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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Once home to hundreds, Kentucky town was abandoned in 1962. Decades later, its residents' voices still echo from 'ghost' buildingsBlue Heron, Kentucky, once a bustling coal mining town, now stands as a silent monument. The Stearns Coal and Lumber Company operated mines...
Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave's hidden plumbing system allows rainwater to reach underground quickly through sinkholes, but these water routes can also carry sewage, chemicals and other pollutants into the caveKentucky’s Mammoth Cave has a vast underground water network fed by rainwater entering sinkholes and cracks in the limestone. The same rapi...
California beach closed after 58-foot fishing boat carrying 1,000 gallons of diesel runs aground at Point Reyes National Seashore - What we know so farA fishing vessel ran aground at Point Reyes National Seashore early Friday. Approximately one thousand gallons of diesel fuel were aboard t...
In 1862, silver transformed Aurora in Nevada Territory from a mining camp into a town of about 7,000 people; years later, only about 500 remained, and many mills had been dismantledOnce an empty expanse, Aurora surged into a thriving community of seven thousand within two short years, thanks to promising silver mines. ...
In 1883, an Iowa woman traveled alone to Alaska. She published its first travel guide and helped bring Washington’s famous cherry trees to AmericaEliza Ruhamah Scidmore was an Iowa-born writer and traveler who ventured to Alaska alone in 1883, documenting her journey through Southeast...
In 1968, a former mechanic built a cabin alone in the Alaskan wilderness; he stayed for over 30 years and left it to the National Park ServiceFor thirty years, Richard Proenneke thrived alone in the remote expanse of Alaska, mastering survival without any modern aids. His journals...
In 1950, an ex-US president bought 189-acre farm in Pennsylvania. 17 years later, he donated his only farm and home to American govt for publicAfter decades of military service and life in the public eye, former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower found the quiet countryside he had l...
In 1903, John Muir spent three nights camping with President Roosevelt in Yosemite; three years later, the valley and Mariposa Grove came under federal controlIn 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir shared an unforgettable camping experience in Yosemite. Over three nights, t...
In 1934, in America's strangest honeymoon, Arizona couple chose a roofless 900-year-old crumbling monument with snakes and scorpions as company. The famous couple later worked in 8 national monumentsIn 1934, Arizona newlyweds Sallie Pierce Brewer and Jim Brewer began their married life in one of America’s most unusual settings, the anci...
In 1960, a 11 year old visited Colorado National Park that changed her life. 19 years later, she began protecting America’s National Parks for 35 yearsConnie Lobdell Rudd transformed a childhood fascination with America’s national parks into an inspiring 35-year career with the National Pa...
In 1928, a US Navy personnel came to a California island and lived alone for 28 years as an unofficial caretaker. Today, a popular spot in the Channel Islands bears his nameRaymond LeDreau held the title of Anacapa Island's unofficial caretaker for nearly 3 decades. A Spanish-American War veteran, he endured de...
In 1969, a Vietnam veteran took a war reminder back home and kept it hidden. 42 years later, he returned them to put a man's soul to restIn 1969, an American Vietnam veteran took personal belongings from a fallen North Vietnamese soldier and kept them hidden for 42 years. On ...
In 2012, researchers began collecting dragonfly larvae to reveal mercury pollution in protected waters. 13 years later, 21,000 samples helped create a model that can estimate freshwater mercury risk without testing every waterwayDragonfly larvae data from thirteen years helped scientists develop a new mercury risk model. This model estimates freshwater mercury risk ...
World War Two memorial in Washington vandalised with bubbles and graffitiThe World War Two memorial in Washington was vandalised with soap and graffiti. Police and National Guard troops responded to the desecrate...
In 1977, this woman fought to stay in Rocky Mountain National Park. Years later, former US President allowed her to stay foreverA family's land dispute inside a national park led to government acquisition. Remarkably, a family member retained the right to lease it fo...
In 1995, at age 74, she was named California’s Woman of the Year. At age 86, she became a permanent NPS employee, carrying memories of Amelia Earhart's tragic loss and the 1944 Port Chicago disasterBetty Reid Soskin lived through some of America’s defining moments, remembering Amelia Earhart’s tragic disappearance and the 1944 Port Chi...
In 1870, he read about Crater Lake in Oregon in a newspaper containing his lunch. After 17 years of his tireless efforts to save America's deepest lake, it became a National ParkIn 1870, William Gladstone Steel came across a newspaper story about Crater Lake in Oregon while the paper was being used to wrap his lunch...
In 1939, Adolph Murie began following wolves across Denali; his landmark study challenged the belief that predators should be eliminatedAdolph Murie, a biologist, investigated Dall sheep decline in Mount McKinley National Park in 1939. He discovered that harsh winter conditi...
In 1922, biologist Olaus Murie entered the Alaskan wilderness to study caribou; his field research later influenced how Mount McKinley National Park managed predators and wildlifeOlaus Murie's early caribou studies provided crucial data for Mount McKinley National Park. His brother Adolph later researched wolves, inf...
From 1877, officials stocked over 33 million fish in Yosemite for anglers, altering fishless lakes and reducing habitat for native yellow-legged frogsYosemite's lakes, once fishless, received over 33 million stocked fish between 1877 and 1990. Introduced trout preyed on native species and...