U.S. Bureau of Land Management efforts to spur development of "tar sands" in Utah near several national park units are being watched by the National Parks Conservation Association.

Great Basin National Park, which boasts the cleanest air of any park in the Lower 48, could lose that distinction if a coal-fired power plant is allowed to go on-line as proposed just 38 miles northwest of the park.

A natural resources juxtapositonal twist of fate has placed the spectacular Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in close proximity to an energy deposit whose extraction could sully the park units.

In a bid to protect endangered species as well as national park viewsheds and landscapes, a coalition of conservation and environmental organizations is suing the U.S. Department of Energy over its National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors plans for the Mid-Atlantic and Southwestern states.