Category Archives: National parks

Hadi Nazari: hiker missing in Kosciuszko national park since Boxing Day found alive

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Hadi Nazari, 23, found after going missing two weeks ago, discovered two muesli bars at a hut while lost, police say

A 23-year-old hiker missing since Boxing Day in the remote Kosciuszko national park has been found alive.

Hadi Nazari stumbled into the path of a group of hikers at about 3.15pm on Wednesday, on the circuit walk near Blue Lake, police said.

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Biden designates two new national monuments after advocacy from tribes

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Chuckwalla and Sáttítla monuments in California will be safeguarded against extraction and energy development

Joe Biden will designate two new national monuments in California in his last days in office, after tribes and environment groups asked him to take urgent action.

The designation of the Chuckwalla monument in southern California and the Sáttítla monument in the far north of the state will place 840,000 acres (339,935 hectares) of land under protection, shielding it from extraction and energy development.

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Man falls 20 metres to his death from cliff at national park in northern Sydney

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Body recovered from water after tragic accident near a picnic area on the Duckholes Trail in Ku-ring-gai Chase national park

An investigation is under way after a man fell from a cliff and died at Ku-ring-gai Chase national park in northern Sydney on Friday afternoon.

The man believed to be in his 40s reportedly fell 20 metres from a cliff at the Duckholes Trail, Terrey Hills, into the water below.

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Missing hiker found in wilderness in Tasmania’s far west

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Man in his 50s was reported missing on Thursday night when he failed to return after attempting a walk from Cockle Creek, on the South Coast Track

Police have located an interstate hiker who went missing while attempting a solo walk in Tasmania’s far south-west.

The man, in his 50s, was reported missing on Thursday night when he failed to return after he was last seen attempting a walk from Cockle Creek on the South Coast Track.

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Searchers find hiking poles of man missing for a week in Kosciuszko national park

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Hadi Nazari, 23, last seen on Boxing Day descending the challenging Hannels Spur track

Hopes are dwindling that a missing hiker will be found alive as experts warn of the rough terrain and scarce water availability.

The 23-year-old hiker, Hadi Nazari, was descending a challenging trail in the Kosciuszko national park about 2.30pm on Boxing Day when he was last seen by friends, who raised the alarm when he did not arrive at the campground where they arranged to meet.

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England’s national parks facing financial peril due to budget cuts, say CEOs

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Exclusive: Leaders warn cost savings will lead to mass redundancies and that spaces could become ‘paper parks’

England’s national parks face a 12% real-terms cut to their budget which would lead to mass redundancies of wardens and the closure of visitor centres and other facilities, park leaders have warned.

The chief executives told the Guardian that soon the spaces would become “paper parks” designated by a “brown sign on the motorway” and they will have to “turn the lights off, close the doors and put up closed signs” if the cuts go ahead.

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Houses in national parks in England and Wales sell for 25% more, study finds

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Nationwide says New Forest is most expensive national park with an average property price of £576,000

Buying a home in a national park comes at a 25% price premium, with the New Forest the most expensive of the 13 parks in England and Wales, according to Britain’s biggest building society.

Nationwide said properties in a national park enjoy a valuation almost £67,000 more than a similar property elsewhere, based on the average UK house price of £266,640.

New Forest – £576,000

South Downs – £400,000

Peak District – £375,000

Yorkshire Dales – £353,000

Lake District – £333,000

Dartmoor – £310,000

Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) – £274,000

Eryri (Snowdonia) – £173,000

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Plans for a new national park in Wales met with opposition from local residents

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A proposal to protect part of rural Wales has sparked a furious debate over who the countryside is for

Plans to create a new Welsh national park stretching from the dunes of north-east Wales to the wild Berwyn mountains and the peaceful, wooded slopes of Lake Vyrnwy further south have captured the imagination of many ramblers, cyclists and other outdoor lovers.

But the Welsh government’s proposals to improve access to nature have been dismissed by an opposition group as creating “a play area for townies”, sparking a furious debate about who the countryside is for.

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‘Ambassador’ grizzly bear dies after being hit by car in Wyoming

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Grizzly No 399 was at least 28 years old and beloved by many in Grand Teton national park

A famous grizzly bear beloved for decades by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton national park is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No 399 died on Tuesday night on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Parks Australia ordered to pay $200,000 fine for disturbing sacred site in Kakadu national park

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Judge finds ‘reliance of trust’ breached when Parks Australia built walkway near rock art without permission

A landmark case has resulted in Parks Australia having to pay more than $700,000 in fines and compensation after pleading guilty to disturbing a sacred site in Kakadu national park.

