Sam Hill

Portland

Contributing Parks Editor at SFGate

Journalist at Freelance

gaming evergreen editor @digitaltrends

Articles

'Someone did this': Mount Rainier railroad alleges arson after bridge burns

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

A wooden trestle bridge on the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad has been destroyed in an alleged arson, putting the future of the railway’s plans to expand in jeopardy. The fire destroyed a 28-span bridge between the small towns of Mineral and Morton, Washington, on the evening of April 30. Fire crews responded to the blaze in less than an hour but, by then, “the damage was done,” the railroad said on its Facebook page.
Calif. congressman: Trump admin wants to monetize, privatize national parks

2 weeks ago | sacbee.com | Sam Hill

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, laid into President Donald Trump in a recent podcast appearance, criticizing his administration's turbulent management of federal lands, downsizing of staff at national parks and weakening of the Endangered Species Act, among other executive actions. "I think it's chaos, in a nutshell," Huffman said of the Trump administration's endgame on the National Parks Traveler podcast.
Calif. congressman: Trump admin wants to monetize, privatize national parks

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, laid into President Donald Trump in a recent podcast appearance, criticizing his administration’s turbulent management of federal lands, downsizing of staff at national parks and weakening of the Endangered Species Act, among other executive actions. “I think it’s chaos, in a nutshell,” Huffman said of the Trump administration’s endgame on the National Parks Traveler podcast.
After decades in storage, fossilized tracks unlock ancient secrets in Oregon

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Paleontologists at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, a nearly 14,000-acre, federally protected area in central Oregon, have been uncovering and analyzing fossilized bones and teeth for decades. But new research on fossilized footprints recently unlocked a greater understanding of the ancient creatures that inhabited the region up to 50 million years ago.
Access to part of Mount Rainier National Park might be closed forever

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The permanent closure of the Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge follows a recent inspection revealing substantial deterioration of the bridge’s steel supports, which had prompted a temporary closure on April 14. Officials decided to shut the bridge down for good Tuesday after engineers analyzed the extent of the damage. “It’s very apparent from the visual changes in the columns that the bridge is no longer safe to use,” Olympic Region Administrator Steve Roark said in a news release.
'Dire situation': Nonprofit sues to protect species only found in Crater Lake

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The Mazama newts are a unique subspecies of newts. They evolved over hundreds of years in Oregon’s Crater Lake after being cut off from tributaries, and can’t be found anywhere else in the world as a result. They were once the top aquatic predators in the crystal clear waters of Crater Lake National Park, until a singular decision made by the National Park Service over a hundred years ago sent their population into a centurylong freefall that now has them slowly headed toward possible extinction.
The 'quieter side' of Mount Rainier National Park has closed indefinitely

4 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

“There is no funding available to replace the bridge at this point,” Mitchell wrote. “Years of deferred preservation work due to limited preservation funding resulted in the updated weight restrictions and now the indefinite closure.”According to a June 2024 report from the department, approximately 8.1 million square feet of steel on state-owned bridges was either due or past due for painting, a 22.7% increase from 2023.
'Rescue is not guaranteed': Multiple incidents in national park lead to warning

4 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

In early March, a 30-year-old female skier was injured in Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park while skiing Panorama Point at an elevation of about 6,000 feet, and later rescued by a team of park rangers and Mount Rainier Nordic Patrol volunteers. On the same day, a 62-year-old male snowshoer sustained injuries at around 9,600 feet while trekking alone toward Camp Muir. Two climbing rangers endured winds exceeding 60 mph and freezing temperatures while rescuing the man as the sun went down.
They planned to fly grizzly bears into North Cascades National Park. Then Trump happened.

1 month ago | sanluisobispo.com | Sam Hill

Grizzly bears roamed the North Cascades region for thousands of years, digging for roots and wild berries, occasionally hunting small mammals and keeping the alpine ecosystem balanced. It's been nearly 30 years since the last confirmed grizzly bear sighting in the U.S. portion of the mountain range, though. In the 19th and 20th centuries, settlers moving west hunted the region's population, leaving it hanging by a thread.
Grizzly bear repopulation in North Cascades stalled by Trump admin

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

After decades of efforts to get a grizzly reintroduction plan rolling, a big announcement came in 2024: Grizzly bears were coming back to the North Cascades. The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released a joint plan to move up to seven grizzly bears annually from Canada or the Rockies to a remote portion of the North Cascades in the U.S., with the goal of establishing a population of 25 bears.