A natural resources juxtapositonal twist of fate has placed the spectacular Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in close proximity to an energy deposit whose extraction could sully the park units.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is one of the Southwest's premier boating areas, but in recent years the drought has really lowered Lake Powell. While that has opened up some fascinating canyon landscapes that had been underwater, the drought also has created some logistical problems for boaters.

The other day a federal judge tossed out a lawsuit that aimed to open Surprise Canyon in Death Valley National Park to ORV traffic. That post generated a lot of debate over the propriety of a road in that rugged canyon. Those who filed the lawsuit claimed they had a right to the road thanks to a Civil War-era statute known as R.S. 2477. Well, Death Valley isn't the only park that could suffer from this statute.