Work for the National Park Service in Utah and you best be prepared to serve the best interests of Utah politicians. Why else, after Park Service staff at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spent nine years working on the requisite environmental studies and public comment periods to allow ATV use in the NRA, would the agency's regional director issue a directive that all parks in the state open their dirt and paved roads to ATVs without similar studies?

A large rockfall shook the Weeping Rock Shuttle Stop at Zion National Park. A substantial piece of rock broke away from Cable Mountain, approximately 3,000 feet above Weeping Rock. The rockfall hit the closed East Rim Trail, knocking down trees and showering visitors at Weeping Rock with smaller rocks, branches, and a plume of dust and sand. Shuttles were stopped for approximately 90 minutes as the dust settled.

Cairns -- stacked rocks -- long have been iconic forms in the backcountry of national parks and forests, serving as directional guides to keep hikers on the right path. But stacking rocks for the sake of stacking rocks can mislead hikers and is discouraged in many national parks.

A California condor chick spotted in Zion National Park in Utah is believed to be the 1000th chick born in the wild since a program to recover the endangered species was launched in 1992.