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Show Very soon Kolob cdnyon to get contact station ZION NATIONAL PARK - The Zion Natural History Association board of directors voted recently to proceed with plans to build a small contact station for the National Park Service. The facility will be located near the 1-15 interchange at the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park and will be donated to the park. According to Superintendent Harold L. Grafe, the action goes right along with the approved management plan for the area. "We are extremely pleased with the decision of the board to go ahead with the project," Grafe stated. "This is the culmination of over two years of discussion by the association in offering to buid a small facility to assist the Park Service in bringing on-site interpretation in-terpretation and management to the Kolob Canyons section." "Our biggest concern about accepting the building was the constraint con-straint we have had on funding the personnel to operate the station," Grafe continued. "However, based on discussions with both community leaders of the private sector and governmental entities, we feel that by relocating the Cedar Breaks administrative ad-ministrative staff from a little-known office in th eFederal Building in Cedar City, we can have a lot more direct contact with visitors to the area." Superintendent Clay Alderson will still continue con-tinue with his normal responsibilities of operating Cedar Breaks National Monument but will assuem on-site management of the Kolob as an additional management unit. Park Ranger John Conoboy will continue to live at Cedar Breaks during the months it is open but will now assist in covering the operation of the new station during the winter months. Administrative Clerk Af ton Taylor will operate full-time out of the new office. "We are excited about the idea," Grafe said. "We envision contacting many more people, who we hope to acquaint not only with Kolob Canyons but also with other features and events they can visit in southern Utah. At the same time, we will also have on-site management in the area where we now have virtually nothing." Park Service officials did not speculate on how soon the construction would begin but indicated that they would be pleased if the first phase of the actual construction could begin by summer. |