HELENA, Mont. — The managers of Utah’s Zion National Park missed an opportunity when 10 spectacular acres of privately owned land within the park’s boundaries came onto the market.
The managers wanted Zion to buy up the property and protect it from further development because of its world-class view of the park’s awesome, 3,800-foot red rock cliffs. But the park didn’t have the money.
A California couple eventually bought the land, expanded an old tavern on the site and use it for spiritual retreats. “Now there’s a large structure with lights that people would see as they drive the road,” said Zion Superintendent Jock Whitworth.
Within the 84-million-acre national park system are 5.4 million acres of private parcels, an area nearly as big as New Hampshire.
The Park Service has identified about a third of the private land for acquisition. But in fiscal 2007, the agency was allocated $24.6 million for buying the property. That is little more than 1 percent of the $2 billion or so the Park Service says would be needed to purchase all the land.
National Park Service spokesman Jeff Olson said the Bush administration has focused more on managing the land it already controls than on acquiring more.
