NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

For the first time, researchers have captured and radio-collared a bear in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles.

The National Park Service has announced that in 2023, there will be five days where admission to sites will be free to the public.

The National Park Service is proposing a rule that would prohibit bear baiting in national preserves in Alaska.

This week the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service will host a remembrance ceremony at Pearl Harbor on the 81st anniversary of the 1941 Japanese bombing.

A Montana judge said he would decide Tuesday whether to continue temporary limits on wolf hunting in the state or to restore quotas and hunting methods before a trial over whether the public was given an adequate opportunity to weigh in on changes in the way the state estimates the size of the wolf population.

Yellowstone National Park officials say a foot found floating in a hot pool last summer belonged to a 70-year-old man from Los Angeles.

Environmental groups are hailing a decision by the Biden administration to resume studying whether grizzly bears should be restored to the remote North Cascades ecosystem in Washington state.

Idaho's top wildlife official says the state's wolf population appears to be holding steady despite recent changes by lawmakers that allow expanded methods and seasons for killing wolves.

The term has been historically used as an offensive slur for Indigenous women. Officials state the removal of the slur is effective immediately.

A man fell to his death at the Grand Canyon last week, according to the National Park Service.

Isle Royale National Park’s gray wolf population has reached 28, a dramatic comeback after the species nearly disappeared from the Lake Superior island chain, researchers said Wednesday.

An Arizona woman is still missing after being swept away at Utah’s Zion National Park three days ago as flooding surged through the southwestern United States and imperiled tourists visiting the region’s scenic parks.

Death Valley National Park’s most popular sites will reopen to the public on Saturday, two weeks after massive flash-flooding.

Yellowstone National Park officials say part of a foot found in a hot spring this week is believed to be linked to a July 31 death.

Yellowstone National Park officials are investigating after an employee spotted part of a foot, in a shoe, floating in a hot spring in the southern part of the park.

Authorities say a main roadway into Death Valley National Park will remain closed into next week as crews clean up after record-breaking rains damaged the roadway and choked it with mud, rocks and debris.

Hundreds of hotel guests trapped by flash flooding at Death Valley National Park were able to drive out after crews cleared a path for them.

Flash flooding triggered by heavy rainfall forced has officials to close all roads in and out of Death Valley National Park near the California-Nevada line Friday.

Officials have closed some roads in and out of Death Valley National Park after they were inundated over the weekend with mud and debris caused by by flash flooding.

A 46-acre wildfire that started Sunday afternoon is now contained, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

California firefighters have gained ground against a wildfire that poses a threat to a famous grove of giant sequoias and a small community in Yosemite National Park.

Officials say part of Yosemite National Park has been closed as a wildfire rages near a grove of California’s famed giant sequoia trees.

Confirming their worst fears for record-low lake levels, National Park Service fisheries biologists have discovered that a non-native predator fish has made its way through Glen Canyon Dam to the lower Colorado River, where it can prey on ancient native fish they have been working to reestablish.

Flooding has wiped out roads and bridges and closed off all entrances to Yellowstone National Park at the onset of the busy summer tourist season.

On this first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, federal officials are announcing a new initiative to modernize building codes.

New Mexico 's governor says the state faces a long and potentially devastating wildfire season as Southwestern wildfires cause destruction and force people from their homes.

This past week, the Whitmer Administration announced that the National Parks Service and Michigan are partnering to promote accessibility to national parks.

On Tuesday, an announcement was made that some of Michigan’s oldest African American neighborhoods will be documented.

National Park Week is held every April, and what better excuse to check out mother nature than during this official charity week.

One of this year’s entrance fee-free days is coming up at our country’s National Parks, meaning if you want to visit, you won’t have to pay admission.

Two burial sites in Birmingham’s Greenwood Cemetery have been recognized by the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

A judge has restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. after they were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration.

A judge has restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. after they were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration.

A shuttered bowling alley at the center of a 1968 integration protest where state police killed three Black students is being remade into a civil rights center.

Montana wildlife commissioners are shutting down gray wolf hunting and trapping in areas bordering Yellowstone National Park amid criticism over 23 wolves being killed after roaming from the park in recent several months.

The gray wolf was removed from the endangered list in Michigan and now officials want to know if the public thinks it should be placed back on that list.

Sequoia National Park is reopening its Giant Forest area, three months after extraordinary efforts saved the grove as Northern California wildfires destroyed thousands of other redwoods.

Two mountain lion kittens that survived after a litter of four was found under a picnic table are being cared for at a California veterinary hospital.

National Park Service officials say dozen ancient alligator juniper trees have been illegally cut down in the El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency that oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks and other landmarks.

Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across North America around 23,000 years ago.

