Escalante National Monument

This article is about the national monument proposed in the 1930s and present-day efforts to expand Utah park lands: for the national monument proclaimed in 1996 on a portion of the 1936 proposal, see Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Escalante National Monument was proposed by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes in the 1930s as a unit of the U.S. National Park Service in the canyonlands of south central Utah. Centering on the canyons of the Escalante River, the proposed monument encompassed portions of present-day Canyonlands and Capitol Reef national parks, Natural Bridges and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.[1] The proposed national monument was to encompass about 4,500,000 acres (1,800,000 ha). The Second World War interrupted Ickes initiative, which had encountered resistance from Utah politicians.[2][3][4]

The scheme was partially fulfilled with the establishment of Capitol Reef National Monument under the Antiquities Act in 1937 and Canyonlands National Park by act of Congress in 1964,[1] and expanded with the proclamation of Grand Staircase-Escalante by proclamation of the Clinton Administration in 1996. Later proposals by the National Parks Conservation Association in the 1980s,[3] former Utah Congressman Wayne Owens in the 1990s,[1] and the Greater Canyonlands Coalition in the 2010s revived the idea, encountering renewed opposition from the Utah congressional delegation.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Davidson, Lee (August 3, 1991). "Park Idea Dates Back to the 1930s". Deseret News. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. "Greater Canyonlands National Monument: An Opportunity, A Legacy" (PDF). Greater Canyonlands Coalition. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Park History:Canyonlands National Park". National Parks Traveleer. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  4. Davidson, Lee (September 12, 1996). "Tug of war over area dates back 60 years". Deseret News.
  5. Repanshek, Kurt (February 21, 2010). "Will the Long-Desired "Completion" of Canyonlands National Park Ever Arrive?". National Parks Traveler. Retrieved 26 May 2014.

External links

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