The National Park Service more than a century ago was directed to manage national parks so as to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Today the agency in places seems to be losing the battle when it comes to plant and animal species considered either "threatened" or "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.

Is there anything wrong with a small bribe to get volunteers to lend a hand at Haleakalā National Park? Not when that bribe is an annual Hawai`i Tri-Park Pass and the payoff is fewer invasive plants in the park.

Have you visited Hawai'i National Park and gotten close to the Kīlauea Volcano, enjoyed Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park, climbed to the top of Lassen Peak in its namesake park, or hiked down to Crater Lake? If so, you've placed yourself in the midst of some of the country's most dangerous volcanoes in terms of the threats they pose, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Hurricane Lane was on course Wednesday to deliver a glancing blow, at least, to Hawaii, prompting Haleakalā National Park to close. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been mostly closed for months due to volcanic activity from the Kīlauea Volcano.