National Parks Magazine

The Wright Brothers were first in flight. Now, in the new Wright Flight Academy, high schoolers are building a plane on the same coastal landscape where aviation was born. More than 120 years after Orville and Wilbur Wright made humankind’s first powered flights, a group of high schoolers is building a two-person airplane on the same coastal strip where the Wright Brothers ushered in the age of aviation.

"The west-wide solar plan opens a generational opportunity–and moral imperative–to move towards a clean energy future that also protects delicate ecosystems and wildlife that share our public lands." - Matt Kirby, NPCA’s Senior Energy and Landscape Conservation Director Washington D.C. - Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released an updated long-term plan for balancing land conservation with solar energy development on public lands across the western United States.

The Four Corners A thousand years ago, this region was the center of an incredibly complex and influential civilization that flourished over several centuries throughout the entire Southwest. The Ancestral Puebloans, along with other tribal groups, occupied this land and inhabited sites such as Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. Today, the region is home to the descendants of these tribes, many of whom have a strong connection to these important cultural sites.

“A tip of a flat hat to the park rangers for responding to the calls of those who love Mount Rainier and want to protect it while enjoying it.” - Rob Smith, NPCA's Northwest Regional Director Seattle, WA - Responding to the challenges of overcrowding during peak summer months, the National Park Service today announced plans for a pilot reservation system for Mount Rainier National Park.

Encountering some of Earth's tallest living organisms is just the beginning of visitors' experience at this California park site. In 1903, the California Club and other women’s civic organizations banded together to save from logging several hundred acres of old-growth redwood forest in Marin County, California.

Are you determined to get outside, even if the air is brisk? These nine parks allow you to stay active outdoors and work up a healthy sweat, even — or especially — with a winter chill in the air. 1. Hike the geysers at Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Yellowstone’s famous geothermal activity is one of the most popular tourist attractions at one of the most-visited national parks in the world.

The homecoming of gray wolves to Colorado signifies a beacon of what is possible when we all commit to restoring our public lands.” -  Tracy Coppola, NPCA's Colorado Senior Program Manager Denver, CO - This week, Colorado state wildlife officials released the first group of 5 gray wolves following a 2020 ballot initiative passed by Colorado voters to reintroduce wolves to the state.

2023 marked incredible progress in protecting national parks. NPCA celebrates the many victories — some of which we won after decades of hard work by park advocates around the country. Here’s a breakdown of some of the best things that happened for parks this year. 1. Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument established.

Decision sets up "intensive” federal environmental review of the controversial proposal WASHINGTON – One year after blocking the proposed Cadiz groundwater mining project in federal court, the Biden administration informed Cadiz that it does not have permission to use a key pipeline for its project, and that, “seeking to use the existing pipeline to transport water would require intensive environmental studies of those potential impacts associated with the transport of water, including...

The Great American Outdoors Act is providing crucial funding – up to $6.65 billion over five years – to fix our national parks’ crumbling roads, decaying buildings, outdated water systems and many more repair needs. This bill, along with other funding sources, is ensuring our parks can continue to welcome millions of visitors each year and protect the natural and cultural resources that tell our nation’s history.