On a hot, humid New York City day in September 1983, Laurance S. Rockefeller signed away, for $1, a beautiful sweeping parcel of ocean-front land on the Caribbean island of St. John to the United States government for inclusion in Virgin Islands National Park. While he held back a resort complex on that land, he fully intended to transfer it to the park 40 years later. U.S. Rep. Stacy Plaskett is working to void Mr. Rockefeller's desire, for reasons she won't explain.

As my wife and I got out of our car in front of the visitor center at Colter Bay, we looked around the expansive parking lot to find--no one there. We were entirely alone at one of Grand Teton National Park's most popular summertime destinations. In just four months, hundreds of cars, trucks, and RVs will fill this and other lots at Signal Mountain, Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake lodges, but this was mid-week in February, and only the heated bathroom at the visitor center was open.

In case you find yourself in Hawai'i this weekend with some spare time, lend a hand to pull some invasive pine trees and other nonnative vegetation out of Haleakalā National Park.