News from May 2023


Voyageurs National Park Announces Personnel Changes

News Release: Facility Services: Laura Bellasalma is the new Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist. She comes to Voyageurs from Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Laura grew up in New Jersey but spent her summers in California with her grandparents near Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area and...


Park restores native sagebrush habitat

News Release: MOOSE, WY - Grand Teton National Park staff will continue habitat restoration projects in the park this summer as part of a multi-phase restoration effort to replace approximately 4,500 acres of non-native grass fields with native sagebrush habitat. A healthy sagebrush ecosystem in Grand Teton is vital for the diversity and abundance of native plants and wildlife species like elk, bison, moose, pronghorn, and sage grouse that rely on them.


DC Black Pride at Fort Dupont Park

News Release: DC Black Pride was the first Black Pride celebration in the country. Beginning in Northwest DC, Black Pride has been celebrated at Fort Dupont Park since the mid-2000s. Over the past thirty years, the celebration has grown and evolved. It has created a safe place for Black queer folks to come together to be proud.


Fatality at Arches National Park

News Release: Moab, UT-On Thursday May 25, 2023, National Park Service rangers responded to a report of CPR in progress on the Primitive Loop section of Devils Garden Trail in Arches National Park. Personnel from Grand County EMS and a Life Flight helicopter also responded. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the 69-year-old male patient was pronounced deceased at the scene.


Changing Acadia: Summits

News Release: Introduction. In early 2022, a group of researchers and communicators at Acadia National Park, Schoodic Institute, and Friends of Acadia began collaborating on temporary displays to highlight innovative management efforts underway at two prominent park locations - the summit of Cadillac Mountain and...


Shenandoah National Park announces public meeting to discuss changes to backcountry camping permits

News Release: Shenandoah National Park will host a virtual public meeting June 6, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. to provide information about the implementation of a new backcountry camping permitting system. During the upcoming meeting there will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the new system. Following the meeting, a public comment portal will be available for 30 days and the public is invited to provide written input.


Avalanche Creek Drowning Victim Identified as University of Kansas Student

News Release: WEST GLACIER, Mont. [May 26, 2023] - Glacier National Park has released the identity of the victim of Monday’s Avalanche Creek drowning as University of Kansas student Atheer Abdulrahman S. Alquahtani from Saudi Arabia and current resident of Lawrence, Kansas.


Acadia National Park Advisory Commission meets on June 5

News Release: BAR HARBOR, MAINE - The Acadia National Park Advisory Commission will meet in the training trailer at Park Headquarters in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Monday,  June 5, at 1 pm. There will be a virtual meeting option for those unable to attend in-person. The meeting is open to the public and will include an opportunity for public comment.


Cabrillo National Monument Altered Hours of Operation for Memorial Day 2023

News Release: Contact: Chris Symons. San Diego, CA - On Monday May 29, 2023, Cabrillo National Monument will be open from 1:00pm until 8:00pm for the Memorial Day holiday observance. While Cabrillo National Monument is typically open from 9:00am until 5:00pm, due to the Memorial Day ceremony at Rosecrans National...


Voyageurs 2023 Vessel Safety Inspection

News Release: International Falls, MN: Voyageurs National Park’s law enforcement staff and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary are partnering to offer voluntary vessel safety inspections in May. This is an opportunity for those who frequent park waters, to ensure their vessel is safe and has all required equipment as they start enjoying recreational opportunities this summer. Inspections will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis at the following dates, times, and locations.


Ada Blackjack: Stranded on Wrangel Island

News Release: “If anything happen to me and my death is known, there is black stirp for bennett school book bag, for my only son. I wish if you please take everything to Bennett that is belong to me. I don’t know how much I would be glad to get home to folks.".


The Wild Garden

News Release: The idea of the wild garden originated in the late nineteenth century as a counterpoint and challenge to the prevailing fashion for excessively formal gardens characterized by geometric patterns of tender plants, standard roses, statuary, and terraced architecture. Codified and popularized by Irish gardener...


Wenstrup Demands Accountability for COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths, Requests Transcribed Interview with Former Governor Andrew Cuomo

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) is demanding accountability from former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro regarding the decision, or the decision of their predecessor, to mandate nursing homes and long-term care facilities admit contagious and untested COVID-19 patients.


Chairs Comer, Jordan, Green Demand Information from DHS on Risk Posed by Aliens with Terrorist Ties Crossing the Border

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) are investigating how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is handling the elevated national security risk presented by an increasing number of aliens with terrorist ties illegally crossing the United States’ southern border.


Comer, Sessions & Boebert Lead Probe of Heightened Federal Agency Telework

Federal Workforce Telework Rates and Policies Remain Largely a Mystery


BLM builds trails and community with Tribal youth programs

On a cloudy morning in early May, Bureau of Land Management staff joined students from the Chemawa Indian School on a trail maintenance project as part of the Indian Youth Service Corps initiative. The meeting was about much more than the project at hand.


National Park Service announce Fatality investigation in Yellowstone National Park

On the evening of Saturday, May 13, Yellowstone rangers responded to an incident on Craig Pass, approximately 3 miles south of Old Faithful. Rangers observed a single vehicle that had been driven into a snowbank, with a male standing outside


NAMA Notebook: Memorial Day

News Release: Memorial Day is a busy weekend on the National Mall. It is a special opportunity to honor those who gave their lives for the country. Many of the sites in the park remember those that served. One site remembers the person credited with proclaiming Memorial Day.


National Park Service announces Shenandoah National Park ceremony celebrates donation of nearly 1,000 acres to the park

In a mountainside dedication ceremony on May 18, Shenandoah National Park officially commemorated the 2022 donation of nearly 1,000 acres of land from the Shenandoah National Park Trust.


Committee Calls for Reduced Funding for Agencies After Failures to Testify

Last week, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a series of three letters to House Committee on Appropriations leadership requesting a reduction in Fiscal Year 2024 funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation