Stimulus Funds Will Help Improve Utah Parks

Some $24 million will be used to make improvements at Utah national parks and other areas managed by the National Park Service, the Interior Department announced Wednesday. Both the Salt Lake Tribune and Desert New have reports on the funding. Below are excerpts.

Twelve parks in the state will get funds from the massive federal stimulus effort to prop up crumbling trails, buildings, walls and historic sites, (Interior Secretary Ken) Salazar said at a news conference atop the Interior Department building overlooking the Washington Monument.

In Utah, Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal will get the biggest boost: $13 million to demolish and replace condemned portions of the Quarry Visitors Center.

The visitor center has had continuing problems with foundation movement since its 1957 construction. In July 2006, the Park Service closed the building due to serious life and safety hazards.

Zion National Park will get funds to install solar panels and fix trails, while Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southeastern Utah will get about $8 million to preserve 68 miles of roads.

Salazar listed the work at Dinosaur with such other high-profile projects as spending $5.5 million to rehabilitate the Independence Hall tower in Philadelphia; $8.8 million to stabilize the Ellis Island Baggage and Dormitory Building; $30.5 million to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.; and $9 million to replace an old wastewater treatment plant in Yellowstone National Park.