Most folks view Acadia National Park as a summertime destination, a place to head to to flee the Northeast's high heat and humidity in July and August to go in search of fresh lobster and popovers. It's a destination where you can relax in the pines listening to the crash of the surf. Clearly, that high season in the park has passed. But that doesn't mean Acadia is any less appealing during the winter.

A behind-the-scenes effort to both protect Harpers Ferry National Historical Park from neighboring development and obtain land for a Museum of the National Park Service has been pulled off.

In the wake of the uproar over hunting brown bears in Katmai National Preserve, does anyone care that Cape Cod National Seashore officials have cleared the way for pheasant or turkey hunts? Or is it only hunts involving charismatic mega-fauna that draw ire?

I grew up in New Jersey, so I have no qualms about questioning the efforts by the Garden State's congressional delegation to force the National Park Service to add a waterfall to its collection of sites. This is just the latest instance of politicians simply looking to bring the Park Service brand closer to home for economic benefits.