After many long months of road construction that has hindered access into the heart of Arches National Park in Utah, the end is near. Barring weather-related delays, the construction project that has consumed the year should wrap up by month's end or early December, according to park officials.

Another national park in Utah is thinking of moving to a reservation system to better control crowding in its borders. Officials at Arches National Park has released a draft plan for discussion that calls for reservations during peak visitation months.

Every October, K-12 school teachers in Utah are given time off to attend to the Utah Education Association Conference. And that means all K-12 students are given a three-day weekend. That weekend is this coming weekend, which means that national parks in the Beehive State are expected to be crowded.

A Utah congressman long unhappy with the authority given presidents under The Antiquities Act to establish national monuments has introduced legislation that would extensively rewrite the century-old act. If enacted, the rewrite would limit the purposes for which monuments could be created, require environmental review, and allow presidents to reduce the size of monuments without congressional action.