100 years strong
The National Park Service celebrated its 100th birthday Thursday with events across the United States, including a giant, living version of its emblem in Washington, a naturalization ceremony on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and an outdoor concert at
Living emblem
More than 1,000 children and adults used brown, green and white umbrellas to create a living version of the park service emblem on the National Mall, which the agency photographed from a helicopter. The emblem contains elements symbolizing the major facets of the national park system. A Sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, mountains and water represent scenery and recreation, and the arrowhead shape represents history and archaeology. The first 1,000 participants were allowed to keep their umbrellas and got T-shirts commemorating the event.
New monument
The park service’s newest national monument, Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine, was being readied t o welcome i t s f i r s t v i s i - tors after President Barack Obama used his executive authority to create it Wednesday. Donated by Burt’s Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby, the expanse features views of Mount Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine. Visitors are already allowed into the woods, which were open to the public before the designation. The monument’s creation was opposed by state lawmakers and critics who fear that it will hinder efforts to rebuild a forest-based economy in the region.
Nature intrudes
B o t h f i r e a n d i c e h i n - dered travel into Yellowstone National Park on the park service’s centennial anniversary. Authorities closed a portion of the popular Beartooth Highway to the park’s northeast entrance Wednesday night because of snow and ice from a summer storm, but the road reopened Thursday morning. At the other end of the park, a portion of the road leading to the south entrance remained closed because of a wildfire. Visitors heading to Thursday’s celebration and concert with Emmylou Harris and John Prine at the Roosevelt Arch from the south faced an hour-long detour into Idaho.
Climate change
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell hiked to see the stunni ng v i e w f ro m t he Hi dden Lake Overlook in Montana’s Glacier National Park and met with scientists to learn more about how climate change could cause the park’s glaciers to disappear as soon as 2030. Jewell said climate change is a concern for the future of other national parks from Alaska to the Florida Everglades.
Free admission
The park service is offering free admission to all sites through Sunday. They’re among 16 free days scheduled throughout the centennial year. Some parks are serving birthday cake and offering ranger talks, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Maryland offered free muledrawn boat rides Thursday.