The United States has one of the oldest, best-established park systems in the world. But what if those public lands — mostly created to preserve scenic natural wonders — are in the wrong place to conserve the lion’s share of the nation’s unique biodiversity? A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found exactly that. Existing “protected lands — both federal and private — poorly match the biodiversity priorities in the country,” say the researchers.