Another chapter -- and that's it, a chapter, not the end of the book -- in the at times bitter struggle over how to manage off-road vehicles in Cape Hatteras National Seashore comes to an end Tuesday when seashore officials close the comment period on their draft management plan.

National Park Service officials are warning that oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could come ashore on some parts of Gulf Islands National Seashore this weekend.

Let's see, Great Smoky Mountains? Check. Zion National Park? Check. Sequoia National Park? Check. Grand Teton National Park? Check. Yellowstone National Park? Check. Glacier National Park? Yep, it too will feature some traffic snarls due to road construction along the Going-to-the-Sun Road this spring and summer.

Since we're taking a look today at champion trees as recognized by the American Forests, it seems appropriate that we toss a bit more national park tree trivia your way. According to the folks at Yosemite National Park, the oldest known lodgepole pine in the United States is located just a bit east of Tuolumne.