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PHOTO BY ANITA SOLBERG
As they meandered through a vast labyrinth of hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, hikers admired formations said to be the “Lost
People” of the ancestral tribes.
“Seeing the awe in the faces park. Four years later, in an effort to WHAT QUALIFIES AS A
of fellow hikers who had never curb overzealous logging and ranching, NATIONAL PARK?
before experienced these special President Warren G. Harding declared The National Park Service
places made us appreciate the Bryce Canyon a U.S. National Monument. requires its parks to meet all four
Canyonlands even more.” The region achieved official national park of the following standards:
status on February 25, 1928. – It is an outstanding example of
Former Utah residents
Today, Bryce Canyon and Zion National a particular type of resource.
Jim and Michelle Hood Parks are two of the most popular destina- – It possesses exceptional value
tions within the National Park System. Of
cattle, sheep and horses. Homesteads were our nation’s 59 national parks, Zion ranks or quality in illustrating or in-
built across the canyon floor but many sixth in attendance with over 3.6 million terpreting the natural or cul-
struggled, beset by catastrophic flooding, people visiting in 2015 alone. An addi- tural themes of our Nation’s
poor soils and recurrent drought. Scouts tional 1.7 million guests were recorded heritage.
and surveyors documented the areas ex- at Bryce Canyon. Separated by less than – It offers superlative opportuni-
tensively throughout the latter half of the 90 miles, these parks encompass a com- ties for recreation, for public
1800s and sparked public interest through bined 182,433 acres of sweeping mesas, use and enjoyment, or for sci-
photographs, paintings and publications. kaleidoscopic valleys, gravity-defying rock entific study.
On July 31, 1909 President William How- formations and breathtaking views. – It retains a high degree of in-
ard Taft set aside 16,000 acres for the Mu- tegrity as a true, accurate, and
kuntuweap National Monument. In 1917, Once on-site, our club members were met relatively unspoiled example of
the newly created National Park Service by three trained guides hailing from Dixie the resource.
changed the name to Zion and on Novem- State University in nearby St. George, Source: National Park Service,
ber 19, 1919, the United States Congress Utah. Multiple routes were offered each https://parkplanning.nps.gov
officially declared the region a national morning and afternoon, with trails rang-
ing in distance from four to ten miles. MARCH 2017 SUNRAYS | 71
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG
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