Debate over the country's energy needs, environmental conditions, and the resulting quality of life is not new. It's unending, ongoing, and downright rancorous at times. But does it need to be? With hazy views across spectacular parks in the Southwest, how can we turn that debate into solutions?

Whether it finally had decided wintering in the arctic was just too much, or simply got blown off course, a Red-necked grebe found its way recently to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where attentive birders spotted it during the NRA's annual Christmas bird count.

Russian-olive can be an interesting addition to your landscape, with its dense coat of silvery leaves, bright yellow flowers, and relatively compact stature. But it also is a non-native tree that can overwhelm native vegetation, hog water, and disrupt nutrient cycles. In Utah, the National Park Foundation is helping combat this invasive by providing funding to a coalition trying to eradicate Russian-olive from public lands in the southern part of the state.

"Jurassic" isn't just a name from a movie, it's also a term for geologic formations known to contain evidence of dinosaurs. The discovery of a new site with dinosaur tracks at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is being described by scientists as "remarkable," and "an important discovery."