![National Park Service Logo](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/templates/images/graphics/parkblackband.gif) |
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/templates/images/graphics/blkshim.gif) |
![National Park Service: U.S. Department of the Interior](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/templates/images/graphics/prntarrw.gif) ![National Park Service Arrowhead](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/templates/images/graphics/prnttitl.gif) |
|
|
|
Canyonlands National Park
Park Founders
|
|
|
|
|
|
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/templates/images/graphics/spacer.gif) |
|
Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, Senator Frank Moss and family members visit the Needles area in 1961 |
|
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Arches National Monument Superintendent Bates Wilson advocated the creation of a National Park in what is now Canyonlands. Wilson led government officials on jeep tours which featured lengthy talks over campfires and hearty dutch oven dinners. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall joined one of these tours in 1961, and began lobbying for the proposed park.
On September 12, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Public Law 88-590 establishing Canyonlands National Park. Initially consisting of 257,640 acres, Congress expanded Canyonlands to its present size of 337,598 acres in 1971.
|
|
|
|
![Bates Wilson Bates Wilson](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/customcf/apps/CMS_HandF/Pictures/CANY_bates.jpg) Bates Wilson Read a 1967 interview with the "Father of Canyonlands." more... | | ![Stewart Udall Stewart Udall](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/customcf/apps/CMS_HandF/Pictures/CANY_StewartUdall.jpg) Stewart Udall Download audio or video of Stewart Udall discussing the creation of Canyonlands. more... | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
![Desert Bighorn Sheep Desert Bighorn Sheep](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090512153300im_/http://www.nps.gov/imr/customcf/apps/CMS_HandF/Pictures/CANY_BighornSheep2.jpg) |
|
Did You Know?
Desert bighorn sheep live year-round in Canyonlands. These animals make their home along the rivers, negotiating the steep, rocky talus slopes with ease. Once in danger of becoming extinct, desert bighorns are making a tentative comeback thanks to the healthy herds in Canyonlands.
more...
|
|
|
|
Last Updated: November 16, 2006 at 11:34 EST |