It's fall. There's a crispness in the air, trees are painting the landscape with their colorful leaves, elk are in the rut. And in some national parks, hunters are being dispatched to tamp down those elk populations. Is that the right way to approach wildlife management in the National Park System?

How to get today's youth into the out-of-doors has been a hot topic just about ever since Richard Louv wrote Last Child in the Woods. In Wyoming, the folks at the Teton Science School have come upon a novel approach -- they're hosting the First Wyoming Youth Congress on Children and Nature and inviting students from all 48 of the state's school districts.

If it seemed a bit crowded during your visit to Yellowstone National Park this year, well, that's because it was. Park officials announced Tuesday that 2009 visitation has eclipsed 3 million and seems likely to set an annual visitation record.

Infrastructure (n.) The underlying framework of an enterprise.