To complement road access, it is suggested that the National Park Service be authorized and directed, with special consideration for funding to continue developments at Lees Ferry, Wahweap, Warm Creek, Gunsite Butte, Oil Seep Bar, Llewellyn Gulch, Hole-in-the-Rock, Bullfrog Basin, Halls Crossing, Castle Butte and Hite. The question is often raised as to the role which outdoor recreation as an industry (that is a complex of economic activities) can play in the economic development of Utah's southern counties; the creation of jobs, and the stimulation of public and private investment. The answer lies in the nature of the recreation industry and the assets and liabilities of the area. The outdoor recreation industry has two fundamental characteristics: first, it is resource based; and second, its enterprises are mainly trade and services. Each of these characteristics has significance in the Four Corners Recreational Area. The product of the industry, and outdoor recreational experience, must be consumed in the local area. This activity offers special opportunities to bring work to the unemployed of an area where the unemployed labor force has limited skills and lacks mobility to move to jobs elsewhere. This type of labor force is suited to serving the bulk of the recreation labor needs. Because of seasonal or other fluctuations, recreation businesses are often supplemental or seasonally complementary, to other income employment or farming. Four factors mainly determine the economic impact of recreation on a local area: (1) The recreational resource and its attractiveness, (2) The volume of visitors, (3) The intensity of expenditures, and (4) The degree to which the expenditures become income to the local area. The recreation region in southeastern Utah may be compared favorably with each of these factors. There are recreational resources in this area of such rare quality that their attractiveness spans the whole continent. Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyon Lands, and Arches National Parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are a few of the attractions that have received national acclaim. People are willing to visit and use our natural attractions and recreational facilities if they can get to them conveniently. For example, from January through October of 1971, about 49,000 people visited Natural Bridges National Monument. In the same period about 2.3 million visited Grand Canyon; 934,000 visited Zion National Park; 659,000 visited Glen Canyon National Recreation area: 239,000 visited Capitol Reef National Monument; 41,000 visited Rainbow Bridge National Monument; 54,000 visited Canyon Lands National Park, and 198,000 visited Arches National Park. Thus, Natural Bridges National Monument received about one percent of the 4.8 million area visits. For visitors on east-west trips the area is in an intercept position but lacks an integrated highway system. Because of this, the 300-mile long, 40-mile wide scenic corridor has generated visits as two separate recreational regions. Park areas on the western end of the corridor are provided with good connecting roads as are the park areas on the eastern end. To travel the 60 miles separating these highways a visitor must detour about 400 miles. The magnitude of visitor expenditures is less dependent on the nature of the resource and the volume of visitors than on the duration of their stay and the number and variety of opportunities for spending. The effects of variety in things to do, see, and buy are accumulative. The longer a visitor stays in the area the more services he will require. The more services and goods he is offered in the area, the more he is likely to buy. In addition, the more goods and services he is able to buy in the area the longer he is likely to stay. Where the attractions draw visitors from far away, as the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area does, it becomes necessary for them to spend a night in the area in order to enjoy its resources, thereby intensifying the opportunities for recreation industry. The impact will be a function of the variety of things to do which keeps the visitor there and the number of things he can find on which to spend his money. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is now in the embryonic stage of economic development. Limited services and goods are offered at a minimum of locations. Even here, however, it is possible to say that a visitor who brings his own bedroom (tent, camper or mobile home), provides his own groceries (purchased outside of the area), and does not buy gifts will spend $5.00 per hundred miles of driving and $5.00 for boat fuel every day he uses his boat. Because of this, we should think of millions of dollars of visitor expenditures when we quote hundreds of thousands of visitors. The ability of an area to retain the revenues arising from recreation expenditures as net income will determine the contribution of these expenditures to the economic base. If the required labor and labor skills are imported for the season, the local impact will be less than if the goods and services are locally produced, because the seasonal immigrating labor force will tend to spend much of its income in its home town away from the recreational area. Imported goods have a similar effect, payments for such items leak out of the area and, therefore, do not generate production of additional goods and services to provide employment and income to benefit the community. This raises the question, where does the money flow? Given a substantial recreation expenditure, the impact must be somewhere. Generally, the benefits flow to the nearest towns which can supply the goods and services. It is a question, therefore, of location, access, and nature of the surrounding economies. In the Four Corners Recreational Region, the points of basic supply are varied and sometimes distant. St. George is close to Zion National Park but far from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the Grand Canyon. Moab, on the opposite end of the recreation corridor, supplies basic goods and services to visitors of the nearby Arches National Park and Canyon Lands National Park as well as those traveling as far as Natural Bridges National Monument. Richfield is the supplier of goods and services to visitors entering the corridor from the north and those purchasing items at Capitol Reef National Park. To the extent that these supply points either produce these goods and services or buy from the Wasatch Front, Utah retains the impact from their income. How