Top Stories | Public Parks

Aerial image of fissure 3 erupting on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa on December 8, 2022.

New evidence from the world’s largest active volcano could improve eruption predictions

November 14, 2024

Scientists studying the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii say new evidence reveals ways future eruptions might be predicted. Mauna Loa is known to be the world’s largest active volcano. […]

Hawaii park managers close popular area to protect native nēnē after two killed on Maui

November 14, 2024

Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park announced that they’ve closed a portion of the park to protect a single pair of nesting nēnē, a species of goose native to the islands. The news came shortly […]

Heritage Farm at General Coffee State Park, Georgia. Hurricane damage will see the park closed until January 1.

Southeast state parks still recovering from Hurricane Helene (update)

November 8, 2024

Dozens of American state parks in the US Southeast are still closed to the public weeks after Hurricane Helene swept through the region. Meanwhile, another hurricane threatens the Gulf of Mexico but may be moving […]

Annual global surface air temperature anomalies (°C) relative to 1850–1900 from 1940 to 2024. The estimate for 2024 is provisional and based on data from January to October. Data source: ERA5.

Hottest year on record but little hope of breakthrough at climate talks following Trump win

November 8, 2024

After losing soundly and decisively to Joe Biden in 2020, Donald Trump will return to the White House in 2025 as American voters have soured on the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, yet another round of international […]

Conservationists say governments in Australia aren't doing nearly enough to protect endangered koalas.

Koalas are being decimated by highway traffic

November 5, 2024

An endangered population of koalas is being decimated by speeding cars bisecting critical habitat in central Queensland, Australia, scientists are warning. Should the roadkill incidents continue unaba...

Microplastics are contaminating national parks’ alpine lakes

November 5, 2024

Microplastics can be found literally everywhere, including in the highest lakes far removed from major urban centers and industrial zones. That’s the conclusion to draw from new research out of a nati...

Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary includes sensitive habitats such as kelp forests, which store blue carbon and provide habitat for many endangered and threatened species.

New marine protected area formed off the coast of California

October 31, 2024

The United States has designated a new marine protected area found off its Pacific coastline in a bid to preserve ocean biodiversity. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) anno...

State parks still recovering from Hurricane Helene

October 28, 2024

Dozens of American state parks remain shuttered weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated vast swaths of the United States Southeast. The closures are in force in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, t...

An injured Sumatran tiger photographed by a camera trap.

Sumatra’s tigers are disappearing due to lack of protected habitat

October 25, 2024

Tigers on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia are disappearing due to an absence of conservation measures, ecologists are now warning. Ecologists surveying the population of tigers calling western Suma...

US state parks systems still reeling from inflation years, cost spikes

October 18, 2024

Inflation pressure in the United States has eased, but its impact on outdoor recreation lingers. A number of state park authorities across the US have confirmed to Public Parks that cost overruns are ...

The view from the summit of Mt. Philo State Park (the first park in the Vermont State Park system).

Celebrating 100 years, Vermont’s state park system ponders the future

October 18, 2024

Vermont’s legislature is poised to debate the future of Vermont State Parks as the system celebrates its 100th anniversary. Increasingly popular, Vermont’s network of 55 state parks finds itself at so...

A palm plantation in the middle of Colombia's Catatumbo rainforest.

Biodiversity crisis underscores the need for protected areas

October 18, 2024

Earth’s biodiversity has been decimated since the 1970s, a new study has revealed. The only thing that will save what’s left is the strong protection of more lands and waterways under strict conservat...