Here are this morning's top stories.

Officials have identified the two kayakers found dead along the coast of Lake Superior near Pictured Rocks in Northern Michigan last week.

The two kayakers who went missing in Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore have been identified as Troy resident Kimberly Aiello and David Delegato of Shelby Township.

As we inch closer to the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, it feels fitting that we’re seeing more and more tributes and events pop up to remember the day.

Wildfires burning in the U.S. this summer have upended plans for countless outdoor adventures.

A wildfire that’s burned about 200 acres on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has prompted the National Park Service to close some trails and campground areas on the wilderness island.

The National Park Service is pushing back against a Federal Aviation Administration report recommending approval of a launch pad for commercial rockets off the Georgia coast.

The water level at Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border has hit a historic low amid a climate change-fueled megadrought engulfing the U.S. West.

Federal wildlife officials have decided to list the Sierra Nevada red fox as an endangered species.

Officials have released the identity of a 21-year-old Lincoln Park man who died after falling from a cliff in the Miners Castle area in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Scientists say wolf pups have been spotted again at Isle Royale National Park.

The hiker, a woman from Ann Arbor, was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Medical Center in Idaho Falls after the incident, reported the Jackson Hole & Daily.

You’re never to young to save the planet and you’re never too old, either.

The family of a women’s rights activist from Uganda has sued the National Park Service after she was decapitated last year by a gate at Utah’s Arches National Park.

U.S. national parks have never been more popular than they are right now -- and some are requiring reservations just to get in.

A draft study says at least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoias were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year.

Rangers who keep an eye on North America’s highest mountain peak say impatient and inexperienced climbers are taking more risk this season.

Biologists studying Southern California bobcats found a mother and three kittens this spring in an unusual den in a cavity up in a tree in an area intensely burned by a huge 2018 wildfire west of Los Angeles.

A young alligator traced to the Louisiana bayous traded swamp scum for a sandy Padre Island beach in South Texas.

More than 45,000 people have applied for one of a dozen spots to help thin a herd of bison at Grand Canyon National Park.

A giant sequoia has been found smoldering and smoking in a part of Sequoia National Park that burned in one of California’s huge wildfires last year.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has sued the U.S. Department of Interior in an effort to see fireworks shot over Mount Rushmore on Independence Day.

Want to get outside? Or are you looking to plan a little getaway? The country’s national parks are incredible places to consider.

FILE - In this March 29, 2016, file photo, signs call attention to the house where slain African-American leader Malcolm X spent part of his childhood in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. According to the National Park Service the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2021. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)BOSTON – Malcolm X’s boyhood home in Boston was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The former Malcolm Little was a teenager in the 1940s when he came to live with his sister, Ella Little Collins. Little Collins, who was a civil rights organizer in her own right, became her brother’s legal guardian after his father died and his mother was institutionalized.

DETROIT – Five places in Detroit have been officially deemed historic for their role in the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement sought to demand equality for African Americans in the North as much as in the South,” said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Martha MacFarlane-Faes. “By listing these sites, the National Register recognizes Detroit’s significant role in the growth of the movement. Officials say these five sites now join nearly 2,000 existing historic sites in Michigan that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The newly-selected sites were chosen by a 14-person Civil Rights advisory committee comprised of local historians familiar with Detroit’s Black history, as well as staff members from the State Historic Preservation Office and Detroit’s Historic Designation Advisory Board, officials said.

Workers from the National Park Service clear snow and ice at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Washington. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the WHO, but Biden moved quickly after his inauguration last month to rejoin and confirmed that the U.S. would contribute to COVAX. AdThe $4 billion in U.S. funding was approved by Congress in December and will be distributed through 2022. In addition to discussing vaccine distribution, Biden also plans to use the meeting to discuss G-7 countries' collective competitiveness and economic challenges posed by China, according to the White House. Biden is also scheduled to deliver a virtual address to the Munich Security Conference on Friday before traveling to Michigan to visit Pfizer's vaccine manufacturing facility.

Workers from the National Park Service clear snow and ice at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Washington. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the WHO, but Biden moved quickly after his inauguration last month to rejoin and confirmed that the U.S. would contribute to COVAX. AdThe $4 billion in U.S. funding was approved by Congress in December and will be distributed through 2022. In addition to discussing vaccine distribution, Biden also plans to use the meeting to discuss G-7 countries' collective competitiveness and economic challenges posed by China, according to the White House. Biden is also scheduled to deliver a virtual address to the Munich Security Conference on Friday before traveling to Michigan to visit Pfizer's vaccine manufacturing facility.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Supporters of President Donald Trump are among a handful of groups that have applied for permits to hold protests during Joe Biden's inauguration. But it appears unlikely their application will be approved as the National Park Service greatly curtails protests as part of a major security lockdown. Among them, was a group called "Let America Hear Us, Roar For Trump." On Friday Jeff Reinbold, NPS superintendent for the National Mall, said the two approved groups had agreed to each keep their demonstrations below 100 people. The park service on Friday closed Washington’s National Mall to the general public until after Wednesday's inauguration.

