Restrictions Imposed on Fires, Fireworks

The July 4th weekend is a time for fireworks, recreation and travel. Officials are trying to make those activities safer by imposing restrictions on fireworks and campfires.

Wildfires are already a concern in Utah. Monitor this website for current information on fires and how they impact travel and recreation. Here is information about restrictions on fires and fireworks in various places around Utah.

Washington County (including St George and Zion Park) has imposed strict restrictions. See the complete text; below are highlights.

The following acts will be prohibited until further notice.

1. Setting, building, maintaining, attending or using open fire of any kind, except campfires and charcoal fires within approved fire pits and grills in developed recreation sites and picnic areas and permanently improved places of habitation that meet certain specifications or except as otherwise authorized. Devices fueled by petroleum or LPG products are allowed in all locations. Zion National Park does not allow any campfires, but will allow propane or gas stoves and charcoal fires.

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, camp trailer, building, developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared to mineral soil.

3. Discharging, or using any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition or other incendiary devices in any location on federal, state and unincorporated private lands. (Note that these acts are always prohibited on state and federal lands)

The Deseret Morning News has this article on fire and fireworks safety. Below are excerpts.

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Scott Duncan said troopers will be out prior to July 4 and July 24, Utah's Pioneer Day, looking for people slipping in and out of Wyoming with illegal fireworks. "We encourage our citizens not to do that and to buy fireworks in our state," he said.

Fireworks are illegal in Utah if they shoot in the air higher than 15 feet or travel on the ground farther than a 10-foot circumference.

"By this time last year we had a number of fires statewide," Buehler said. A wet winter and moist spring have helped conditions, along with what he said is a more safety-conscious public...

Keeping The Grand Canyon Humming

National Public Radio is doing a great series on America's National Parks. This one features the Grand Canyon, with insights on how that popular park meets visitor needs. It also contains great information to help travelers enjoy the park.

You can listen to this audio version of the report.

And they offer this narrated slide show.

They offer an effective use of multi-media technology to present information.

4th of July Celebrations in Utah

Communities across Utah will host Fourth of July events next week, and visitors are always welcome to join the festivities. Wherever you are, you won't be far away from a celebration. Below we list some of the events.

Cedar City Concert and Fireworks Display - July 4th
Red, White & Blue Concert and Fireworks Display Held at Brian Head Town Park. Event is free. For more information contact 888-677-2810.

Circlevilles 4th of July Celebration- July 4th
Enjoy Food & Drink, Kids Games, Bingo, Horseshoes, a parade and more. Located on Main Street in Circleville.

Delta’s July 4th Celebration- July 4th
Celebrations include an early morning breakfast, parade, demolition derby, fireworks, and other activities. Event located at Delta City Park and Main Street. For more information contact Karen Johnson at 435-864-2759.

Filmore’s 4th of July Celebration - July 4th
Fourth of July festivities begin in Fillmore with an early morning breakfast, followed by a Main Street parade. After the parade, the day is filled with activities for everyone ending with fireworks. For more information contact Jack or Linda Davies at 435-743-5169.

Gunnison Hometown Patriots Day- July 3rd through July 4th
Celebrations include dinner at the City Park, auction, fireworks, youth dance, breakfast, a flag raising ceremony, games, and more. Admission is free. For more information contact Kelly Frandsen at 435-528-7315 or visit sanpete.com/events.

Huntington Heritage Days- July 4th and 5th
Thursday consists of a pet contest, idol contest, ice cream social, dessert contest and MECCA bike ride. Come Friday and enjoy a fun run, entertainment, inflatable games, booths, kid’s parade at 9:30, and the regular parade at 10 am. Fireworks will be at dusk at Huntington Arena. For more information call 435-687-9737.

Magna 4th of July Celebration- July 4th- 6th
Events include the Lions Club Breakfast $3 for kids under 12, $5 for Adults, The Bill Collings 5k fun run/walk, a carnival, and parade. For more details contact Lisa Henrie at 801-301-3318.

Manti July 4th Celebebration- July 4th
All day activities take place at Manti City Park. Admission is free. For more information contact Kaye Crane at www.sanpete.com/events.

Mayfield Pioneer Day Celebration- July 4th
Celebrations begin at 10 am at the City Park. Activities include games, food, entertainment, a duck race, a parade and more. Admission is free. For more information contact Lee Sorenson at 435-528-5700.

Moab’s Independence Day Celebration
The Moab Area Chamber of commerce’s annual 4th of July Celebration begins at 4pm and includes a parade, games, prizes, food, music and more. The night will end with spectacular fireworks. Event takes place at Swanny City Park. Call 435-259-7814 for more information.

Moroni July 4th Celebration- June 28 through July 4
The week includes a Softball tournament, Moroni’s Famous BBQ Turkey Dinner and more. Takes place at Moroni City Recreational Park. Contact Greg Morley at 435-436-8455 for more information.

