What’s the value of a grizzly bear? For far more people than not, few things in this age of avatars surpass the thrill of seeing a grizzly bear family in its native element. The story of Jackson Hole grizzly No. 399, who emerged from the den this year with her second troop of triplet cubs in half a decade, speaks to another kind of worth. It says something about us.

Portugal can't quite count as many national parks as the United States, but its one park, is Peneda-Gerês, preserves both magnificent landscapes and a way of life long enjoyed in Pitõs das Júnias.

A rapidly spreading wildfire in northern New Mexico has forced the evacuation and closure of Bandelier National Monument. The fire began Sunday afternoon on private land near the Santa Fe National Forest about a dozen miles south of Los Alamos.

Though it's missing a Half Dome, the twin to the Yosemite Valley has been described by none other than John Muir as "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples.” But since 1923 the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park has been submerged, a victim of sorts to thirsty San Franciscans, but one that more than a few believe should be drained and brought back to life.