After seven years of intransigence by the private equity firm that controls the Caneel Bay Resort at Virgin Islands National Park, top Interior Department officials continue to hold out hope they can convince the firm to become an official park concessionaire in late 2023. They could likely speed that agreement on by beginning the process to find a concessionaire for the resort that currently is that in name only.

There are two sides, at least, as to why Grand Canyon National Park remains open during the coronavirus pandemic, and history would point to the answer being Arizona's governor wants it open.

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?