After much discussion, a proposal is being floated to rename Colorado National Monument as Rim Rock Canyons National Park.
U.S. Senator Mark Udall and Congressman Scott Tipton unveiled the bipartisan proposal Tuesday following their "years-long discussion with Mesa County residents, businesses and leaders."
The community-driven recommendations, developed by a committee the lawmakers assembled in June 2013, reflect local residents and stakeholders' concerns and interests about a possible redesignation.
"From Colorado's earliest days, when John Otto first proposed making the Colorado National Monument a park, through today, Mesa County has discussed making these iconic red rock canyons a national park," said Sen. Udall, chairman of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee. "I strongly urge local residents, businesses and stakeholders to study this proposal and provide us feedback. This step will hopefully provide us with a bipartisan, common-sense way forward to honor John Otto's original vision for the Colorado National Monument."
Rep. Tipton, in a joint release with Sen. Udall, said before legislation is drafted to push through the designation change, there must be clear community support for it.
"I look forward to the community's comments and ideas on the committee's recommendations, and will take them into careful consideration as we determine what's next," said the representative.
According to the politicians, a redesignation of Colorado National Monument would not require any change in rights-of-way, water rights, air quality designations, buffer zones, or park boundaries.
Comments
Sounds great to me. I would have preferred Colorado Canyons National Park, but this is fine. The more NP's the better!
I'm pretty neutral on this, personally. It's a fairly small park, and national monument status fits it perfectly. If they were increasing its acreage, say by incorporating the nearby BLM-administered McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, it would make a lot more sense.
However, throughout the history of NPS there has been this movement, to eventually convert the natural national monuments to parks, so it does make sense in that context. Makes one wonder what monument will transition next? My pick would be Dinosaur NM.
I agree with zrfphoto on the name. His suggestion, "Colorado Canyons NP," would at least preserve part of the name of Colorado NM. If the politicians want to honor John Otto's legacy, this is a way they could accomplish that.