Existing comment:
Park Establishment:
Alexander Ringhoffer:
Alexander Ringhoffer was prospecting in the Klondike Bluffs area in 1922 when he stumbled upon magnificent Tower Arch and the Marching Men. Ringhoffer contacted F.A. Wadleigh of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in the hope that they might build a tourist line to the area. Wadleigh wrote Stephen T. Mather, the first Director of the National Park Service, about the area. At Mather's request, several survey paries were sent to investigate.
Dr. Frank Oastler, geologist G.M. Gould and others also visited the area and recommended monument establishment.
Frank Pinkley:
Arches was named by Frank Pinkley, then Superintendent of Southwestern National Monuments. "The Boss," as he was affectionately known, visited the Windows in 1925 to evaluate the area for inclusion in the National Park system. With the support of many others, the Monument was established in 1929, and the new monument fell under his administration. At the time of his death in 1940, Pinkley was in charge of 27 park areas, including Arches, in four states.
While many of the monuments under his care were "one-man outfits," watched by a part-time custodian, some monuments had no one assigned to them. Pinkley was frustrated by the fact that support for monuments lagged behind the funding for units designated as national parks and he continually pushed for funding to properly staff the monuments.
Moab Lions Club:
When Arches National Monument was first established, it consisted of two small separate sections, 1,920 acres in the Windows and 2,600 acres in the Devils Garden. There were no roads and access was difficult. It soon became apparent that such a monument would be difficult to manage and Moab community leaders began actively promoting efforts to enlarge the monument. In particular, .... members of the Moab Lions Club were ardent supporters of the monument and were instrumental in getting the monument enlarged in 1938.
Boundary Changes:
Arches National Monument was established by Herbert Hoover's Presidential Proclamation on April 12, 1929, and originally consisted of two separate units totaling 4,520 acres. Since it was established, Arches had undergone numerous boundary adjustments. Franklin D. Roosevelt enlarged the monument to well over 34,000 acres, and Dwight D. Eisenhower later reduced it by 240 acres. Lyndon B. Johnson more than doubled park acreage in 1968, and Congress made it a National Park in 1971. In 1998, more than 3,000 acres near Lost Spring Canyon were added by Congress, resulting in a park of approximately 76,000 acres. |