PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Floods

On the afternoon of August 23, 1971, a rainstorm produced 1.32 inches of rain in a 45- minute period. Sixteen people were stranded in the visitor contact station, while one car in the picnic area had water flowing over its hood. The Southern Utah Group's Maintenance Specialist Joe Davis arrived early the next morning to survey the damage. General Superintendent Karl Gilbert quickly sent in two front-end loaders, a dump truck, a bulldozer, and operating personnel to assist the monument with cleanup operations. Surveyor of Maintenance Ronald E. Cotten arrived on August 25 to inspect the damage, estimate costs for repairs, and make recommendations to correct the drainage problem. The area around the visitor contact station, the picnic area, and lawns north of the Park Service residences were all covered with mud and silt to a depth of one to two feet. The historic garden (located between the contact station and the residential area) and six fruit trees were completely washed out. In addition, the sewer system was exposed in several places, the septic tank cleanout was silted in, and the sewer line was broken at one location. The superintendent's garage was flooded and the underground power line serving the power station was exposed and damaged. The west cabin also received water damage from water that had flooded through the walls and into the structure.

Of particular concern to Cotten, Davis, and Tracy was that the original drainage channel through the monument was completely washed out, including rubble-masonry dikes. This left the area entirely unprotected from future storms. This was a serious concern because more storms were predicted for the area at the time. Contact was made with tribal officials who gave permission for the Park Service to do rechanneling work across a portion of reservation, as well as on monument land, to divert and straighten the drainage channel, moving it to the northeast. Cotten estimated the rechanneling would cost $12,000; another $4,250 was needed to repair other monument storm damage. [2254]

Flood Diversion

After the flood of August 23, 1971, the monument's drainage channel was realigned, as per Cotten's recommendation. The initial stages of the project were accomplished under day labor, supervised by Joe Davis. The work had to be performed as time permitted. Complicating the work was the fact that from the beginning to the end of the project, the administration of Pipe Spring National Monument was transferred through three regions (Southwest, Midwest, and Rocky Mountain). This caused considerable confusion in terms of paperwork. Another factor that undoubtedly slowed down the project was the Park Service's indecision about retaining a housing area within the monument. (For a time they were considering moving the houses onto the reservation.) Cleanup work began in August 1971 but storm repairs were not completed until November 1974. [2255] Funds in the amount of $16,300 were allotted by the Midwest Region to repair the storm damage on May 15, 1972. The project included excavation of 800 linear feet of drainage channel and the installation of 374 linear feet of flood protection fence. [2256] The work realigned and rechanneled the stream bed. [2257]

Fire Protection

In 1973 Zion's Chief Ranger Nicholson made a study of conditions at Pipe Spring from which a basic fire plan was developed, put into use, and updated annually. In 1971 Superintendent Bernard Tracy assessed the vulnerability to fire of all monument buildings (as well as museum collections) and made recommendations to improve fire protection. The estimated cost of needed equipment was $1,200. [2258]

Safety and Law Enforcement

A basic safety plan was in place at the monument during the 1970s, updated annually. The monument maintained an excellent safety record with no accidents reported from 1969 to 1979. Hazardous trees were flagged and removed in the fall of the year.

No law enforcement problems were reported during the 1970s.