Some readers may remember that a small team of NPCA employees put together a Peep diorama last year modeled after one of our nation’s most iconic parks–”Mount Peepmore.” The piece was selected as a semifinalist and displayed among the year’s best entries in a month-long annual art exhibit known as Artomatic. A number of NPCA staff proudly attended the opening reception and saw our interpretation of these four iconic presidential faces memorialized with beaks and bunny ears. It was moving.

This year, an even larger team contributed to another innovative theme, commemorating 2013 as the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as well as the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. “By the Peeple. For the Peeple. All Peeps Created Equal,” the piece reads, framed in red, white, and blue. Nick Lund, Lance Speidell, Elizabeth Anderson, Brynne Mason, Christina Kamrath, Madeline Morales, Krissy Conway, Megan Cantrell, Michael Whybrew, Madeleine Starkey, Ed Stierli, Emily Brown, Sara Conner, Jeffery Billington, Jennifer Cole, and Liz Ackley all helped in putting the ambitious project together.

Sadly, the diorama was not selected as a winner this year–but the great theme of pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple bunnies and chicks standing side by side as equals is a timeless one worth sharing!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Most of these new discoveries belong to the part of the animal kingdom that I refer to as “crawly things.” Park tourists may perk up when a photogenic deer or raccoon wanders by, but a wealth of ecologically significant spiders, moths, bacteria, and slime-molds have flitted and squirmed through the region year after year in relative obscurity—until now. Even as visitors thrill at the sight of black bears in Catalooche Valley and wild turkeys at Cade’s Cove, these researchers have been hard at work categorizing the smaller, more populous lifeforms teeming in leaf piles and puddles, just out of view.

Perhaps one of the most interesting new creatures found at Great Smoky Mountains is the arthropod formally known as Cosberella lamar alexanderi, pictured above. Dr. Earnest Bernard discovered this new species of springtail in 2006 and named it after Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander in recognition of the congressman’s history of support for the park. The insect’s colorful markings reminded Bernard of the red plaid shirt Alexander famously wore while campaigning across the state when he ran for governor in the 1970s. Little did the politician know then how his outfit would come to be memorialized in the scientific world. See for yourself if you think there’s a resemblance.

Learn more about Discover Life in America’s work by checking out their upcoming conference next month in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Each month, NPCA puts together a slideshow exploring one of the 398 amazing places in our National Park System. To get the featured park delivered to your inbox each month, sign up for Park Lines, NPCA’s newsletter, at www.npca.org/join.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

The arch is known as a “pothole arch” because of the way it formed. Water pooled over time behind the arch, gradually carving out the formation from the soft sandstone. Enjoy Walt’s full, uncropped image below. 

You can share your favorite national park image or see some of the other photos and ideas people have posted using the “Shared Story” feature on NPCA’s website.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Earlier this month, more than 100 million acres of public land in Alaska shared one common anniversary: On December 2, Lake Clark, Kenai Fjords, and other parks and preserves established through the Alaskan National Interest Land Conservation Act, or ANILCA, turned 32 years old. This federal legislation created ten different national parks and expanded three others in America’s largest, wildest state, including:

• Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
• Denali National Park
• Gates Of The Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• Noatak National Preserve
• Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Although ANILCA was controversial when it passed–protesters burned President Carter in effigy and some residents engaged in acts of civil disobedience–this law is now recognized as one of the most significant land conservation measures in America’s history and an enormous contributor to Alaska’s tourist economy.

Here are just a few images of the vast natural wonders protected by ANILCA. Put on an extra sweater and enjoy!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

It was a hot day. Soaring temperatures meant we had to start early in the morning and quit around 11 a.m.–but even in that short window, we accomplished some impressive work. A coalition of agencies and nonprofits worked together to clear a road that connects the west side of Saguaro National Park with Ironwood Forest National Monument. We pulled out 270 bags, at an average of 30 pounds each, for a total of more than four tons of this invasive weed. 

