Natural Bridge, one of the iconic and historic sites in the United States, and 1343 surrounding acres will become the 37th Virginia State Park during a public ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sept. 24.

US Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell has appointed David G. Brickley of Woodbridge and president of the September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance, to a five-year term as a member of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission.

People from across the county will have their first opportunity to discover, inspect and try out the new Prince William County Public Schools Aquatics Center at a free grand opening celebration, Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The new River Mill Park at the end of Mill Street in Occoquan will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, July 30, with a family friendly event from 10 a.m. to noon.

Prince William County's Department of Parks and Recreation is asking residents to take a one-question online survey by July 15 to assist in future planning of county parks and recreation services.

Some 604 acres of the 900-acre Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship land preserve, donated by the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation to the Old Dominion Land Conservancy, were acquired June 14 by Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The plan is to use the acreage located in western Loudoun County for a new Virginia State Park.

On the afternoon of Jan. 3, Karen Shumake, a senior park ranger with the Prince William County Department of Parks and Recreation Department, heard police dispatch go out about an injured hawk located at the intersection of U.S. 29 and University Blvd. Immediately, Shumake realized that she didn't have a safe way to safely capture the hawk that could do real damage with its beak and talons. Fortunately, she got some help from a passing motorist and Steven Neff, a county animal control officer.

George Liffert of Woodbridge a national park manager with 28 years’ experience and a former manager at Prince William Forest Park, has been tapped to lead Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, where he has been acting superintendent since June 2015. He will assume his role as superintendent immediately.