New Cedar Breaks National Monument Visitor Contact Station ‘has been a long time coming’

Written by Stephanie DeGraw
August 23, 2024

Rolling gray clouds and a brisk breeze complemented the attendees’ excitement at Thursday’s dedication of the new Cedar Breaks National Monument Visitor Contact Station.

L-R: Attending the opening of the Cedar Breaks National Monument Visitor Contact Station are Natalie Britt, president and CEO of the Zion Forever Project; Kathleen Gonder, Superintendent, Cedar Breaks National Monument; and Corrina Bow, Tribal Chairwoman, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Cedar Breaks, Utah, Aug. 22, 2024 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News

“This has been a long time coming. I have documents in our files from the ’70s,” Kathleen Gonder, Cedar Breaks superintendent, said. “I know most of you were not born then, but there was a time called the ’70s when the music was good. OK? Can I just say that? We are so excited to share this with you. We have amazing partners.”

The $7 million project includes a visitors building, gift shop and outdoor patio with a fireplace. Funding came from the National Park Service Centennial Challenge Program, the Zion National Park Forever Project and Iron County. The National Park Service Centennial Challenge allows parks and monuments to match federal dollars with partners for projects and programs to help provide visitors with service. Additionally, $500,000 came from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation Grant Program.

Tribal Chairwoman Corrina Bow of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah performed a traditional Paiute song. She punctured the song’s rhythm with a drum as the audience listened from the patio near Point Supreme Overlook.

Bow explained that the Paiutes are “the keepers of our homeland.” She said her tribal members gather berries and medicinal plants.

“We sing songs. We are close and connected to the land, the plants and the animals. So many of our songs and stories are told about such,” Bow said. “We give prayers, blessings and offerings to the land to keep our balance of life. Our elders would say, ‘If you do not speak the Paiute language, the land will not know who you are.’ The land only understands the Nega tongue. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m going to sing a song in Paiute.”

Gonder said the new visitor center will provide “a sense of place.” It will help visitors orient themselves to this landscape and realize its value as a national monument.

“We cannot stress our thanks to everyone who helped make this dream a reality,” Gonder said.

The first site was built in the 1920s as a lodge and used as a visitor center in the 1960s and is now the Human History Museum, Cedar Breaks, Utah, Aug. 22, 2024 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News

The Visitor Contact Station will welcome visitors to Cedar Breaks with an expanded open season. The former Information Center, located in the 1937 historic cabin, will now focus on the area’s human history with a self-guided interpretive area.

Tribal Chairman of the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Roland Maldonado also spoke at the event and thanked the National Park Service for allowing the Southern Paiute voice to be heard.

“This is a moment. Sometimes, it’s difficult because we remember our parents and our grandparents having to ask permission to leave the reservation. Having to be considered disrespectful because, for things like funerals, they would leave without asking because those are important,” Maldonado said. “We strive to be who we are, to maintain identity without being apologetic. Because we don’t need to apologize for who we are, what we believe, what we stand for, what we want.”

Maldonado said his tribe has agreed to consult with the National Park Service in the area. He said tribal leaders have come to Cedar Breaks with tribal youth to explain to them the heartful meaning of their homeland and its significance to their people — past and present.

“We are the experts when it comes to interpretation of the natural world. We are the first people. So our tribal voice needs to be heard,” Maldonado said. “A lot of people call us hunter-gatherers because we covered such a large area. Science is finally catching up.

“We were land managers. We are connected to this land by our traditions, our young men involved with the deer herds that run through here and the birds, plants and rock formations that call this place home. We believe they have a spirit, power and a life just as humans. It is our inherent duty to protect them and care for them.”

Shain Manuele, chairperson of the Zion National Park Forever Project, oversaw the center’s dedication. Guest speakers included Gonder, Bow and Maldonado, as well as Congressman John Curtis, U.S. Representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District; Kate Hammond, regional director, National Park Service Intermountain Region; Stephen Lisonbee, associate vice president, Southern Utah University and senior advisor for Rural Affairs to Gov. Spencer Cox. 

Additional funding for the project was made possible by  $500,000 from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation Grant Program

The new building will be home to:

  • Ranger-led programs and activities.
  • Dark sky resources. 
  • Wildflower events. 
  • Interpretive exhibits. 
  • The park store.
  • Restrooms.
  • Outdoor patio.

The Zion National Park Forever Project is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for Zion National Park, Pipe Springs National Monument and Cedar Breaks National Monument.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie DeGraw is an award-winning journalist. For 25 years, she engaged in journalism, broadcasting and public relations. DeGraw worked for the Salt Lake Tribune, Associated Press and The City Journals. She was a reporter for a CBS television station in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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