Existing comment:
Park Enjoyment:
What was once unexplored is now enjoyed by many. As use patterns change, park managers are faced with increasing challenges of preserving an unspoiled desert park.
Mission 66:
Early travel to the park was difficult. Roads were dirt and often impassable due to deep sand and washouts. Park managers made road improvements one of their top priorities, but little happened until the 1950s when a ten-year plan to upgrade visitor facilities at in National Park Service areas was implemented. Called Mission 66, the program's goal was to increase visitation to NPS areas by accommodating the needs of an increasingly mobile society.
By early 1956, the new entrance road was under construction. Most of the trails that we enjoy today are the product of Mission 66. The road to Balanced Rock was completed in 1958 and extended to Devils Garden by 1964. The American Society of Landscape Architects selected the Arches entrance road as one of the three best roads of the Mission 66 program.
Visitor Services:
Mission 66 funding was not limited to road construction. To replace a leftover CCC building that had been used for years, a visitor center was constructed in 1959. It served the park for more than 40 years. The campground opened in 1964 and is still enjoyed by visitors.
Between 1955 and 1975, visitation to Arches increased 550%. After that, international visitors discovered Arches National Park and use steadily increased. What will Arches be like in 20 years? In 50 years? What does the future hold? Only time will tell. If park visitation continues to grow, park managers and park visitors will face new challenges. All of us must continue to plan for the future by looking for innovative solutions that not only protect the park's resources, but also preserve the experiences that we treasure during a visit to a national park. One thing is certain: we are all part of the future history of Arches. What will our legacy be?
Arch Hunting:
Many of the major arches were known prior to the establishment of Arches National Monument. By 1941, Custodian Henry G. Schmidt had documented 97 arches, but his list has not survived. As late as 1970, official literature states that the park contained "nearly 90 arches." Dale Stevens, a geology professor, conducted the first scientific study of arches in the park beginning in 1973. He and his fellow "arch hunters" standardized the methods of measuring natural arches. His work formed the basis of recording arches in the park and inspired a cadre of arch hunters.
Ed McCarrick was an Arches ranger in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and along with Stevens, authored several books on the arches they documented. In the late 1960s, now-retired engineer Doug Travers and his sons began a search for arches, those previously documented as well as unrecorded ones. Travers subsequently developed a database for his own use, which he has graciously shared. Check out the Hunting Arches computer near the indoor arch. Other prominent arch hunters have included Chris Moore, who has documented arches across the United States, Reuben Scolnik, who made helpful suggestions on classification of arches, and Steve Frederick, who located many arches in the inventory.
Edward Abbey:
Edward Abbey once said there will always "be something worth fighting for an something worth fighting against." In his book, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, Abbey recounts his experiences as a seasonal ranger at Arches in the summers of 1956 and 1957 while living in a "little tin government house trailer" near Balanced Rock. The book has become standing reading for environmental activists and all who enjoy the solitude of the desert.
Abbey interspersed eloquent descriptions of the natural history of the park with warnings about "industrial tourism" and personal opposition to the planned development of Arches. Through Desert Solitaire, millions of people get a glimpse of Arches at a time when it was still a little-known monument at the end of the little-used dirt road. The road is paved now and Abbey's trailer is gone, but his spirit lives on in the people who continue to search for the feeling of personal freedom evoked by this desert landscape. |