The National Park Service is facing a water conundrum: some parks have too little, some parks have too much. While an historic drought continues to parch much of the Western United States, a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association predicts that sea levels across the United States will rise, on average, 10-12 inches by 2050. In other words, from Maine to Florida to Texas and all the way up to Alaska, there are more than 100 national park units threatened by the slow siege of rising coastlines.

As sprawling, mesmerizing, and intriguing as the U.S. National Park System is, it’s no surprise that it harbors a rich trove of stories and experiences. Stories about the scenery, the environment, the wildlife, the culture, and the history of the United States. Experiences such as hiking the Appalachian National Scenic Trail from end to end, paddling into the backcountry of Yellowstone Lake, standing in awe in the darkness of night while watching the flaming eruption of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater on the top of the Kīlauea at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

So far this year three houses have been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, polluting the seashore with construction materials, furnishings, sewage from septic tanks, and more. While more houses could be pulled down by the ocean, the National Park Service is searching for a solution but has yet to order homeowners to relocate their houses before they collapse.

It's probably save to say that politics is not something most of the 300 million people who visit the National Park System each year think of when they’re planning their vacations, but politics can definitely impact those vacations.