Invasive species, not the maintenance backlog, not the annual budget, and not political differences, pose the greatest threat to America's Best Idea.

Work for the National Park Service in Utah and you best be prepared to serve the best interests of Utah politicians. Why else, after Park Service staff at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spent nine years working on the requisite environmental studies and public comment periods to allow ATV use in the NRA, would the agency's regional director issue a directive that all parks in the state open their dirt and paved roads to ATVs without similar studies?

The lack of a Senate-confirmed director of the National Park Service remains to be a demoralizing factor for the agency's workforce, which also has had no specific agenda to follow under the Trump administration.

It has been mentioned so often, that it seemingly has lost its impact: The National Park Service is roughly $12 billion behind in maintaining its infrastructure. And maybe numbness to that backlog is why Park Service planners are continue to work on capital projects.