national parks

Anne Arundel County native Vince Vaise — best known by his fans as the ever-enthusiastic "Ranger Vince" — may no longer officially work in Baltimore after 27 years, but he can't stay away.

U.S. national parks are badly in need of repair

The nonprofit steward of Baltimore's tall ship Constellation has been awarded an $89,596 grant for the continuing preservation of the historic sloop-of-war.

You never know where some of the items we discard each day may show up. Often the plastic foam, plastic ware, bottles and other floating debris nestle in wetlands at Fort McHenry, disrupting the hundreds of animal species there.

March is a good month to think about the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Eastern Maryland, the first national park site named after an African American woman. Harriet was born in March, made up her mind to flee slavery in March and eventually died in March in 1913 at the age of 91. When we heard about the creation of the new park, we decided we wanted to find "Harriet" and headed down to the Eastern Shore fully aware that the new visitor center had barely broken

Police are investigating reports of gunfire near the National Security Agency's headquarters and one of the agency's buildings has been damaged, according to the National Parks Police.

Robert E. Shoemaker, a retired Towson University professor and accomplished philatelist, died Dec. 31 at the Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville following an illness. He was 75.

Dr. Charles R. Morrison, a former Polytechnic Institute teacher who later joined the faculty of what is now the Community College of Baltimore County at Catonsville, died Nov. 2 at the Little Sisters of the Poor-St. Martins Home in Catonsville. He was 84.

Hilton Area path only second in Maryland

Rachel Zuckerman, of Timonium, a geology student at Oberlin College, spent 15 days on St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, this summer to study a coral reef, which she will write about for her senior thesis.

A reproduction historic cannon backfired at Fort McHenry during the recent Star-Spangled Banner bicentennial celebrations, injuring a member of the cannon crew, according to the National Park Service.

To mark the 98th anniversary of its creation, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees for the day on Aug. 25. Of course, only 133 of the country's 401 national parks usually charge admission anyway.

The University of Maryland Extension — Howard County is coming to your rescue with "Grow It, Eat It, Preserve It" workshops. The Aug. 11 session from 10 a.m. to noon tells, "What to do with all those tomatoes."

Westminster ends National Park and Recreation Month with artful goodbye

Attendance at Maryland's national parks, including at Baltimore's Ft. McHenry, dropped in 2013, thanks in part to a shutdown of the federal government that closed the parks, officials said.

Baltimore County officials unveile new app at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Oella.

The 150th anniversary of Major Harry Gilmor's "Great Train Raid" of the Civil War will be remembered with a bus tour retracing his route from Towson to Aberdeen.

For as long as anyone can remember, wild orchids have rewarded sharp-eyed hikers in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains with pink, yellow and white blooms peeping from the forest floor. But these "secret beauties," as one researcher dubbed them, are vanishing at an alarming rate.

Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville marks the 200th anniversary of the day the Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key.

Officers Heidi Greenleaf and Jerome Janos, members of the Environmental Police Division of Baltimore City's Department of Public Works, received lifesaving awards for saving two girls from drowning at Loch Raven Reservoir last summer during a ceremony May 29. It is the first time such an honor has been given, according to Luke Brackett, chief of the Environmental Police Division.

Melvin Ray Harris, a long-time employee of the United States Information Agency whose love of the outdoors led to stints with the National Park Service and as a volunteer at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and the National Aquarium, died May 24.

A report released Tuesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists says historic Annapolis, the Naval Academy and the new Harriet Tubman national monument in low-lying Dorchester County are among dozens of historic sites nationwide at risk from rising sea level, flooding and worsening wildfires as the climate changes.

On Monday, 994 days since an earthquake shook the Washington Monument from top to bottom, the marble-and-granite national landmark reopens to the public.

To combat pollution plaguing the marsh habitat, about 250 volunteers picked up trash, dredged debris, planted trees and tended the wetland's gardens Saturday as part of a cleanup event hosted by the aquarium and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Visitors can book overnight lodging in restored lockhouses

Maryland's largest national park

Almost 7 million people visited national parks in Maryland in 2012, generating some $217.2 million in spending and 2,770 jobs, according to the National Park Service.

Fred Lazarus, MICA president travels to Guatemala

Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Jim Moran pledge to protect the Endangered Species Act, which turns 40 on Saturday.

President Barack Obama used a speech Thursday in Maryland to lay blame for the government shutdown squarely on House Speaker John A. Boehner and warned that the economic consequences of Washington's latest budget battle would soon grow more severe.

Effects of the partial federal government shutdown Tuesday were felt across Maryland, home to 300,000 federal workers, more government contractors, and several agencies.

The shutdown of the federal government means that our national parks -- including Yosemite -- are being closed today. Ironically, the closing of the awe-inspiring California park comes as it celebrates its 123rd anniversary, which is noted in today's Google Doodle.

Federal government shutdown closes Catoctin Park

WASHINGTON — Thousands of workers at federal agencies based in Maryland would be furloughed and their work put on hold if Congress fails to reach an agreement in coming days to fund the government, a series of agency reports released by the Obama administration Friday show.

Geese Police of Maryland is in the first week of their new year-long $19,020 contract at Fort McHenry, as the historic site fights a continuing battle with Canada geese — both migratory and Maryland populations — or more specifically, their droppings.

Harford County wants to buy seven waterfront parcels in Havre de Grace to build the trail head for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

Rep. Donna Edwards, the Prince George's County lawmaker and top-ranking Democrat on the House Space Subcommittee, has introduced legislation that would establish a national park on the surface of the moon to commemorate NASA's Apollo program.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards has introduced legislation that would establish a national historic park on the surface of the moon to commemorate the Apollo lunar landings.

Data complied by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, found a 43 percent jump in violent incidents against Park Police in 2012. The 100 recorded cases were the most since the advocacy group began tracking such data in 1995.

Statue of Liberty reopens