Curecanti National Recreation Area

Grand Canyon river photographer Ellsworth Kolb set out in 1916 to be the first to run the Gunnison through the Black Canyon for sport. Capsizes, dynamite, a broken kneecap, snow and a sunken boat later, he finished the job in 1917.

Nearly two decades of bird surveys across Colorado Plateau parks found 14 significant population trends — eight rising, six falling — and in 2023 added three species new to the program.