats for White-Nose Syndrome

The Battle and the Battleground Bats, those insect-eating mammals we see at dusk as they flutter over our heads seeking their prey, have been battling white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America since at least 2006. The organism responsible for this...

Western National Parks Association 2020 Award Winners Announced

Award recipients recognized for contributions to WNPA and national parks Tucson, Arizona, December 2, 2020—On November 5, 2020, Western National Parks Association (WNPA), a nonprofit education partner of the National Park Service (NPS) since 1938...

Western National Parks Association Receives New Capacity Building Grant from National Park Foundation

GRANT EXPANDS WNPA’S IMPACT AT WESTERN NATIONAL PARKS Western National Parks Association (WNPA) is one of 36 park partner organizations to receive a Strong Parks, Strong Communities capacity building grant from the National Park Foundation, the...

Picturing a Healthier Future

After more than a year of virtual outreach and engagement, the Udall Foundation’s Parks in Focus® program recently resumed its in-person programming to get youth back outside and exploring their national parks and public lands through photography...