November is Native American Heritage Month, a time devoted to celebrating the traditions, cultures, and contributions of Native Americans. NPS joins the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for...
Do you know any fourth graders? Do they have their Annual 4th Grade Pass yet? This pass, available to US students in the fourth grade (or its homeschool equivalent), lets kids visit more than 2,000 Federally-managed recreation areas, including...
February is Black History Month, a month to celebrate “the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history,” as President Gerald Ford said in 1976. Black History Month was recognized across the...
You may have heard “half the park is after dark,” a slogan from a line of posters created by astronomer and educator Tyler Nordgren. Now the saying rings true as the unofficial motto of the NPS “Night Skies” program. Many of our national parks are...
Long-term research by NPS staff and other scientists suggests that, since the 1990s, a punishing drought has severely hampered the germination of saguaro seeds and growth of young plants into healthy adults. Looking like a jumbo dill pickle with...
The sun rises over the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson, Arizona, beaming hues of orange, pink and purple into the sky. Warmth pours into the desert valley below. Plants and animals meet another scorching day with no clouds in sight. Too many...
Just miles from the site where the U.S. military detonated the first atomic bomb, scores of species entirely new to science are fluttering out of the dunes. When Eric Metzler goes hunting, he packs the big guns: clothespins, tent stakes, a white...
The California condor ( Gymnogyps californianus) is an endangered New World vulture and the largest bird in North America. In the 1980s, the entire population of California condors was reduced to 22 birds. With the assistance of captive breeding...
Emma steps out often but stays close to home. After almost drowning, Ward kept a low profile for 12 years. King Tut likes to strut and has been spotted many times over the past several years. This trio, along with another 180 Gila monsters (Heloderma...
It was mid-October, and it was still hot in the Sonoran Desert. The land was beyond parched. The creosote leaves looked crispy, as if they hadn’t had a good drink of water in ages. The leafcutter ants Atta mexicana, however, seemed to be doing fine...
