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Show PAGE 22 THE ZEPHYRSEPTEMBER 89 An Interview with Harvey Wickware the looks backhand looks ahead. Canyonlands superintendent In an Interview with the Zeohvr on August 10, Superintendent Harvey Wickware gave his assessment of Canyonlands National Parks first 25 years, and attempted to envision the Park 25 years from now. : Zephyr: In the late 70s, when the GMP was being formulated, a malor point of contention was the Park Services refusal to build a bridge over Big Soring Canvon to the Confluence, which could eventually allow a road to Harvev. In looking at Its first 25 years as a Park, how would vou Park Services performance, both In protecting the resource, and assess the providing for public use? . Wickware: I think the first 25 years have definitely been on the side of protection; while that Is good, It has some ramifications that I think are bad. To err on the side of protection, I think we have failed to provide services for visitors. I dont think the park was set aside to protect and with the visitation to not accommodate reasonable numbers of visitors I weve that the think to date. . dont had, not Just the timidity Canyonlands National Park Service, but the State and community and all Interested groups have done Justice to the visitor. I think the first 25 years have been marked by an overemphasis on not doing things In the park the way they should be done In a park as far as developments concerned. Zephyr: Is there anything particular that vou would have supported as Zephyr: : ' ; far as development goes that was relected In the oast? Wickware: I think that the General Management Plan (GMP) which Is a very modest plan, has a lot of things In It that need to be done, and I certainly wouldnt advocate going outside the scope of that, because thats the tool. Thats there to follow. What hasn't happened Is we havent had a Joint or single-mind- ed effort In the part of the Park Service to accomplish the things that are In the GMP, to the point where trailer house offices that were put In years ago as Interior facilities, exist today. The things that I've been talking about that we need to do Is to bring Canyonlands from Its Infancy to Its young adulthood. By that I mean, replace existing facilities and services with modern ones. Some of that has been going on at Island In The Sky. Very little has happened at Needles, and that's what were working on now We need good sanitary trying to get funding for the Needles. facilities down there, for example. Sewer systems, electrical systems and these will enable us to serve the housing and maintenance facilities visitor well, and do less resource damage than doing things hodge-pod- ge Dke weve been doing. Tlcky-ta- ck When we have stuff.. employees and visitors facilities, they think of us as a tlcky-ta- ck using tlcky-ta- ck park. We need nice, neat clean focllltles that accommodate the needs that we have for housing, maintenance and visitor services, done In a quality way. Maybe we cant accommodate more visitors, but we can assure they have a quality experience. Youve mostly talked about Improving facilities, but from the Zephyr: beginning many people locally have felt that the Park Service should be committed to a much more vast network of paved roads. How do vou feel about that? How I feel about It personally Is different from working Wickware: within the constraints that we have. Given a free hand, I guess I would do things a little differently. Jumping Into the future, I dont think the GMP ls a thought out plan Its a series of compromises, because of the extreme herei. Its probably leveled off to some degree, that existed has controversy are because Just people getting tired of fighting. Specifically regarding I roads, certainly dont advocate paving any more roads than Is called for In the GMP. I can only think of one that Isnt paved and should be that's the Colorado River Overlook In Needles District Quite frankly, I think thats needed, because the front country visitor experience In the Needles Is very limited, which does not serve Blandlng and Montlcello very well as far as overnight visitors after a nice day experience at the Needles. That would give them a similar overview as they have at Island In The Sky and get out to a nice viewpoint North Wall of Chesler Park, 1961. continue south, all the wav to Natural Bridges. Is that Issue dead, or can It be revived? Wickware: Its totally dead In the existing GMP, and Im told the GMP Is static. What Ive told advocates of that effort Is this: Theres between 15 and 20 million dollars of agreed upon efforts that can be done In the Park without going outside the existing GMP. Before we can even think about reopening the GMP process, there are a lot of things that are called for such It as the package In the Needles. At some time, the GMP will be has to be. Whether at that time the National Park Service, the. Conservation and can come to an accommodation groups, the where some additional roads will be built, I dont know. ; I certainly don't I advocate IL personally believe from a professional standpoint that It would be a mistake to build a network of major highways In the Needles District, or elsewhere In the Park. However, In my mind the Needles and other districts are Interlaced with what I think are devastating four-whroads. In many ways, to exchange some of these hundreds of 4WD routes, In favor of some additional front country access that Just goes Into the periphery of the Park, spur roads In the Needles for example, would whet their appetites for more of the Park. Now Im not proposing that; Its outside the GMP. But my mind, Isn't necessarily shut off because of the GMP. Im not about to start campaigning I think that for something like that In the future, there will be some discussions, and that some of these 4WD roads are an abomination to the Park. I think we can as a result Improve backcountry conditions. : . re-ope- ned. Pro-develop- , eel tom till marcy clokey - till photography i- tom till's new book Utah: magnificent wilderness on sale locally mtrn |