Arches News

From September, 2009, until the end of October, Arches will be accepting online reservations for the popular Fiery Furnace tour. After this trial period, the system will be evaluated and may be continued next year.

Rumors that a great arch in China could put southern Utah's natural wonders in the shade have fallen to a real-world truth: Utah rules!  

Kate Cannon gazed across the high red desert to the snowy La Sal Mountains rising in sharp relief at the horizon. That view of uninterrupted nature is what draws nearly a million yearly visitors to this remote part of southeast Utah.  

Kate Cannon gazed across the high red desert to the snowy La Sal Mountains rising in sharp relief at the horizon. That view of uninterrupted nature is what draws nearly a million yearly visitors to this remote part of southeast Utah. 

If your blood boiled when you heard about President Bush’s plans to allow oil and gas drilling and the construction of coal-fired power plants within polluting distance of Utah’s most cherished natural lands—including Flaming Gorge Recreation Area, Arches, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante and Dinosaur National Monuments—you may be relieved to know that the most sensitive lands, at least, are no longer on the auction block.

More talks set for Tuesday could resolve objections to oil and gas drilling near some of Utah's national parks. Denver-based regional Park Service director Mike Snyder is trying to stop the auction of 50,000 acres of drilling parcels on or near the borders of Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park.

The Bush administration’s time in office is finally winding down (huzzah!). But unfortunately, the administration doesn’t seem to be slowing down. As we reported last week, Bush is using his executive power to push through a number of 11th-hour regulations (he is “The Decider,” you know), many of which could harm the environment. From allowing oil drilling near national parks to letting power plants pollute more to easing catch limits for commercial fishers, Bush’s last-minute laws could screw over the environment for years to come.

Gale Norton has to be happy. In 2003, Ms. Norton, then President Bush’s secretary of the interior (and now a senior oil executive at Royal Dutch Shell), struck a deal with the governor of Utah that would open about 3 million pristine acres of federal land to oil and gas drilling.

The Bureau of Land Management has expanded its oil and gas lease program in eastern Utah to include tens of thousands of acres on or near the boundaries of three national parks, according to revised maps published this week.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, Utah - One of the largest and most photographed arches in Arches National Park has collapsed. Paul Henderson, the park's chief of interpretation, said Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday. The arch is along Devils Garden Trail, one of the most popular in the park. For years, the arch has been a favorite stopping point for photographers.