page_title: Colorado National Monument
section_title: Park history
hierarchical_section_title: Colorado National Monument / Park history
caption_attribution_description: English: Cyclist about to ride through a tunnel in the Colorado National Monument park, September 30, 2017
context_page_description: Colorado National Monument is a National Park Service unit near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado Plateau, with pinyon and juniper forests on the plateau. The park hosts a wide range of wildlife, including red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, ravens, jays, desert bighorn sheep, and coyotes. Activities include hiking, horseback riding, road bicycling, and scenic drives; a visitor center on the west side contains a natural history museum and gift shop. There are scenic views from trails, Rim Rock Drive, which winds along the plateau, and the campground. Nearby are the Book Cliffs and the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa.
  The monument's feature attraction is Monument Canyon, which runs the width of the park and includes rock formations such as Independence Monument, the Kissing Couple, and Coke Ovens. The monument includes 20,500 acres, much of which has been recommended to Congress for designation as wilderness.
  Interactive map of the Colorado National Monument
context_section_description: The area was first explored by John Otto, who settled in Grand Junction in the early 20th century. Prior to Otto's arrival, many area residents believed the canyons to be inaccessible to humans. Otto began building trails on the plateau and into the canyons. As word spread about his work, the Chamber of Commerce of Grand Junction sent a delegation to investigate. The delegation returned praising both Otto's work and the scenic beauty of the wilderness area, and the local newspaper began lobbying to make it a National Park.  A bill was introduced and carried by the local Representatives to the U.S. Congress and Senate but a Congressional slowdown in the final months threatened the process.  To ensure protection of the canyons President William Howard Taft (who had visited the area) stepped in and used the highest powers available to him via the Antiquities Act and presidential proclamation to declare the canyons as a national monument.
  The area was established as Colorado National Monument on May 24, 1911. Otto was hired as the first park ranger, drawing a salary of $1 per month. For the next 16 years, he continued building and maintaining trails while living in a tent in the park.
  The park became more well known in the 1980s partly due to its inclusion as a stage of the major international bicycle race, the Coors Classic. The race through the park became known as "The Tour of the Moon", due to the spectacular landscapes the race passed through on Rim Rock Drive.
  The issue of national park status has arisen time and again, usually during bust cycles brought on by the Uranium industry and later oil and gas.  As of June, 2014 Congressman Scott Tipton and Senator Mark Udall have carried the process closer to fruition than any other representatives since the initial effort in 1907.   The two Representatives appointed an 18-member committee of locals to study the issue and learn the facts in 2011.  After a ground swell of support from local residents and business  owners, the Representatives then appointed a committee of five local residents to write draft legislation.  The draft legislation was announced and released in early 2014.  A public comment period on the draft legislation began soon after with an end date of June 29.   Documentary producer  Ken Burns (National Parks:  America's Best Idea) weighed in of the effort, endorsing national park status for the Colorado National Monument.  Burns compared the area to Seward, Alaska which overcame opposition to create Kenai Fjords National Park.  Burns said Seward locals came to refer to Kenai Fjords National  Park as a "permanent pipeline".
caption: Cyclists riding through one of the tunnels during the Tour of the Moon bicycle race on September 30, 2017
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 7 Plus", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Snapseed 2.18.168212136", "Image DateTime": "2017:09:30 11:39:47", "Image ExifOffset": "202", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[39, 6, 2591/50]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[108, 44, 531/50]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "114046/71", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[17, 39, 46]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "9/50", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "M", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "23362/87", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "M", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "23362/87", "GPS GPSDate": "2017:09:30", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "5", "Image GPSInfo": "742", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/120", "EXIF FNumber": "9/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "32", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:09:30 11:39:47", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:09:30 11:39:47", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6832/989", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2159/1273", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "2927/523", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "399/100", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2015, 1511, 2217, 1330]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "955", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "955", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2682", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3576", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "28", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[399/100, 33/5, 9/5, 14/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 7 Plus back dual camera 3.99mm f/1.8"}