much impact? The Utah State Tax Commission estimated that similar statewide tourist expenditures in 1970 turned over 31⁄2 times and generated about 18¢ tax on each tourist dollar spent. Accordingly, millions of dollars of tourist expenditures mean multiple millions in sales and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax. Where unemployment and under-employment are high and the area has a relatively small production of "export", the impact of a vigorous tourist trade is appreciable. The small narrowly based economic structure in Utah's southeastern counties can benefit from the 100-125 jobs that might result from every $1,000,000 of tourist expenditure.1 If economic impact is dependent initially upon the drawing power of an area's attractions, this, in turn, is dependent upon the access provided to it and permitted within or through it. A highway between Glen Canyon City and Moab will, at a minimum, open up 200 miles of unrivaled scenery. It will connect two of the nations most spectacular recreational areas into the largest, and most complete recreational region in the United States. The quality, capacity and continuity of the roads in his area will affect the level of visitation and hence the possibilities for economic impact. Recreational sites in the Golden Circle area have been set aside by federal, state and local governments in an attempt to meet the ever increasing demand most every American makes to occupy his own little piece of pristine land for a day, a week or a month. It is at least a temporary escape from the split-level trap. Trends toward shorter work weeks, consequent increases in leisure time and a rapidly rising population emphasize the need for better accessibility to recreational areas. The nation is building billion dollar roads leading to other congested places just like those they left behind. Such roads are essential to America's progress and survival, but we also have a responsibility to build roads to places that are different. We endorse the concept of officially establishing a Glen Canyon National Recreation Area by an Act of Congress including provisions authorizing the State of Utah to construct roads to and through the area. 1 Recreation as an Industry, Research Report No. 2, the Appalachian Regional Com. mission, 1966. Chairman, National Parks and Recreation, Subcommittee, House Interior and Insular Affairs, Washington, D.C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN TAYLOR: I am writing to you to clarify any misunderstanding which may have arisen regarding a portion of my testimony given at the hearing in Kanab on May 27, 1972. During the hearing I was asked whether or not the State Road Commission had a plan for the proposed road. My negative response to the question meant that the Commission does not have completed construction plans from which the road could be built. I did not mean to imply that planning for the road had not been done. Serious planning activities have been underway since early in the 1960's when the concept of the Golden Circle area was first conceived and presented in a Highway Department publication. From that first effort a proposal for a road network has evolved and been refined. Our proposals have been incorporated into the programs of the Four Corners Regional Commission, the State Highway Department, Federal Agencies and local governments. Substantial sums have been expended on State Road 95 between Blanding and Hanksville, access roads to Bull Frog Basin and Halls Crossing, the road from Escalante to Boulder and other local roads in the area. Programs are also in progress for additional expenditures and improvements on many of the roads comprising the Golden Circle network. The Lake Powell Scenic Highway has been a major element in the total proposed network. Highway Department Engineers have conducted map and field studies of a number of alternative routes between Glen Canyon City and Bull Frog Basin. Photogrammetric mapping has been obtained for one route between the Hole-in-the-Rock Road and Bull Frog Basin. The mapping and studies clearly show the feasibility of constructing a suitable road in several general corridors. As a result of the Department's studies a series of location public hearings were held for the highway. Hearings for the northern segment were conducted in Kanab, Panguitch, Richfield and Salt Lake during May and June of 1969. A hearing on the southern segment was held in Kanab on June 30, 1970. On September 25, 1970, the Road Commission formally adopted the proposed corridors for each segment. Subsequently the Department requested that the Bureau of Land Management reserve and protect alternative corridors, one mile in width, for future construction of the highway. The Department has not proceeded with detailed engineering studies to precisely locate the highway within the requested corridor reservations, but has suspended such actions until Congress has made its determination and all needed studies can proceed simultaneously. We have planned for the highway and have determined corridors suitable for construction of the road. We have not completed construction plans but could do so under the provisions of the legislation which is awaiting Congressional action. Very truly yours, CLEM CHURCH, Chairman, Utah State Road Commission. Mr. TAYLOR. Our next witness, H. Burrell Lewis, chairman, Kane County Commissioners, accompanied by Merrill McDonald, Commissioner, and Billy Terrill, Commissioner. STATEMENT OF H. BURRELL LEWIS, CHAIRMAN, KANE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, ACCOMPANIED BY MERRILL MCDONALD, COMMISSIONER, AND BILLY TERRILL, COMMISSIONER Mr. TAYLOR. You may proceed, Mr. Lewis. Mr. LEWIS. Gentlemen, we are happy to welcome you here to Kane County. It is indeed encouraging to see you here. We often hear such phrases as "government at the local level," and "decisionmaking by those most affected." Now, having you here in our beautiful area to evaluate first-hand, questions concerning this particular region, renews our faith and belief in this great American system of Government. Other prior hearings on such matters as we will discuss today have been held, but these hearings have been held in Salt Lake City, Utah; Phoenix, Arizona and other cities far remote for the people and area most affected. We wish to thank you gentlemen for bringing this hearing to this beautiful part of Utah which will be under consideration at this hearing. Your committee is here today to gather first-hand information at the local level before you propose regulations and laws concerning |