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Show AsOthersSee Us... ! The future of Canyonlands... From The Denver Post, Aug. 28, 1977 The Post's Empire Magazine today publishes the second part of a report by I; i Zeke Scher on an issue heating up at Canyonlands National Park near Moab, ; ::i Utah. ;: ;i The issue is whether Canyonlands should be developed with tourist :;: i facilities and a few paved roads to its most scenic features, or left in its present ;!; largely wild state. As Scher points out, many promises of development were made when ;:; :i Congress created the park in 1964. In 13 years, however, for various reasons only minimal work has been done. Most of the park's numerous spectacular areas are accessible only to the :i: hardiest. This has bothered a few persons aside from those who live near the I; ;j park and hoped for an influx of tourists because it is largely unknown. The Park Service now agrees with the no-development policy advocated by :j some environmentalist groups, which want to keep Canyonlands inaccessible. :i A new master plan, encompassing this philosophy, is to be published ;j: ;; shortly. If there is no significant opposition, the plan will be adopted. And ! :! Canyonlands, designated as a national park like Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde : :i: or Yellowstone, will be enjoyed for the most part only by hikers or those with ;: : four-wheel-drive vehicles. i! ;i: Some knotty problems are raised by the need to select a policy: Does development industrial or recreational necessarily destroy and ;;; :!: damage? !: i: Are all citizens entitled to utilize a national park, or only some of them? :: Which must take precedence, the needs of the people or the needs of the :j: ;: environment? ;i :!: There is irony that this dilemma should exist, for the spectacular beauty of ' i: Canyonlands was created by the destructive elements of nature. Canyonlands' features are being altered daily what is visible today being slowly worn away and new sights being created in the process by the workings of heat, frost, ;; wind and rain. !! Thus, in reality there is no way to preserve today's Canyonlands for : tomorrow's citizens because it is undergoing perpetual change. Will development paved roads, shelters, parking areas at scenic !; outlooks hasten the destruction of Canyonlands? That is the crux of the issue. ; : The wildly eroded, colorful area known as Canyonlands has been described ; as "acre for acre, the most beautiful country in the world." Few can challenge :j; i or corroborate this assessment because of its inaccessibility. In our search for a policy serving the best interests of both people and :;, conservation, it would seem reasonable and cautious development is desirable. ;; The people are entitled to see their own changing national park. |