California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is investigating the suspicious death of one of the last remaining male mountain lions in an important National Park Service (NPS) wildlife study. The 7-year-old animal, dubbed P-15, was discovered on September 11. Officials say he did not die of natural causes. more ›

Off the 101 Freeway in Central California is one of the older National Park Service units. In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt named 2,500 acres of the Gabilan Mountains, made up of "rock spires and crags that are remnants of an ancient volcano," as the Park Service puts it. Today, Pinnacles National Monument is 26,000 acres and there's a campaign to designated it as a National Park. more ›

A litter of three mountain lion kittens were born late last month and a new adult mountain lion living locally has been discovered, the National Park Service has announced. Since 2002, biologists having been tracking and studying the movements of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains to better understand how they live surrounded by development. more ›

So you've gone to Coachella, but why head back to Los Angeles so soon? April 17th to 25th is National Park Week, meaning entrance fees are waived. April is the park's busiest month and also a great time to check out wildflowers. “The desert is at its best for the next few weeks,” said Park Superintendent Curt Sauer. more ›

The endangered California Condor has faced some tough times, but it appears to be making a slow, yet strong comeback. Once down to a known-population of 22 in the 1980s, current counts have them at 348 today with more than half living in the wild. However, that number could soon grow to 349. more ›

Joshua Tree, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Death Valley. These National Parks have captured the hearts of Californians and millions of others. Channel Islands, Mojave, Pinnacles, Cabrillo. They're lesser known in Southern and Central California, but sometimes just as beautiful, if not equally. And closer to home here in Los Angeles and heading west into Ventura County are a collection of National Park units hardly spoken about by the millions who live here (and will not be talked about in Ken Burns' 12-hour epic documentary, which debuted last night on PBS). more ›

The Los Angeles region could get another National Recreation Area congressional designation under a study that is proposing three different concepts for the San Gabriel watershed and mountains. Congress directed the National Parks Service to study and evaluate resources in a large area from the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys down to the Orange County border. No, it doesn't mean we'd be within minutes of a new National Park in the traditional sense--Yosemite, Joshua Tree--but it could mean better managed cultural sites or new trails and protected open spaces. more ›

"We're not a travelogue, we're not a nature fim, we're not a recomendation on which lodge to stay in. It's the story how this place got started," a zealous Ken Burns said of his upcoming twelve hour documentary on the National Parks. He and his crew have spent what many dream about: six years of traveling the country from National Park to National Park exploring some of the country's most beautiful and historically and culturally significant places. more ›

When National Park Service employees in Thousand Oaks yesterday morning checked on the mountain lions they monitor via GPS in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, they discovered that one of them visited an unusual location. On Wednesday night, one was in the vicinity of the 405 Freeway and the Skirball Museum. more ›

Locally, we've got trails maintained by the city, county and state governments. But one of the lesser known functions of the National Park Service is their National Trails System, which self described as "the network of scenic, historic, and recreation trails created by the National Trails System Act of 1968." more ›

For twenty-four hours starting tomorrow at noon, 120 scientists, 1,400 LAUSD students and community members will embark on the 2nd National Geographic BioBlitz in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area (though some say it's essentially a National Park), which stretches from the ocean to Cahuenga Pass at the 101 Freeway. Together they will comb the area, as well as Griffith Park, observing and recording as many plant and animal species as possible in 24 hours. Think of it as part scientific endeavor, part festival and part outdoor classroom. more ›