Preserving Pirate Parks

Learn about the development of Black post-emancipation schools in the South as part of the legacy of Black communities’ dedication and commitment to ensuring civil rights. Ten case studies highlight Reconstruction Era education stories and sites in and around national parks.

To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation.

To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation.

Archaeological digs took place in September, October and December of 2021 on the grounds of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Based on previous digs, this site was determined to be the location of a 1585 workshop used by metallurgist Joachim Gans and scientist Thomas Hariot.

Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas, both in present-day northeastern Florida, represent the best-preserved evidence of the Spanish Empire’s 287-year presence in southeastern North America. The oldest masonry fortification remaining in the continental United States, Castillo de San Marcos formed the core of a system of defenses. The fort landscapes reflect conventions of military engineering and the later changes and preservation efforts by the U.S. War Department.

The National Park Service will remove contaminated soils from the Maintenance area and a legacy unlined, unpermitted landfill at Caneel Bay Resort in Virgin Islands National Park.

The National Park Service will remove impediments and restore habitat for fish and aquatic organism passage within a dozen waterways at Cape Cod National Seashore and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

The National Park Service will control high priority populations of feral swine in Southeast Region parks. Staff and equipment will be deployed to priority sites to trap and remove, also known as dispatching, swine.

Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.

At 2:00 on Sunday, February 22, 2015, Biscayne National Park will host a talk by National Park Service researchers Dr. Erik Stabenau and Dr. David Rudnik titled Climate Change on the South Florida Coast: A Dialogue on Parks and Restoration.