Sitting by Gunlom Falls on Wednesday, Judge Elizabeth Morris ordered Parks Australia to pay a $200,000 fine for building a walkway near rock art without permission from the sacred sites watchdog, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.

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If Trump wins the election, US parks and wildlife will face a new age of mining

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Intense heat in the north, epic rains in Miami, fires in New Mexico and California. Trump plans for ‘energy dominance’, removing protection from mining and drilling on public lands



This article was produced in partnership with the non-profit newsroom Type Investigations, with support from the Wayne Barrett Project.

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Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plan rejected after fierce opposition

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Proposal for mega-resort on Lomond Banks turned down over concerns including loss of ancient woodland

Proposals by the theme park operator Flamingo Land to build a mega-resort on one of Scotland’s best-loved shorelines, on Loch Lomond, have been rejected, prompting celebrations among local people at the conclusion of a “David and Goliath” planning battle.

The Lomond Banks development, which would have included two hotels, more than 100 lodges, a waterpark and a monorail, had encountered fierce opposition, first from the village of Balloch, on the south-west shore of the loch, and then across Scotland, since it was first proposed in 2018.

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How national parks failed nature – and how to fix them

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The image of huge, glorious landscapes, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state, is far from reality

What do you think of when you think of a national park? Is it a wide area of glorious natural beauty, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state? Or is it a wide area mostly farmed by private landowners, in which nature is faring worse than outside its boundaries, and largely off-limits to the public?

In England, the reality is the latter, and this matters. The country is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world, in the bottom 10% of nations for biodiversity. “Nature is in freefall in our national parks,” says Dr Rose O’Neill, the chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks (CNP).

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US national park service to receive $100m in largest grant in its history

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Donation from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment will be used across country’s more than 400 national park sites

The official non-profit organization of the US national park service is set to receive the largest grant in its history, a $100m gift the fundraising group described as transformative for the country’s national parks.

The National Park Foundation, which Congress created in the 1960s to support national parks, will receive the donation from the Indianapolis-based foundation Lilly Endowment Inc. The park foundation described the gift on Monday as the largest grant in history benefiting US national parks.

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Search continues for Arizona woman missing after Grand Canyon flash flood

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Park officials say Chenoa Nickerson, 33, who wasn’t wearing a life vest, was swept into Havasu Creek last week

Search crews were combing the Colorado River at Grand Canyon national park again Sunday for an Arizona woman missing after a flash flood days earlier.

National park service officials said Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was swept into Havasu Creek above the Colorado River confluence about 1.30pm Thursday. She wasn’t wearing a lifejacket.

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Utah’s famed ‘Double Arch’ geographical feature collapses

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Park rangers suspect changing water levels and erosion to blame for the collapse of the popular tourist attraction

A large geological feature in southern Utah known as the “Double Arch”, the “Hole in the Roof” and sometimes the “Toilet Bowl” has collapsed, National Park Service officials said on Friday. No injuries were reported.

The popular arch in the Glen Canyon national recreation area fell on Thursday, and park rangers suspect changing water levels and erosion from waves in Lake Powell contributed to its demise.

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Body of man who drowned in Montana national park may have been found

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Glacier national park rangers believe they have recovered remains of Siddhant Vitthal Patil, who fell into creek in July

Glacier national park rangers believe they have recovered the body of a man who drowned over the July 4 weekend, park officials in Montana said.

Siddhant Vitthal Patil, 26, of India fell into Avalanche Creek on 6 July, but the creek was running too fast to recover his body.

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Yellowstone gunman told woman held at gunpoint he planned mass shooting, park officials say

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Rangers fatally shot Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, when he fired at a dining facility with nearly 200 people inside

A gunman killed by Yellowstone national park rangers, as he fired a semiautomatic rifle at the entrance of a dining facility with about 200 people inside, had told a woman he had held at gunpoint earlier that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, park officials said Tuesday.

Park rangers shot and killed the man during the attack Thursday morning. Yellowstone officials identified the lone shooter Tuesday as Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida.

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Motorcyclist dies from heat exposure in Death Valley as temperature reaches 128F

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Another visitor in same motorcycle group hospitalized for ‘severe heat illness’ as other four members treated at scene

A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.

The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.

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Rare white buffalo sacred to Lakota not seen in Yellowstone since birth

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Park staff say they have not been able to locate calf, who fulfilled Lakota prophecy and is named Wakan Gli

A rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone national park has not been seen since its birth on 4 June, according to park officials.

In a statement released on Friday, the National Park Service (NPS) confirmed that a white buffalo calf was born in Lamar Valley earlier this month, adding that the park’s buffalo management team had received numerous reports of the calf on 4 June from park visitors, professional wildlife watchers, commercial guides and researchers.

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