January/February 2003 
The Benefits of Beavers
Considered functionally extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, beavers have made a dramatic comeback across the United States and Canada—good news for beavers as well as other species. The large industrious rodents create wetlands and marshy areas that provide habitat for hundreds of species.
By Todd Wilkinson
Wilderness Homeland
Eighty percent of 8.4-million-acre Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is designated wilderness—a wilderness where animals and indigenous people have co-existed for thousands of years. Ensuring that both the park's wild character and its indigenous people's use of park resources remains compatible with wilderness preservation is a major challenge facing the Park Service.
By Bill Sherwonit
March/April 2003
The Riddle of Ridleys
Kemp's ridley sea turtles are making a comeback at Padre Island National Seashore, but these endangered turtles face a whole new generation of threats, including oil and gas development both inside and outside the park.
By Todd Wilkinson
Special Report
Water-draining golf courses, chronic underfunding, and air pollution land some of America's national parks on NPCA's Ten Most Endangered List.
By Kate Himot
May/June 2003
A Mountain's Majesty
Thousands of people are drawn to Mount Rainier as a recreational destination and as a place to live near. That attraction may be placing both the mountain and the people in harm's way.
By David Williams
Desert Protection: Reality or Mirage?
It has been ten years since legislation was passed to protect millions of acres of California desert. Although the legislation has helped to protect these lands, they are increasingly challenged by two of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country: Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
By Helen Wagenvord
July/August 2003
Beyond Boundaries
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park presents management challenges for both the United States and Canada, among the most significant of which is how to manage for creatures that ignore the park's boundaries.
By Benjamin Long
When the Ships Come In
Park managers at Glacier Bay in Alaska are grappling with how to protect the world-class preserve and its wildlife while providing access to the creatures and landscape that thousands come to see each season.
By Jeffrey R. Richardson
September/October 2003
Protecting the Wolves of Denali
Denali National Park contains America's best-known and most frequently viewed wolves, and for the last decade, a growing number of people have sought greater protections for these animals.
By Bill Sherwonit
Thinning the Ranks
The Bush administration has proposed privatizing as many as 70 percent of all the jobs in the National Park Service-a move that could have a profound effect on the national parks.
By Todd Wilkinson
November/December 2003
In the Zone
Scientists believe marine reserves, or no-take zones, are key to replenishing dwindling fish populations and restoring damaged habitat. The success of a reserve at Channel Islands proves the point. Reserves are part of a growing trend in the national parks.
By Gerard Wright
The Long and Winding Road
A 60-year dispute over the proposed North Shore Road in the Great Smoky Mountains may finally be resolved.
By Kim A. O'Connell
