Grand Teton National Park is a place for wildlife, open sagebrush flats, and some of the most famous mountain views in the country. It should never become a building site for a baseball game. The National Park Service (NPS) should commit in writing that no stadium, ball field, or large event venue will be built on national park land.

The Washington Post reported that federal officials weighed a request from Major League Baseball (MLB) to hold a game inside Grand Teton, and that NPS Deputy Director Frank Lands toured three sites in the park. The White House has said Lands was not scouting for baseball and that the idea "is not a White House or Administration priority," according to Reuters.

But "not a priority" is not a promise. A single baseball field can take up as much as four acres. A full complex with parking can stretch across hundreds. Grizzly bears, wolves, bison, elk, and moose roam freely through the park. Joan Anzelmo, a former superintendent of Colorado National Monument, warned MLB that Grand Teton "is not an appropriate or safe venue for your baseball fantasy," according to WyoFile.

Visitors agree. "Keep America's pastime in our baseball parks, not in our national parks," said David Kelly, an Angels fan visiting from Los Angeles, according to WyoFile.

Cubs fans and Mariners fans, hunters and hikers, conservatives and progressives can all find common ground here. National parks are shared by every American, and they exist so families can see wild places as they are, not reshaped for a one-time event.

The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service can settle this now with a clear, written policy that rules out stadium and event-venue construction in national parks, starting with Grand Teton.

Sign the petition to keep ballgames in ballparks and protect national parks before any ground is broken.