WSPC01202

• File Number: 8210.761.09
• Description: Colorado River-Federal Agencies-US NPS-Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 1/1/3000
• Title: General Management Plan 1-Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and Curecanti National Recreation Area
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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more recent deposits suggest that musk ox, cave
lions, and cheetah roamed Blue Mesa during the
Ice ages.

. The prehistoric and historic stories of human
culture in the Curecantl area are recorded in the
traces and tracks left by Native Americans,
miners, railroaders, and ranchers. These signs
document not only the human struggles to
survive but also how changing human value
systems, economic, social, and technological
changes, and the importance of water have
shaped the use and character of the land and its
people. Cultural history contains archeological
examples of some of the oldest villages found in
North America, predating the building of the
pyramids. The narrow-gauge railroad exhibited
in Cimarron graphically portrays the story of
technology's effects of shaping people and using
land; the agony and difficulties of building track
in narrow canyons in winter where the sun
seldom shined; of taking the hard way instead of
the easy trail. The finest examples of the
railroad are on exhibit at Cimarron.

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Black Canyon Of The Gunnison
National Monument

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Park Purpose

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The reason or reasons for which Black
Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument
was set aside as a part of the national park
system is called its park purpose, Purpose
statements are based upon legislation,
legislative history, and historic trends.

The purpose statements below reflect the
legislative intent for the monument Other
legislation affecting management of the
monument includes the 1916 Organic Act,
the National Environmental Policy Act, the
National Historic Preservation Act, the
Wilderness Act, the Archeological Resources
Protection Act, and the Endangered Species
Act

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The purpose of the Black Canyon of the
Gunnison National Monument is to provide

for:

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. preservation and protection of the spectacular
gorges and scenic values.

. protection of natural, cultural, and scientific
resources and items of educational interest.

. educational, scientific, and interpretive
opportunities.

. preservation of the integrity and characteristics
of lands designated as wilderness.

. opportunities for public use and enjoyment of
these resources in a manner that will leave them
unimpaired for future generations.

. management of monument resources as an
integral part of the Gunnison River Basin.

Park Siguificance

Significance is summarized in statements that
capture the essence of Black Canyon's
importance to our natural and cultural
heritage. Significance statements are not an
inventory of significant resources but rather
describe the importance or distinctiveness of
the aggregate ofresources in the park. The
following are the significance statements
developed for the park through the
management assessment process.

. The dynamic evolution of the Black Canyon,
involving the forces of heat, pressure, and water
action, has created one of the world's premier
wild canyons, because of its sheer cliffs, depth,
and narrowness, as it towers over the rapidly
falling river. It is a visual attraction that draws
hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

. Clean air and panoramic views pale the
influence of humans and give a feeling of what
once was throughout the west.

. It's the view.

. The monument contains a diversity of plant and
animal species, several of which are rare,
endangered, or unique to the area. Natural
resources provide an unaltered baseline from
which to measure changes in regional and
global conditions.

. The writing is on the wall. Without opening a
book, one can go back over 1.7 billion years of
geologic history as these vertical walls tell their
story.

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