Capitol Reef Celebrates 75th Anniversary, Offers Fresh Fruit, Works To Protect Rare Cacti
Capitol
Reef was proclaimed a national park by President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt on August 2, 1937. Anniversary activities will take place
during the next few days. This
park news release has details. Here's a quote:
The park and
Capitol Reef Natural History Association are teaming up to celebrate
this noteworthy milestone August 2-4, 2012 with special events and
activities including cultural demonstrations, interpretive programs,
live music and a cowboy cookout. A complete schedule of events will
be available two weeks prior. Scheduled activities include:
Fruit Harvest
The historic orchards in Capitol Reef
produce many kinds of fruit, which is available for public
consumption. Summer apples are now in season and peaches will soon be
coming on. The fruit is available for purchase at $1 per pound.
Current information about the fruit
harvest is available on a recorded Fruit Hotline, updated as specific
harvest start dates are determined or orchards are close. The fruit
hotline may be reached by calling (435) 425-3791.
See this
news release for more information about the fruit harvest.
Rare Plants
Several species of rare and endangered
plants live within the boundaries of Capitol Reef National Park. The
park is working to formulate reasonable regulations to protect the
plants while also allowing public recreation and other activities.
The two efforts sometimes produce
conflicts. The Salt Lake Tribune has this
article about efforts to protect endangered cacti while also
stopping some visitors who want to dig up plants or harvest seeds.
Here are excerpts from the article.
Capitol Reef is a
unique north-south twist of sandstone uplifts that catch varied
amounts of sunlight and moisture to create microhabitats for dozens
of rare plants. The Winkler cactus, like the similar-looking Wright
fish hook cactus that also is poached from the park, is one of seven
park plants protected under the Endangered Species Act.
...That first
dilemma, about public enjoyment, pains the park staff. Occasionally
somebody in the know will approach a ranger asking help locating a
cactus in flower season. They generally won’t help. "It bums
me out," Worthington said, because displaying unique natural
phenomena is what national parks are all about.
"It’s too
bad," park biologist Sandy Borthwick said, "because they
would love to see them. If they stumble on them by themselves, that’s
great. But we don’t really want to direct them."
Rangers have
positioned remote motion detectors, automatic cameras and highly
sensitive seismic detectors in the brush around some cactus beds.
Even with that help, it’s tough duty for five rangers policing a
70-mile-long backcountry park with 670,000 annual visitors. "I
just don’t have the resources," Brown said.
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