National Park Service Archives - State of the Planet

A waterfall in the foreground with a lake and craggy mountains in the background.

New Guidance Gives National Parks Tools to Make Tough Decisions on Climate Change

Guidance released in April aims to have parks incorporate climate change scenarios into all future planning, recognizing that it won’t be possible to save everything.

by |June 24, 2021
Giant blue/white glacier ice juts out of a cool blue lake. A blue raft with several people onboard is dwarfed in the ice's presence.

Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska’s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route

As a glacier in southern Alaska melts, a major river is likely to shift course within the next decade, putting the future of local fisheries and a popular rafting path at risk.

by |April 15, 2021

Blackfeet Nation Closes Border of Glacier National Park in Response to Rising COVID-19 Cases

To protect the tribe from rising caseloads in Montana, the National Park Service and the Blackfeet Reservation worked together to close the park’s eastern border.

by |July 29, 2020
Sandy Hook New Jersey bioblitz

Make Yourself Count: Sandy Hook ‘BioBlitz’

Amateur naturalists will gather this weekend at the Sandy Hook, N.J., unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area to count species of plants and animals.

by |September 15, 2015