7 Grand Views in Grand Staircase-Escalante, Restored

 by Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director

For nearly four years, some of the most breathtaking vistas and vital ancestral lands in Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — known for its astounding fossil record and scientific discoveries that help unlock the secrets of ancient life in the American Southwest — languished, unlawfully stripped of their national monument status. But on October 8, 2021, President Biden restored Utah's beloved "science" monument, renewing full monument protections.

Seeing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument restored is cause for celebration; it's also just the beginning.

Next comes a new plan for how to manage the renewed monument, including how to protect the monument's old-growth pinyon and juniper forests from clear-cutting and where to allow cattle grazing and off-road vehicles. We'll be counting on you to stand up for the monument's "objects of scientific interest" from its life-giving springs, to the delicate biocrusts that hold desert soils together, to the myriad cultural sites that speak to the generations of Indigenous knowledge that connect Native people to this living cultural landscape to this day.

Before all that hard work begins, let's take a moment to soak in some of the monument's most beautiful — and meaningful — views, restored by President Biden's proclamation:

Lamp Stand. TIM PETERSON

Paria Badlands. TIM PETERSON

 

Not far from Kanab, Utah, the bright rock striations of the Paria Badlands are so colorful they appear painted with an artist's brush. Once a town site, the settlement was abandoned in the early 20th century thanks to the fickle flood cycles of the Paria River. Various Hollywood westerns were filmed near here, including "The Outlaw Josey Wales."

 

East Cove Paria Badlands. TIM PETERSON

Early morning or evening bring the full drama of the Paria Badlands to bear, highlighting the different colors and textures in these otherworldly formations.

 

Cockscomb. TIM PETERSON

The East Kaibab Monocline, better known as the "Cockscomb," forms the western border of the Kaiparowits Plateau at the center of the monument. Its sandstone knobs are reminiscent of a giant rooster's comb.

 

North Escalante Canyons. RAY BLOXHAM

In the serpentine Upper Escalante Canyons, erosion has exposed rolling expanses of brightly colored petrified dunes. The area is also home to natural bridges and arches, including Phipps Arch, world-class slot canyons including Peek-a-boo Canyon, as well as pit houses, villages, and storage sites once used by the Fremont people. The canyon walls were also the canvas of Fremont, Ancestral Pueblo, and Southern Paiute artists, with numerous rock art panels recording vital cultural knowledge.

 

There's a lot you can do to celebrate the renewal of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, from soaking up the views, to hitting the trails, to birdwatching in the name of conservation when visiting the restored monument. We hope you'll take joy in seeing full protections restored, and use this time to recharge, storing up reserves of energy and resolve to advocate for the best management possible for these living landscapes.