This work is increasingly important as buffelgrass spreads throughout the Sonoran Desert. Not only does the grass suppress native plants, it also increases the chances that wildfires will spread and destroy large swaths of desert life. Some 2,000 acres of land inside Saguaro National Park are affected by the weed, threatening the fragile ecosystem, including the health of the park’s stately namesake cactus. 

Learn more about the fight to protect Saguaro National Park from buffelgrass with this informative Park Service fact sheet (PDF, 6.6 MB). NPCA also produced a podcast (listen here) that explains the wildfire risk buffelgrass presents to the area, and why it’s important to remove. If you live in the Tucson region and missed last weekend’s event, you can find more ways to get involved through the Friends of Saguaro National Park and Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center.

-Kevin Dahl, Arizona Program Manager

Today, Antietam National Battlefield is one of the best-preserved Civil War sites in the country, a place where visitors continue to honor the legacy of the soldiers who fought there. Earlier this month, park officials and partner groups held a four-day commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the battle filled with tours, speakers, ceremonies, family-oriented programs, and living history demonstrations that brought to life what conditions were like for soldiers of that time.

Learn more about this historic battlefield and other major Civil War sites protected by the Park Service. Many Civil War sites remain only partially preserved, and only 28% have national park protections. You can learn more and take action to save these important parts of American history.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Readers may remember the stunning photo by McDaniel showing an abundance of stars over Crater Lake that we featured here last month. Photographers can check out many more spectacular photos on his Flickr page, including this one, which looks even better at full size.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

If you liked this story, you might also like:

• Friday Photo: Stars Over Crater Lake (August 17, 2012)
• Friday Photo: Portrait of a Virgin Islands Sugar Plantation Worker (February 10, 2012)
• Headed to a Park with Your Camera? Read These Tips! (April 4, 2012)

By Meggan Haller, Keyhole Photo  

As a couple of photographers who love the outdoors, Jeff and I are always thrilled when we get an assignment for National Parks magazine, and our latest trip capturing the beauty of Florida’s beaches in the upcoming feature, “Coast to Coast,” was no exception. Photographing Gulf Islands National Seashore on the Gulf Coast, and Canaveral National Seashore on Florida’s Space Coast gave us the chance to explore paradise. We watched the sunrise over the water with early-rising fishermen, kayaked to a secluded campsite on Shipyard Island, and toured Kennedy Space Center. It was hard work.

But there’s a consensus between us that the highlight of our trip was the bobcat—and I say that with certainty, even though I never actually saw the creature. Something about an encounter with a wildcat (even a near-encounter in my case) served as a subtle reminder that we were in fact in the wild despite our close proximity to relatively tame Titusville, Florida. Cats aren’t like armadillos, or turtles, or even the alligators we commonly see dead-logging in the waters near our home in Mobile, Alabama. Normally, if they don’t want you to see them, you won’t. That’s why each time you catch a glimpse, you feel like you pulled off a magic trick, like you somehow made yourself appear out of nowhere to take the cat by surprise. Jeff pulled it off on the Cruickshank Trail at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, adjacent to Playalinda Beach entrance of Canaveral. I was a few steps behind and by the time I arrived, their staring contest was over. 

By coincidence, the only other time we’ve seen a bobcat in the wild was also at Canaveral National Seashore last year while watching the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. We only got a brief glimpse of the animal, but just knowing it was there, hunting in the saw palmetto dunes, provided an interesting counterpoint to the feat of human ingenuity we had come to watch. That’s what’s so cool about Canaveral—you can see some of America’s most primitive coastline and highest technological achievements in a single trip.

Watch Meggan and Jeff Haller’s video below and see more of their work in the fall issue of National Parks magazine, due out in September.

Last month, photographer Christopher C. McDaniel turned his camera upward, capturing how the park’s majestic sky can rival the beauty of its famous water. Thanks to McDaniel for sharing his image with us, which is even more beautiful at full size and definitely worth checking out on his Flickr page.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

If you liked this story, you might also like:

• Author Shares His Love for the Darkest Skies and Most Brilliant Stars (May 30, 2012)
• Friday Photo: Billions of Stars on View in the Lone Star State (February 17, 2012)
• Headed to a Park with Your Camera? Read These Tips! (April 4, 2012)