Mt. Pleasant Hub City Days and 9th Annual Blackhawk Rendezvous and Rodeo- July 3- 5
Freedom Rally in the High School auditorium and Mt. Pleasant rodeo arena. Other activities include children’s parade, mammoth parade, Blackhawk Mountain Man Rendezvous, fireworks and more. For more information contact Monte Bona at 435-462-2502.

Neola 4th of July Celebration- July 4th and 5th
Celebrations include Parade, Barbeque, Kids Rodeo, and 4th of July Rodeo. Event location: Neola Community Park, Duchesne. For more information call 435-353-4366.

Oakley's 4th of July Celebration and Rodeo- June 2nd through 5th
Festivities include PRCA Rodeo, horse show, barbecue, fireworks and more. For more information call 435 -783- 5734 or visit oakleycity.com.

Ogden’s Hot Rock'n 4th- July 4th
Includes a variety of activities and professional entertainment. The Stirrin’ Dirt Demolition Derby starts at 6 pm and the night ends with a firework show starting at 10 pm. For more information contact the American Dream Foundation at 801-399-2111. Visit hotrockn4th.com/HOTROCK.html for more information.

Panguitch 4th of July Celebration/FFA Jr. Rodeo- July 4th and 5th
Celebrate the 4th of July in Panguitch Utah. Don't forget to stick around for the FFA Jr. Rodeo. For more information contact 435-676-8949 or visit triplecarena.com.

Park City's Traditional Independence Day Celebration- July 4th
All-day activities: pancake breakfast at City Park; 5K walk/run; mid-morning parade down Main Street followed by a picnic, free live entertainment and games for children at City Park; annual doubles volleyball tournament; fireworks display at dusk. For more information call 435-649-6100.

Utah Symphony Presents A Patriotic Celebration in Park City.
David Cho and the Utah Symphony salute all things American during their annual “Patriotic Celebration.” For more information contact Philina Saltas at 801-869-9007.

Parowan 4th of July Parade- July 4th
Parowan Main St beginning at 10am. A Great parade and fire department games at the park. Located on Main Street in Cedar City. For more information call 435-559-4504.

Pleasant Valley Days- July 4th and 5th
Events include pet show, American Idol contest, old fashioned ice cream social and parade Saturday morning 10 am. Rock wall and other games. Visit pleasantvalleydays.com for more information.

Provo America's Freedom Festival
America's Freedom Festival features some of largest patriotic events in the United States.

Colonial Days - (July 2-5) Three days of live entertainment, interacting with Founding Fathers and other colonial friends.

Grand Parade - (July 4)The largest parade of its kind in Utah featuring freedom through bands, floats, and local and national performers.

Stadium of Fire - (July 4)One of the largest firework productions with headline entertainers, novelty acts, and large-scale field production numbers.
For more information Call 801-818-1776 or visit utahvalley.org.

Salt Lake Liberty Days- July 4th and 5th
Celebrate our Independence with a mini-rodeo, relay races, old-time baseball game, patriotic program in the Bowery and more. Admission is $8 for Adults $6 for children and seniors. For more information contact 801-582-1847 or visit thisistheplace.org.

Sandy’s Fourth of July Celebration- July 4th
7:00 AM with a 5k fun run and the sanctioned 10k "Sandy Classic." The day will be filled with music, food and craft vendors. In the evening there will be a parade, concert, and fireworks. For more information call 801-567-6097.

South Salt Lake Freedom Festival- June 28 thru July 4th
Rotary Club breakfast at Fitts Park starting at 9 am on the 28th, Freedom Fest Parade on June 28th starting at 9 am, and freedom Fest Fireworks on July 3rd starting at 6 pm. Visit the website at ssl.state.ut.us for more information.

St. George Fourth of July Celebration- July 4th
Celebrate the 4th in St. George.

Tooele County
Chamber of Commerce July 4th Breakfast at Veterans Memorial Park, Independence Day Parade on Main Street, and the Tooele Bit N’ Spur Rodeo at the Deseret Peak Complex. For more information contact Tooele County Chamber at 435-882-0690.

West Point City Independence Day Celebration- July 3rd and 4th
This two-day celebration includes a community dinner, entertainment, fireworks, grand parade, contests, games, food, you name it! Celebrations located at Loy Blake Memorial Park. For more information contact Joann Stoddard at 801-776-0970.

Monet to Picasso - Major Art Exhibit Opens in Utah

The Utah Museum of Fine Arts has opened a remarkable exhibition, Monet to Picasso, from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Masterworks by such renowned artists as Renoir, Degas, Monet, van Gogh, Dalí, Picasso and Matisse will grace the walls of the Utah museum’s first floor galleries from June 23 through September 21, 2008.

Monet to Picasso will allow you the rare opportunity to see an extraordinary gathering of work up close by some of the most important European modern masters of the last two centuries.
- Daily 10:30 am – 5:30 pm
- Wednesday 10:30 am – 8 pm
- Closed Holidays

Location: Marcia & John Price Museum Building, U of UAddress: 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City

801-581-7332
Website

World's Best Places to See the Stars

National Bridges National Monument is in the news, recognized as one of the best places on earth where you can enjoy a truly "dark sky" with a pristine view of the stars.

