As coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and more potent storms continue to risk the loss of beach houses at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, a new report suggests it would be much less costly to buy out the homeowners rather than investing in beach nourishment work.

In the beginning, national parks were mostly about scenery — not entirely because some early parks like Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, and Crater Lake featured unusual marvels of the natural world. But the focus was on scenic beauty and providing opportunities for visitors to enjoy it. From those earliest days wildlife, particularly big critters like bears and elk, were one of the attractions in some parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite where they were on “display” at, for instance, the Yellowstone garbage dumps. Wildlife protection was an afterthought if a thought at all in the establishment and management of national parks. George Melendez Wright changed this, at least for a while.

A 28-year-old Kansas woman died when she fell into the tight gorge cut by Avalanche Creek in Glacier National Park in Montana.

As days lengthen and temperatures rise, black bears in national parks all across the country begin to move around the forest in search of insects, nuts, and berries. But they also venture beyond the parks’ boundaries, making their way into gateway communities to look for food. In cities and towns surrounding popular destinations like Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this situation can pose a serious threat to bears and humans alike — increasing the need to educate park visitors of all ages on proper bear etiquette and food storage practices.