Security surrounds the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Azar says he will resign at noon on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in. TSA is also providing officers to help the Secret Service screen people along the parade route and attending Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. Pence’s call comes less than a week before President-elect Joe Biden and Harris are set to take office. President Donald Trump hasn’t reached out to Biden and has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Biden’s win.

This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows Fort Yellowstone Cemetery, in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. A Utah man has pleaded guilty after authorities said he was caught digging in a Yellowstone National Park cemetery in search of hidden treasure. – A Utah man has pleaded guilty after authorities said he was caught digging in a Yellowstone National Park cemetery in search of hidden treasure. Craythorn caused more than $1,000 in damage by digging in the Fort Yellowstone Cemetery between Oct. 1, 2019, and May 24, 2020, prosecutors alleged. Several people seeking the treasure had to be rescued from precarious situations and as many as six died.

In this photo provided by the National Park Service, people watch an eruption from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on the Big Island on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. In the first hours of the eruption, lava mixed rapidly with water in the summit's crater lake to create steam. The water was the first ever recorded in the summit crater of Kilauea volcano. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said in a telephone interview that the volcanic activity is a risk to people in the park and that caution is needed. Last night's eruption was contained to the summit caldera within the national park.

A U.S. Navy sailor plays taps in front of the USS Missouri during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Officials gathered in Pearl Harbor to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack, but public health measures adopted because of the coronavirus pandemic meant no survivors were present. The military broadcast video of the ceremony live online for survivors and members of the public to watch from afar. The Arizona today lies at the bottom of the harbor, where it sank shortly being hit by two bombs. Warren Upton, a 101-year-old who served on the USS Utah, understood why he could not attend in person this year.

The Wall of Names honor the 40 people killed in the crash of Flight 93. Both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in rural Pennsylvania where one of the hijacked planes crashed in a field. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, will attend Sept. 11 memorial ceremonies in New York this year. The 2,200-acre Flight 93 National Memorial marks the spot in rural Pennsylvania where the hijacked flight crashed, killing all 40 people on board. It's the second time Trump will mark Sept. 11 with a visit to the site.

Regardless of whether you’re aiming to visit one U.S. national park in your lifetime or your bucket list includes 10 of them, we have good news: Wednesday marks one of the free-entrance days, in honor of Veterans Day. is the last fee free day of 2020.https://t.co/UR6dHYdbDq — National Park Foundation (@NationalParkFdn) November 10, 2020All national parks will waive entrance fees. Some other free dates for 2020 included:Saturday, April 18 – First Day of National Park Week/National Junior Ranger DayTuesday, August 25 – National Park Service BirthdaySaturday, September 26 – National Public Lands DayWe’re still waiting on the free days of 2021 to be released. There are 419 National Park Service sites, and of those, 110 typically charge an entrance fee, with costs ranging from $5 to $35, the NPS said. Just be aware, the entrance-fee waiver for the free days don’t cover amenity or user fees for things like camping, boat launches, transportation or special tours.

(CNN) - Fat Bear week is here to remind us there's still good in the world. Alaska's brown bears are the largest brown bears and eat up to 90 pounds of food each day, including other smaller mammals, salmon, berries, flowers and herbs. It holds one of the largest concentration of brown bears in the world, according to the release. As a friendly reminder, the park said: "Fat bears only exist because of clean water and healthy ecosystems." As the sea ice melts and polar bears find themselves on land more often, they begin to compete with brown bears for food.

Cade Edmond Siemers told Park Rangers that he took a walk off the boardwalk without a flashlight and tripped into the thermal water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser, the NPS said in a statement. Siemers was able to walk back to Old Faithful Inn, where he was staying near the geyser, and call for help around midnight. Due to bad weather, the use of a life flight helicopter from Old Faithful was prohibited, the NPS said. The Old Faithful Geyser erupts every 51 to 120 minutes, according to the NPS. In June 2017, a North Carolina man suffered severe burns when he fell into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin north of the Old Faithful area.

