Just because things are out in nature doesn’t mean they belong to anyone who walks on by.

Pinecones, included.

At Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, it's against park rules to take pinecones home with you. Why?

“It’s a tough environment here. The animals need their nibbles and the area needs the seeds and vegetation. Also, cones and other plants deteriorate and help to create soil in this rocky environment,” wrote the park.

Unfortunately, one young visitor didn’t know the rule when he or she took a pinecone home,but learned it later and sent back the following apology note, pinecone attached:

To whom it may concern: I took a pinecone out of the forest and I wanted to return it. I hope it will be placed near the General Grant tree because that is where I took it. I am sorry for my decision. Thank you.

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

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