An unexpected rainy late spring has been traumatizing one of my dogs, Sunny, but is still very welcome after such a dry winter. The land and plants are responding with a vigor that I might almost describe as joyously frightening. I am finding enormous joy in the many plants that are blooming for the first time in years, or with more zeal than I’ve seen in a very long time. The frightening part comes with knowing that these rains bring the peril of flash floods, which can be both exhilarating and deadly in this land full of canyons. In fact, a group of hikers had to be rescued this week after a storm many miles upstream caused water flow to increase from 7.5 gallons per second to nearly 18,000! Luckily, everyone was safely retrieved from Big Horn Canyon where the flooding occurred.

Three new studies shed investigate restoration of degraded biological soil crusts, and their nutrient content amid climate change.

When you think of natural stone arches in Utah, you probably think of Arches National Park. But, did you know that the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is home to 2,517 natural stone arches? That’s 517 more than Arches National Park! You can learn more about arches in the Monument, including how to report and name a new arch from archesoftheescalante.com.

The Monument needs your help! Below is a message from Marietta Eaton, former Bureau of Land Management Science Advisor for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, expressing a practical way YOU can help protect GSENM.

Let’s start with some good news: about half of our frozen Federal funding has been restored! This means that our Russian olive removal program can move forward this year along with components of our stewardship and native plant programs.

The formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) Inter-Tribal Coalition marks a key point in the history of the Monument because it shows how intimately connected GSENM is to the multiple communities that inhabit the surrounding region.