It is hard to imagine at this point, but in just over a year, under a plan developed by Homeland Security, you may be asked to show a special federal identification to enter a national park. I can understand the security need behind having a passport to enter the country, and I can understand the need for important background checks before entering a nuclear facility, but needing the same federal security check to drive through a park? Absurd! -- Note: important update added to original story

A press release from Grand Teton National Park arrived in my in-box this morning, informing me that a 6-year-old female black bear had been put down because it had become habituated to human food. While the release gave a pretty good history of the bear's short life, it never mentioned how many tickets have been written to park visitors and employees for making food available to bears in the park.

It's one thing to visit the National Park Service's web site to learn about the national park system, and it's entirely another thing to enroll in a college course that takes you to school on the parks. That's just what Bob Janiskee does with his course on the national parks.

As worldwide demand for clean nuclear power increases, mining claims for uranium and other material have boomed in the western United States. Many of these claims are being staked very close to the sensitive areas just outside of national parks, places like the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Arches. This has led to a plea for updated mining laws, which in present condition have remained nearly unchanged since 1872.