Rim Rock Canyons

Proposed National ParkColorado
A red sandstone canyon dropping away below the rim, with the valley and a distant mesa beyond
All proposed National ParksRim Rock CanyonsNo active campaign
Location
Colorado
Current protection
Colorado National Monument, McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, Dominguez–Escalante National Conservation Area
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 1 · National Park
Undiscovered America
Featured in the film and the book

Why should it be a National Park?

The terrain is a combination of red rock gorges interspaced with red rock buttes. Colorado National Monument preserves a similar setting to Monument Valley, but it displays that iconic landscape would have looked before the isolated buttes separated from the central mesa. Here, it's easy to see how those separated formations originally fit into the larger environment. A scenic 23 mile drive leads tourists to major sections of the landscape. The road begins at the base of the cliffs and climbs to the rims of the canyons, taking visitors from viewpoint to viewpoint. Trails also leave from this road, making it the easiest way to access different aspects of the monument.

Colorado National Monument lies west of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado near the Utah border. This monument serves as the gateway to many more famous desert parks but is overlooked by most tourists. The famed chain of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks in southern Utah line up directly with Colorado National Monument, but its different designation and location in a neighboring state means people aren't as aware of it. For this reason, the visitation rates are staggeringly lower to neighboring park areas despite the appearance and grandeur being similar to the Utah parks. Recently, locals have been trying to raise awareness for their hometown landmark. A committee was formed to push for a National Park redesignation and many local and state politicians got on board. The citizens of Grand Junction are largely for the redesignation from monument to park, but only time will tell if they are successful.

The history of National Park Campaigns

John Otto wanted a National Park from the start; Taft gave him a monument in 1911. Redesignation has surfaced repeatedly "during bust cycles" (uranium, then oil and gas), reaching its high-water mark in the 2011–2014 Udall/Tipton effort, which collapsed on divided local opinion rather than any NPS objection.

Distinct National Park attempts
3 (1906–07 John Otto's campaign and bills; and the sustained 2010–2014 push, plus recurring earlier "bust-cycle" agitation)
Other designation attempts
2 (McInnis Canyons NCA 2000/2004; Dominguez-Escalante NCA 2009)

Sources

  • National Parks Traveler, "Muddying the Waters Over Redesignating Colorado National Monument" (Apr. 27, 2014)
  • Post Independent, "Push to upgrade Colorado National Monument stalls in Mesa County"
  • Coalition of NPS Retirees letter (April 2014)
  • Taft Proclamation (1911)
  • Grand Junction City Council, Resolution 08-13 (2013)
  • NPCA, position on Colorado National Monument draft bill (2014)
  • Wikipedia, List of proposed National Parks of the United States
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. 1906

    John Otto lobbies Grand Junction for a National Park, and bills are introduced in Congress.

  2. 1906

    John Otto begins lobbying Grand Junction and Congress for a National Park; bills are introduced before President Taft proclaims a monument instead.

  3. May 24, 1911

    President Taft proclaims Colorado National Monument after John Otto's campaign; Otto favored a park.

  4. 1930s

    Rim Rock Drive built by CCC.

  5. 2000

    Colorado Canyons NCA created (renamed McInnis Canyons NCA, 2004).

  6. 2009

    Dominguez-Escalante NCA.

  7. December 2010–February 2011

    Centennial; Grand Junction Visitor & Convention Bureau board chair Paul Petersen writes Sens. Udall and Bennet urging park status; Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) (chair, Senate National Parks Subcommittee) holds a Feb. 23, 2011 listening session at Mesa State College; Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) says the community must drive it. An 18-member local committee is appointed. (CBS Colorado/AP; Bennet press release; Post Independent.)

  8. June 2013

    A five-person executive committee is formed to draft legislation.

  9. February 6, 2013

    The Grand Junction City Council adopts a resolution supporting National Park designation.

  10. Early 2014

    Draft Senate legislation released (proposed name "Rim Rock Canyons National Park"); a controversial provision would have created a "park advisory committee" including a Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association seat, drawing criticism from the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (letter, April 25, 2014). Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns endorsed park status. Public comment ended June 29, 2014.

  11. June 2014

    Udall and Tipton abandon the effort, citing divided community opinion and fears redesignation could harm the local economy. (Post Independent; E&E News.)

  12. Post-2014

    No successful revival; local op-eds recur but no 2022–2026 bill from Reps. Boebert/Hurd or Sens. Bennet/Hickenlooper was found. No formal bill has followed.

  13. July 8, 2014

    The National Parks Conservation Association issues its position on a citizens' draft bill to make Colorado National Monument a National Park.