Writer Rebecca Ruiz explains in this news article. Here are excerpts.

"The night sky is disappearing before our eyes. The thousands of stars once visible to the naked eye are now obscured by the glare of industrial light and the haze of pollution. This is particularly true in the U.S. and Europe, where light researchers estimate that a child born today in either region has a one in 10 chance of witnessing a truly dark sky.

"The first park to receive the designation of "International Dark Sky Park" was Utah's Natural Bridges National Monument."

The National Park Service website for Natural Bridges adds these tidbits:

"The beauty of the night sky, the lack of light pollution, and the National Park Service commitment to night skies as a natural resource, led the International Dark-Sky Association... to designate Natural Bridges National Monument as the world’s first International Dark Sky Park.

"This is one of the darkest national parks in the country," Jones says, referring to a comprehensive study of night sky quality conducted by the National Park Service.

Just how dark is it? "It's the only Bortle Class 2 sky they've documented," said Chris Luginbuhl of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz, and a board member of the International Dark-Sky Association. "In plain English that means it’s the darkest or starriest sky they’ve seen while doing these reviews. The Bortle system is a 10-level scale with one and two being the darkest skies and 10 having the most light pollution."

2007-08 Ski Season Was Record For Utah

The official numbers are in and they show more skiers than ever enjoyed Utah's slopes. Below are excerpts from news reports about the record season.

Deseret Morning News
For the fifth consecutive year, skiers and snowboarders have come to Utah in record numbers. Final count for the 2007-08 ski season is 4,258,900 skier days.

And although the increase wasn't huge, said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, "Utah is seeing increases each year ... we've hit records, now, for five consecutive years.

"What makes it even more meaningful is we can't say the increase was because other resorts around the country had bad snow. We had great snow. Alta recorded 702 total inches for the season. But other areas around the country also had great snow years. It's hard to compare numbers when we have great snow and others don't, but this year everyone had great snow."

Salt Lake Tribune
Another record-breaking year in attracting visitors to the slopes has made Utah's ski industry a billion-dollar-a-year business for the first time.

One aspect of this season's figure particularly pleased Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. The 4.3 percent boost in skier visits surpassed the cumulative 2.8 percent increase by other Western ski states - Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico and Montana - all of which also had good snow years.

"There was absolutely no doubt it was a beyond-spectacular winter in terms of powder days and quality of skiing," he said, praising the ability of resorts to cope with big dumps and provide "a quality experience."

Utah BusinessWith another record-breaking year behind them, Ski Utah is planning for a sixth phenomenal winter season in 2008-09. “The industry’s five year history indicates continuous growth,” Kunzer said. “The ski industry and tourism in general are one of Utah’s greatest resources. With five national park and 13 world-class ski resorts, we have a plethora of recreation opportunities to share with visitors.”

New Dino Dig Yields Trove of Fossils

A major new dinosaur fossil site has been discovered in Utah, this one on BLM ground near Hanksville.

BLM scientists and local rock hounders have long known fossils could be found in the area, but the potential magnitude of the site was not discovered until a group from the Burpee Museum of Natural History dug into it. They found "a logjam" of bones.

BLM announced the find yesterday, generating headlines around the world. BLM is closing the area to public access to protect its scientific value. Below are excerpts from some news reports.

Chicago Sun Times
A newly discovered batch of well-preserved dinosaur bones, petrified trees and even freshwater clams in southeastern Utah may provide fresh clues about life in the region some 150 million years ago.

The Bureau of Land Management announced the find Monday, calling the quarry near Hanksville ''a major dinosaur fossil discovery.''

It could be a decade or so before the full importance of the Hanksville quarry is known, Foss said.

''It does have the potential to match the other major quarries in Utah,'' Foss said. ''Or it may not.''

Deseret Morning News
In three weeks of excavating the preserved river channel near Hanksville, a team from the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Ill., found four long-necked sauropods, two carnivorous dinosaurs and a possible herbivorous Stegosaurus.

"We have not had a discovery of this magnitude in many, many years," BLM Utah Paleontologist Dr. Scott Foss said. "They're just scratching the surface. The potential is great."

Salt Lake Tribune
Scientists are confident the find could rival Utah's famous Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and Dinosaur National Monument in terms of expanding our biological understanding of the late Jurassic period.

The Morrison formation is the most fertile ground for dinosaur prospecting in North America, yielding some of the best specimens of brand-name dinosaurs, including Utah's signature fossil, allosaurus. Accordingly, the Burpee group is discovering specimens already familiar to science and school children: allosaurus, stegosaurus, apatosaurus, camarasaurus, brachiosaurus, and diplodocus. The last four are sauropods, massive planteaters that grew to 60 to 90 feet in length and are easily recognized by their long necks and tiny heads. The only complete brachiosaurus specimens have been recovered in Africa, so the Hanksville specimen could present a rare opportunity to compare how the same dinosaur evolved on different continents, Bonnan said.