Walter Gropius, founder of the influential German Bauhaus school of design, implored the managers of the brand new Cape Cod National Seashore to design facilities, such as visitor centers and bathhouses, with an innovative approach. Rustic cabin design found in Western national parks wouldn’t work here, but Modern design featuring modest scale and a light footprint on the land would.

As energy prices creep steadily higher, there's a growing segment of America that believes short-term relief can literally be tapped from fossil-fuel resources in the Western states. But many of those resources are found on public lands that buffer national parks, national wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas, and their development could have dire consequences for those landscapes.

If you went to Yellowstone National Park in June, you weren't alone. The park saw record visitation last month as more than 610,000 folks made their way to Yellowstone.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Pu'uhonau o Honaunau National Historical Park both celebrate birthdays in July. These two parks were renamed for cultural-political reasons, underscoring the importance of labels and the need to respect native peoples.