LONELY PLANET • June 23, 2022
Many wonder why we’re not frantically expanding on our best idea. If Congress were to heed that call, experts say, we could offset everything from overcrowding in our most iconic national parks to the biodiversity loss that threatens all manner of habitat. A recent study suggests that we could cut land animals’ risk of extinction in half by protecting the world’s remaining wilderness areas. A new national park would be the 64th such designation since Yellowstone kicked off the movement 150 years ago. Here are nine worthy contenders, including Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine.