When you talk about expanding the National Park System, any expansion should be strategic. Whether it’s to protect a cultural or historical site, or one rich in natural resources. Today, if you want to protect natural resources, it should be done with an eye towards protecting biodiversity. There is too much at stake today to expand the National Park System just for the sake of adding units. The country is losing too much of nature to development, bird populations have been plummeting, and climate change is challenging many other species.  So where do you look to protect biodiversity from the human footprint? One possible area is the Mobile-Tensaw region of Alabama. To gain an understanding of what’s there to protect, we’ve reached out to Bill Finch, Director of the Paint Rock Research Center in Alabama, and who has been involved in Alabama conservation for more than 30 years.