Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument celebrates 25th anniversary
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KANAB, Utah – The Bureau of Land Management’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument invites the public to celebrate the monument’s 25th anniversary, on Sept. 18, 2021, at 10 a.m. (MT), during a live, two-hour Zoom broadcast and the unveiling of an anniversary webpage. Plans shifted from the originally scheduled in-person event to a web-based format to help ensure the health and safety of guests.
“This anniversary serves as a celebration of the beauty of our national parks and monuments, as well as the significant benefits they offer local gateway communities which welcome in millions of visitors every year,” said BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs Nada Wolff Culver. “We are grateful for the work of our dedicated scientists, paleontologists, geologists, and monument staff, who have helped steward the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument for the last 25 years.”
Planned events for Grand Staircase-Escalante’s silver jubilee include guest speakers and a posted webpage highlighting celebration activities with an audio series featuring guest researchers discussing their work on the monument in the fields of paleontology, geology, entomology and botany. The public is encouraged to tune into the live event at https://bit.ly/39fLMoG and to visit the anniversary webpage at https://go.usa.gov/xMBWw.
“Today, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – BLM’s first national monument,” said Utah State Director Greg Sheehan. “And for all the tomorrows, we celebrate the Monument’s future as a ‘living laboratory’ and ‘working landscape’ that provides unparalleled opportunities for science, preservation of ancient cultural histories, and recreation for the American people.”
“For the last 25 years, monument staff have worked closely with researchers to strike a balance between multiple-use productivity and landscape restoration to improve land health for future generations,” said Paria River District Manager Harry Barber. “The Monument deserves to be revered for its unprecedented contributions to conservation. As a wildlife biologist and land steward for nearly 30 years, I believe cooperation with our partners has helped support these conservation efforts, while supporting economic development in its gateway communities.”
“As popularity of the Monument continues to grow, we must remain vigilant in working together to find creative solutions to meet the needs that multiple-use and increased recreation require, while still protecting these public lands for the benefit of all Americans,” said Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Manager Vicki Tyler. “Our celebration activities are designed to remind us that even though we are here for just a blip in time, our conservation efforts and our actions will have long-lasting effects for many generations to come. It can be humbling when you stop to think about the complexities that good stewardship of public land resources entails.”
To continue to celebrate this important milestone, follow along on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr @BLMUtah and Instagram @UtahPublicLands.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.