Heather Hansen's Blog

Great news for an outstanding but often overlooked unit of the National Park Service– Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (NHP) in Ohio.

The Department of the Interior announced today that it has selected this group of ancient American Indian sites for nomination to the World Heritage List. That’s the list that recognizes cultural and natural sites of universal importance, like the Grand Canyon and the Galápagos.

I wrote this reflection about my time Hopewell a couple of years ago. It’s...

Now more than ever, our national parks need us! Some reasons to lend your voice to parks (call or email your representatives in Congress):

The size of some national monuments presently are slated to be drastically reduced; Air quality regulations are being stripped, threatening park ecosystems and the quality of visitors’ experiences; More wild lands than ever are being eyed for resource extraction.

From Denali to the Everglades, our national parks are the envy of the world. They are merely...

A century ago Congress created the National Park Service (NPS) “to conserve the scenery and natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein…” Back then there were 35 national parks and monuments, now there are over 400. These include, of course, Yellowstone and Yosemite, the so-called “natural” parks where the NPS is sworn to safeguard biodiversity, wild rivers, and carbon sinks (a.k.a. forests). They are America’s environmental legacy.

The NPS also has under its wing other types of par...

December 7 is my birthday and, though I came into the world more than three decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the first thing most Americans say when they hearthis fact is, “A day that will live in infamy.” My history nerdy-ness may be attributed in part to this association, as well as thefact I was a ‘national park kid’ soaking up events and people past around the country.

Most people think of national parks as Yosemite and Yellowstone but the 100-year-old National Park Service is al...

Long may we roam!

My most recent park adventure… the incomparable Glacier NP!

Find Your Park.

Buy the book! Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service.

By Heather Hansen,San Francisco Chronicle, August 21, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I hiked along Mills Creek inRocky Mountain National Parkin the direction of a pair of hidden alpine lakes. I’m from nearby Boulder, Colo., have been exploring the park for 14 years in every season, and generally avoid the spots mobbed in summer by “flatlanders” in search of their “high.” But a late start landed Juan and I mid-morning at the always-popular Bear Lake, where several trails branch out...

Maps! Sure, I use the digital kindbut, given the option, I preferthe wrinkly, coffee-stained paper versions. (Especially in national parks where I love to examine them in a tent by headlamp after dark.)

But there are times, say, in a stiff wind or when wanting to email someone about plans, that adigital version comes in handy. That’s wherenpmaps.com comes in. Itallows users to quickly find and download national park maps.The site now has nearly 1,200 free, high-res maps to choose from.

Even i...

July1776 was the month inwhich members of the Continental Congress (CC) voted for independence from Great Britain. Ever since we’ve been celebrating our reverse Brexit.

Test your knowledge of some of thecool thingsI learned at Independence Hall National Historic Parkabout the Fourth of July:

What was the real significance of July 4th?

The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2 but didn’t approve the Declaration of Independence until July 4.

How many people signed the Declarat...

The NPS isthe keeper of national memories. From the Minute ManNational Historical Park which explores the opening battle of the Revolutionary War to Gettysburg, the Vietnam Memorial and Pearl Harbor, those memories are of war.

On this Memorial Day during the NPS centennial year, I’m recalling all ofthosepowerful park units I’ve been to whichexplore the history of battles fought at home and aboard, and where visitors can contemplate the meaning of war, and the sacrifices of soldiers and the pe...

“I’ve seen the insides of a lot of national parks. I don’t just mean the good stuff: the herds of bison at Yellowstone making the ground tremble; the immense, lolling tongues of glaciers in Wrangell-St. Elias; the goose-bump-raising room imbued with the spirits of Franklin and Jefferson where our republic began…” READ MORE of Heather Hansen’s recentguest commentary in the Denver Post.

FindYourPark

Learn more about the amazing history of the NPS and U.S. conservation:Prophets and Moguls, Range...