We are fortunate to have a creative bunch of folks that provide comments to the National Parks Traveler. Using our combined brain power, what do you think would be the best way to restore access to the crown of the Statue of Liberty? New stairs? An elevator? Provide very limited access? Provide no access? What is your opinion?

St. Louis wants to revitalize its waterfront area. A former senator has a plan, but the development of new attractions would have to be done on land currently managed by the National Park Service. The city wants the land back, but there isn't a lot of support for that idea outside of Missouri.

UPDATED: The United States Congress is mad at the National Park Service. Congress cannot figure out why the parks are not listening them, after they've been asked more than once by the House to open up the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Congress has given unsolicited money to Liberty to get it open, and there had been a campaign which raised millions from across the nation for the same purpose, but still, 6 years after it was closed, there remains no public access to the crown.

Among the 201 projects "certified" to meet the criteria for celebrating the National Park Service's centennial in 2016 is one to establish a dual-use, hiking and mountain biking trail in Big Bend National Park in Texas. What seems odd, though, is that this project made the list at a time when the Park Service is in the middle of a five-year study examining mountain bike use in the park system.