“Half the park is after dark.” April 5 – 12 marks International Dark Sky Week 2021, a celebration of the vast, wondrous, starry sky above us. Perhaps you are even planning a visit to a National Park Service unit that's been designated an International Dark Sky Park. This special week also emphasizes how light pollution hampers our ability to see the stars and produces harmful consequences to all living things.
Arches National Park has made a top 10 list, but it's probably one the park staff wished it hadn't made: It's a "Hot Spot" for trash and other human-related impacts that wear on the national park and its natural resources.
The National Park Service has a new app that's intended to cover all the units of the National Park System, but that's a tall order for parks that lack staff to provide robust content.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to allow two conservation groups to intervene in Utah cases involving state efforts to have dirt washes, seasonal streambeds, and possibly even cattle trails and hiking paths declared roads across federal lands.
Arches National Park staff is seeking public input on a proposal to allow cyclists to use the Arches Visitor Center Connector Trail that ties into the Moab Canyon Pathway.
There are, across the National Park Service, a number of parks that draw large crowds of visitors, crowds that in some places are stretching the shoulder seasons and challenging park managers to get creative when it comes to protecting natural resources and dealing with the heavy visitation.
Happy New Year to all of you Travelers and a Big Thank You for your continued support. Here's hoping 2021 offers you many opportunities to visit national parks and protected lands!
The southern half of Utah is canyon country, a land of aridity, sparse vegetation, and unique and scenically spectacular topography and geology. It is a land rich in sites of archaeological importance and parts of it are sacred to indigenous people. It is also mostly public land, owned by the American people, part of their national legacy, and for a century it has been contested terrain.