PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Introduction

This chapter covers the monument's history from late 1970, when Area Manager Raymond J. Geerdes left Pipe Spring, to early 1979, when Superintendent Bernard G. Tracy retired. The highpoints of the decade were the dedication of the Kaibab Paiute Cultural Building/Visitor Center and National Park Service-Kaibab Paiute Tribe joint-use water supply system on May 26, 1973; and the monument's two-year celebration of the country's bicentennial with an expansion of its living history program.

In 1970 President Richard M. Nixon was in the middle of his first term in office. Nixon's second term was clouded by the Watergate scandals and ended in his resignation on August 9, 1974. He was succeeded by Vice-president Gerald R. Ford who later was defeated in the 1976 elections by James Earl ("Jimmy") Carter. During the early 1970s, the United States moved toward military disengagement from its long involvement in the civil war in Viet Nam. The roots of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia went back to the Truman era and, like the Korean War, were the product of Cold War foreign policy. After sending military advisors from 1955 to 1960, the U.S. government became directly embroiled in the conflict, sending military troops from 1961 to 1973. In 1973 U.S. troops were withdrawn while the federal government continued its support of the South Vietnamese government and military. In 1975 the Saigon government surrendered to the North Vietnamese-backed Provisional Revolutionary Government, ending the war. [2107] The same year U.S. troops were withdrawn from Southeast Asia, another international conflict erupted in the Middle East. The Arab-Israeli War of October 6-22, 1973 (also called the Yom Kippur War), led to an Arab embargo of oil shipments to the United States. The resulting energy crisis resulted in a host of measures being implemented to curb energy consumption by individual citizens, businesses, and governments and to spur the development of additional energy sources. The fuel shortage appears to have contributed to a 21 percent drop in visitation to Pipe Spring National Monument in 1974.

President Nixon's cuts in funds for the Office of Equal Opportunity led to the cancellation of many Community Action programs such as the Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC), Head Start, and Operation Mainstream in 1973. [2108] While the monument struggled to retain the area's NYC program and keep its interpretive program afloat in the early 1970s, it received a boost during the country's bicentennial celebration. Beginning in 1976, enrollees under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) program furnished workers for the monument. Volunteers in the Parks (VIPs) also became increasingly essential to the monument's interpretive program, especially in cattle branding and domestic arts demonstrations.

A number of Park Service administrative changes took place during the 1970s. Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall's long tenure in the 1960s was followed by five changes in the Secretary's position between 1969 and 1977, made in the following order: Walter J. Hickel, Rogers C. B. Morton, Stanley K. Hathaway, Thomas S. Kleppe, and Cecil D. Andrus. Fewer changes were made to the directorate. Director George B. Hartzog, Jr., served until December 31, 1972. Shortly before his departure, Hartzog reinstated the Superintendent's Annual Report to the Director. (This report had been discontinued in 1964.) Hartzog was succeeded by Ronald H. Walker (January 1, 1973-January 3, 1975), Gary E. Everhardt (January 13, 1975-May 27, 1977); and William J. Whalen (July 5, 1977-May 13, 1980).

Of more direct impact to Pipe Spring National Monument were administrative changes made on the regional level. The monument fell under the direction of three different regional offices during the 1970s. At the beginning of the decade the monument was overseen by Regional Director Frank F. Kowski of the Southwest Region. On November 15, 1971, the boundary of the Midwest Region was adjusted to include Utah, Colorado, and at least part of Arizona. Most likely because of the monument's close historical association with and geographic proximity to Utah, the administration of the monument was transferred to the Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska, on that date. Regional Director J. Leonard Volz then headed that office. The monument remained under his direction until January 6, 1974, when the Rocky Mountain Region was established in Denver, Colorado. The monument then fell under its oversight. Regional Director Lynn H. Thompson oversaw the Rocky Mountain Region until Glen T. Bean succeeded him in 1978. Bean held this position until early 1980.

Until July 1972, the monument remained under the administration of the Park Service's Southern Utah Group. Acting General Superintendent Bill R. Alford succeeded General Superintendent Karl T. Gilbert on September 19, 1971; Acting General Superintendent James W. Schaack replaced Alford on January 9, 1972. The Southern Utah Group was abolished on July 8, 1972, after which time the monument was again placed under the direct management of Zion National Park. Zion's superintendents included Robert I. Kerr (May 3, 1970-July 8, 1972), Robert C. Heyder (July 9, 1972-June 2, 1979), and John O. Lancaster (June 3, 1979-May 16, 1981).

During the 1970s, there were numerous changes in personnel at the monument. For information on historians, technicians, seasonal aids, and laborers, see the "Personnel" section. For information about work performed by enrollees in the Neighborhood Youth Corps and Comprehensive Employment Training Act programs and by Volunteers in the Parks, see separate sections under those headings.