Two years ago in Arches National Park, vandals chiseled the name “ANDERSEN” across nearly six feet of one of the park’s namesake features, Frame Arch.

While visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks over New Year, contributing photographer and writer Rebecca Latson had a chance to sit down and talk to Kate Cannon, Superintendent of the Southeast Utah Group. During their conversation, they discussed such things as favorite park spots to agency cooperation regarding oil and gas leasing outside of park boundaries to the power of a personal visit to a national park.

Oil and gas leases the U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to auction in March could pose threats to such iconic places as Arches and Canyonlands national parks as well as Chaco Culture National Historical Park, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, which is protesting the sales.