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Officials say four gray wolves from Michigan's Upper Peninsula were transported for resettlement in Isle Royale National Park to help restore the predator species on the Lake Superior island chain, though one of them died shortly after arriving. The National Park Service said Friday that Isle Royale's wolf population is now 17. Superintendent Phyllis Green says obtaining animals from different places will prevent the inbreeding that nearly wiped out the population. One female died shortly afterward. A necropsy is planned but Green says the relocation is stressful for wolves.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CNN) - A mountain lion known for crossing the Los Angeles 405 freeway was struck and killed by a vehicle early Saturday morning, according to National Park Service (NPS) Ranger Ana Beatriz. The mountain lion known as P-61 lived in the Santa Monica mountains near the Sepulveda Pass, Beatriz said in a statement. City of Los Angeles Animal Control officer retrieved his body, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area said on Facebook. It appears he was trying to cross the 405 freeway, Beatriz said. Just months ago, he had successfully crossed that same freeway, the first time a GPS-collared mountain lion had done so over the course of the NPS's 17-year study of mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains, Beatriz said.

A rock broke off Cable Mountain, about an hour east of St. George in Zion National Park, and fell about 3,000 feet injuring three, the National Park Service said. Rock falls in Zion Nat'l Park, hurts 3 - Three people were injured after a "substantial" piece of rock fell in Utah's Zion National Park Saturday, according to a news release from the National Park Service. The park service said the rockfall occurred near the Weeping Rock Shuttle Stop just before 6 p.m., injuring three people and stranding several others. The rock broke off Cable Mountain, about an hour east of St. George in the state's southwest corner, and fell about 3,000 feet. A 14-year old girl was killed by a falling rocks in Montana's Glacier National Park earlier this month.

EMPIRE, Mich. - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan has welcomed its 50 millionth visitor. The National Park Service says other visitors applauded when Meghan Boertman entered Sleeping Bear's visitor center in Empire, west of Traverse City. Officials say the milestone comes a year ahead of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore's 50th anniversary. Visitor statistics are culled from road, visitor center and campground counters as well as North and South Manitou islands. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was recently named one of the best beaches in the country by Big 7 Travel.

The National Park Service has closed several portions of Indiana Dunes National Park after a chemical spill killed hundreds of fish in the area, according to a statement by Portage, Indiana, a nearby city. MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana (CNN) - The National Park Service has closed several portions of Indiana Dunes National Park after a chemical spill killed hundreds of fish in the area, according to a statement by Portage, Indiana, a nearby city. The spill occurred last week at the east branch of the Little Calumet River, about three miles upstream from Lake Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Park confirmed in a statement. The National Park Service has closed the Portage Lakefront, the Riverwalk beach area and waters out to 300 feet. "It's just horrible -- all these dead animals in here; all these dead fish.

Wildlife Conservation Society via CNN(CNN) - The National Park Service has released a guide to safely petting bison after recent dangerous encounters between tourists and the giant animals. Last month, a bison gored a teenager at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. A few days earlier, a 9-year-old girl was hurt at Yellowstone National Park when a bison charged her and threw her in the air. The Park Service says visitors must give animals plenty of space. The National Park Service also warns against stopping in the road to admire a bison or other critter.

iStock/skibreck(CNN) - The US government might reintroduce the grizzly bear to the North Cascades area in northwest Washington and has re-opened the proposal for public comment. "There were some members of the public and elected officials that requested additional opportunity to comment on it," National Park Service spokeswoman Denise Shultz said. The proposal seeks to restore the grizzly population in the ecosystem to 200. The last time a grizzly bear was spotted on the US side of the North Cascade was in 1996, Shultz said. In the US, grizzly bears are active in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

- The Steamboat Geyser at Yellowstone National Park is no Old Faithful. We're just over halfway through 2019 and the Steamboat Geyser has already erupted 25 times, according to the US Geological Survey. The Steamboat Geyser erupted seven times just last month alone, the USGS said. Until 2018, the Steamboat Geyser had been mostly calm for about 15 years. Yellowstone National Park is home to about 10,000 hydrothermal features, including hot springs, geysers and mud pots, the National Park Service says.

Marc Piscotty/Getty Images(CNN) - The National Park Service will redirect nearly $2.5 million to help cover costs related to President Donald Trump's July 4 extravaganza in Washington, DC, money that is usually "primarily intended to improve parks across the country," The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The Post said the use of the funds was confirmed by two unnamed individuals familiar with the agreement. According to the Post, the $2.5 million redirected by the park service "represent just a fraction of the extra costs the government faces" for the event. This year's event, dubbed the "Salute to America" celebration, has been touted by Trump for several months. "The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth.

Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, on the third day of the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. They were used as Mission Control for the Gemini, Apollo, Apollo/Soyuz, Skylab and Space Shuttle program missions. Mission Control includes the Mission Operations Control Room. Just in time for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, the Apollo Mission Control Center has been restored. "By restoring the Apollo Mission Control Center, NASA is preserving the rich history of a remarkable achievement in human spaceflight," said Restoration Project Manager Jim Thornton.