Farmington Daily Times
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
WASHINGTON A more focused effort to promote the earliest history of the Four Corners region by designating a national "Trial of the Ancients" in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona could be the result of legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, the New Mexico Republican said in a news release Tuesday.
Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is supporting the Trail of the Ancients National Historic Trail Act of 2003, which was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The Senate Energy Committee's national parks subcommittee is scheduled to have a hearing on this bill March 25.
"I believe the National Park Service will find that a national trails designation in the Four Corners area is not only plausible, but needed in a region rich in history and greatly in need of ways to improve economic opportunities," Domenici said.
"A nationally designated trail could be very useful in terms of boosting tourism and jobs."
The bill would direct the National Park Service to study the Trail of the Ancients to determine its suitability as a national historic trail. The designation, using the National Trails System Act, would include existing routes and roads, and specifically includes provisions to restrict any impediment to private property rights.
In New Mexico, the proposed trail would include 600 miles rolling through San Juan and McKinley counties, including parts of the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo. The proposal is supported by both tribes, Farmington, Aztec, Bloomfield, Gallup, and the Northwest Council of Governments. It would highlight established tourist attractions, particularly those associated with the ancient Anasazi culture.
Much of the existing multistate, automobile route covered by the legislation is already officially designated as Scenic Byways in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Portions of the trail in New Mexico has already been designated a state Scenic Byway.
The National Trails System was established by the National Trails System Act of 1968 "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the nation."