Park visitors increase

THE national park system saw a 5% jump in visitors during the first half of 2004 -- but that doesn’t mean Americans are surging into the wilderness. National Park Service officials say sites in Washington, D.C., account for most of the increase, including the new World War II Memorial, which opened in May, drawing 1.2 million visitors that month and

1 million more in June.

Visits through June 30 were up 4.1% at Yosemite, 4% at Death Valley and flat at Joshua Tree. Overall, the park service reported 120.5 million visitors in the first six months of this year, up 5.7 million from the same period in 2003.

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-- Christopher Reynolds