The battle to prevent quagga mussels from establishing a reproducing population in Lake Powell continued earlier this month with an intensive four-day search and destroy dive operation at the two major marinas on the lower end of the lake. Based on the results, officials at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are optimistic the huge lake can still be kept free of an infestation.

Seared ahi tuna with pickled watermelon and a splash of chipotle lime vinaigrette. Scottish salmon tostadas. Bison ribeye. Fish tacos with sustainably sourced seabass. These are some of the entrées you can find in national parks these days, and they’re not the result of the National Park Service’s Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative and its food guidelines for concessionaires.

There was both good and bad news from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where 14 adult quagga mussels have been found attached to moored vessels and dock structures in Lake Powell. The word that the invasive pests have turned up in the big lake isn't good, but all is not yet lost in the battle to keep the invades out of the lake. None of the mussels were close enough together for successful reproduction.

A proposal to create a 1.4-million-acre national monument wrapping Canyonlands National Park in Utah should not be dismissed out of hand, but receive serious consideration from the Obama administration. And it should receive equally serious consideration from Utah officials who promote the state's recreational wonders in one breath and demand a turnover of federal lands in the next.