At issue is whether Inyo County, California, should be allowed to bulldoze roads in a portion of Death Valley that is designated wilderness. In agreeing to let the conservation groups intervene in the matter on behalf of the National Park Service, Judge Anthony Ishii wrote that the groups have a "significant protectable interest" in how the legal battle plays out.

What should the National Park Service do, if anything, with Angel's Landing in Zion National Park? This question arises every time there's a fatality, and rightly so. The recent death of Barry Goldstein has rekindled the debate, with at least one reader believing the Park Service should, in essence, certify the ability of hikers determined to reach the landing.

The USOC is focusing its power on an Olympic National Park ranger, demanding that he be careful with how he uses the world "Olympic." And it wants him to forget about trademarking his guidebook 'Best of the Olympic Peninsula'.