Should national parks be opened to commercial "prospectors." Not mining prospectors, but rather modern-day scientists and researchers looking for, perhaps, a cure for cancer or maybe an industrial reagent? The National Park Service apparently believes so, as its final Environmental Impact Statement on "benefits-sharing agreements" with scientists supports such agreements.

Tower-Roosevelt might be viewed as one of the sleepier areas of Yellowstone National Park, but it's one rich in beauty and history and, since the late 1990s, has become somewhat of a magnet for wildlife viewers anxious to spot wolves. In developing a vision for the area, park officials are trying to contain development, although some argue they are not entirely succeeding.

How close did you pay attention to the landscape the last time you went for a hike in a national park? Did you notice the variety of trees or plants, the birds, the insects? Could you tell where there had been a fire or a flood? More subtly, could you see where the nutrient sinks in the ecosystem were? Most of us probably can't answer that last question, but researchers at Isle Royale National Park have uncovered some intriguing contributions to the park's biodiversity.