Cedar Breaks National Monument

Many visitors to national parks today collect passport stamps, magnets, or other items to recall their trip and to show others where they’ve been. In the 1920s and 1930s the “must have” souvenirs weren’t created to be collected. National Park Service (NPS) windshield stickers served a practical administrative purpose; they were evidence that the automobile license fee drivers paid at some parks had been paid. Even so, Americans embraced their colorful, artistic designs.

In 1915 Stephen T. Mather was hired by Secretary of Interior Franklin K. Lane to build public and political support for a new bureau for national parks. To implement his vision, Mather called on an industry with a track record in publicizing western national parks—the nation’s railroad companies.

When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change.

“Paa” ute means water ute, and explains the Southern Paiute preference for living near water sources. The Spanish explorer Escalante kept detailed journals of his travels in the Southwest and made notes concerning Southern Paiute horticulture, writing in 1776, that there were “well dug irrigation ditches” being used to water small fields of corn, pumpkins, squash, and sunflowers.

Visitors to Arches National Park experience natural free-flowing waters and have water to quench their thirst, thanks to an agreement between the National Park Service and the State of Utah.

Species description of the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus).

A tagged California condor flies free. NPS Photo/ Don Sutherland

Cedar Breaks National Monument and the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) are excited to announce the designation of Cedar Breaks as an International Dark Sky Park. This distinction recognizes Cedar Breaks as a sanctuary of natural darkness and for the opportunity it provides visitors to enjoy the night sky.