PIPE SPRING Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History

Introduction

This chapter deals with events occurring in and around Pipe Spring National Monument while it was under the administration of Superintendent William M. ("Bill") Herr, beginning with his arrival on April 8, 1979, and ending soon after his transfer to Golden Spike National Historic Site in mid-January 1989. (Some events associated with the very early administration of one of Herr's successors, Gary M. Hasty, are also mentioned.) A decline in the spring flow at the monument, first noticed in the 1970s, continued throughout the 1980s. The decline led to a two-year study by the Park Service's Water Resources Division. During the 1980s, developments on the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation in 1980 and in Moccasin in 1987 threatened to upset the delicate balance over water use that existed between the Park Service, the Kaibab Paiute Tribe, and the Mormon community of Moccasin. Considerable rehabilitation work was accomplished during this period to the fort and west cabin, as well as to tunnel spring.

International events continued to impact the monument to some degree, as the Arab-Israeli conflict had in 1973-1974. When Bill Herr arrived at Pipe Spring, President Jimmy Carter was still in office. During 1979 and 1980, gasoline prices were high, in large part due to critical events in Iran. On November 4, 1979, a hostage crisis took place in Iran, when 53 Americans were held captive for 444 days by Ayatollah Khomeini's Revolutionary Council, an act triggered by the U.S. admitting the recently deposed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi into the country for medical treatment. President Carter froze Iranian assets in the United States and announced the country would go to war to protect oil supply routes in the Persian Gulf. Formal relations with Iran were broken on April 7, 1980, followed by economic sanctions against Iran. The hostage crisis dominated U.S. foreign policy for over a year. It led in mid-November 1979 to the implementation of emergency building temperature restrictions at the monument and other park units. (Fortunately, just one month prior to the hostage crisis, a number of changes had been made to the two permanent residences to make them more energy efficient. See "Permanent Residences" section.) Carter's failure to win release of the hostages helped Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential election. The hostages were freed on Inaugural Day, January 20, 1981. As part of the agreement between the U.S. and Iran, trade restrictions were lifted and the U.S. energy crisis gradually eased.

President Reagan served for two terms. Former Vice-president George Bush succeeded him in 1988. [2259] The budget-cutting policies of Reagan and Bush led to a curtailment of assistance to Native Americans, leaving some reservations with few opportunities for economic improvement. That is why, some have argued, that the Kaibab Paiute Tribe showed interest in a late 1989 business proposal to locate hazardous waster incinerators on the reservation, a plan that would have put the area at risk for an environmental disaster.

Within the Park Service a number of administrative changes took place between 1979 and 1989. There would be four Secretaries of the Interior during this period: Cecil D. Andrus, James D. Watt, William C. Clark, and Donald Paul Hodel. In 1979 William J. Whalen was National Park Service director, followed in May 1980 by Russell E. Dickenson. William Penn Mott succeeded Dickenson in May 1985 and served in the post until April 1989. In the Rocky Mountain Region, L. Lorraine Mintzmyer succeeded Regional Director Glen T. Bean on April 6, 1980, and held the position until early October 1991. Superintendent Bob Heyder left Zion National Park in 1979. Zion was successively overseen by Superintendent John O. Lancaster (1979-1981), and two Acting Superintendents, Russell C. Alderson and Malcolm S. Nicholson (1981). Superintendent Harold L. ("Harry") Grafe took over Zion in October 1981 and remained in the position for 10 years. As far as Region, Zion, and Pipe Spring administrations go, the 1980s were a period of relative stability for the monument, with Mintzmyer, Grafe, and Herr providing a rare degree of continuity.

During the 1980s, Herr worked with a number of different tribal chairs. Tribal Chairman Bill Tom represented the Tribe until 1982 when Dolores ("Dee") Savala was elected tribal chair. Gloria Bulletts succeeded Savala in 1983. Both women were subsequently re-elected as tribal chairs later in the decade. Alberta Fuller was elected tribal chair in October 1989. A complete chronology of tribal chairs for the decade has yet to be compiled. What is notable about the decade is that tribal government shifted from being headed by Kaibab Paiute men to being led by Kaibab Paiute women, although men continued to serve on the Council and in other tribal government positions.