The National Park Service should strive to protect a critically endangered species, educate the public, and contribute to research into species such as the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, not diminish the Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Program at Padre Island National Seashore.

First it was the National Environmental Policy Act. Is the Endangered Species Act next?

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which works "to make energy development on public lands easier," should not ignore business sense, or its overall mission, at the same time.

During the past few months of watching the coronavirus pandemic roil the National Park System and those who love to visit it, a couple things have bubbled to the surface that the National Park Service should act on: Extend annual passes that are to run out in 2020 for two or three months, and make park reservations a norm where obviously necessary.

After seven years of intransigence by the private equity firm that controls the Caneel Bay Resort at Virgin Islands National Park, top Interior Department officials continue to hold out hope they can convince the firm to become an official park concessionaire in late 2023. They could likely speed that agreement on by beginning the process to find a concessionaire for the resort that currently is that in name only.

While we're spending National Park Week tyring to enjoy the parks virtually, we also need to spend time pondering the condition of the National Park System and asking what needs to be done to show we really believe the parks are America's Best Idea. Just saying those three words doesn't make it so.

There are two sides, at least, as to why Grand Canyon National Park remains open during the coronavirus pandemic, and history would point to the answer being Arizona's governor wants it open.

Knowledge, as they say, is power. And if you enjoy visiting national parks around the country, you need to stay aware of efforts to weaken environmental laws that protect the parks and other public lands you enjoy for recreational pursuits.

Invasive species, not the maintenance backlog, not the annual budget, and not political differences, pose the greatest threat to America's Best Idea.

There's a slow movement on to further commercialize the National Park System, one so slow that, like the frog in the pot atop the stove, it might soon be too late to stave off the incursions.

Work for the National Park Service in Utah and you best be prepared to serve the best interests of Utah politicians. Why else, after Park Service staff at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spent nine years working on the requisite environmental studies and public comment periods to allow ATV use in the NRA, would the agency's regional director issue a directive that all parks in the state open their dirt and paved roads to ATVs without similar studies?

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is forcing the National Park Service's hand by telling the agency to give greater access to eBikes with just 30 days to study the matter, a time period that doesn't possibly allow park staff to thoroughly consider all the facets of the issue.

The lack of a Senate-confirmed director of the National Park Service remains to be a demoralizing factor for the agency's workforce, which also has had no specific agenda to follow under the Trump administration.

When it comes to managing the National Park System, the example before us is clearly not the right way. In this case, we're referring to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and de facto National Park Service Director P. Dan Smith on, most recently, the topic of eBikes in the parks.

It has been mentioned so often, that it seemingly has lost its impact: The National Park Service is roughly $12 billion behind in maintaining its infrastructure. And maybe numbness to that backlog is why Park Service planners are continue to work on capital projects.

A former National Park Service superintendent says the time has come to appoint a commission to study all units in the National Park System to determine whether some are not worthy of inclusion.

Climate science is just that, science, which ebbs and flows through the refinement of technology and physical observation. But the Trump administration's refusal to recognize the science its land-management agencies conduct neither ebbs nor flows; you could say it's frozen in place. Sadly, that clamp down is preventing a thorough discussion of what's going on with the glaciers at Glacier National Park.

Last month we pointed to some of the frustrations that can be had when trying to navigate the overall NPS.gov domain. Let's now take a look at the individual haves and have-nots of the National Park System and some of the things that differentiate them.

You might have heard the news. The National Park System was behind a $40 billion bump in the nation's economy last year. What that jubilant news released by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt overlooked was the dire state of the park system.

One of the very best government websites is the one run by the National Park Service. Sadly, nps.gov is also one of the worst.