The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area is the only National Heritage Area designated and named for a specific people, the Mormon Pioneers – as they forged to the west. Their remarkable story of dedication, fortitude, and extraordinary efforts offers one of the best features of the Mormon colonization experience in the United States. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area has been identified by Congress as a factor in the expansion of the United States and contributing to the United States.

black and white photo of butch cassidy and gang — Butch Cassidy and Gang

The unique landscape features a geological wonderland that has been the backdrop for feature films including; “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” While traveling through the picturesque scenery, you might recognize a scene or two. Included in the heritage area is the birthplace of Utah outlaws, Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner. Matt was a lifelong friend and a gang member alongside of Butch. Many movies were filmed in the scenic Under the Rim District of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area.

In the later part of the 1800s the Mormon pioneers began their great relocation to the west. They trekked 1,400 miles from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake. This mass-Exodus brought about colonization in Utah, Nevada, the southwest corner of Wyoming, the southeast corner of Idaho, southeast Oregon, and a large portion of southern and eastern California.

log cabin with Mormon Pioneer Family Echo City Utah — Family Portrait of Mormon Pioneers in Echo City, Utah

Their role comes alive as you travel through the communities they built, giving you a picturesque glimpse into the Mormons’ role in the old west, and a sense of life in the mid 1800s. You will be awed by the area specific architecture found in the heritage area. It was largely influenced by the vast number of European immigrants that came to Utah in the 1800s. The colonization of central and southern Utah brought many talented stonemasons to the area to quarry the unique natural resources of the Oolitic limestone exclusively found in Sanpete County which is located in the Little Denmark District.

ANNOUNCING EVERY KID IN A PARK

March 15, 2016Boulder Loop, Bryce National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Current Year Press Releases, Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, National Forest Service, National Park Service, National Parks, Press Releases, Under the Rim, Zion National Park

The Federal Land Management agencies, National Parks, National Park Service, Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the White House have joined together in a partnership to initiate the EVERY KID IN A PARK incentive. This program is designed to give every fourth grader and their families to visit all our country’s natural treasures. The history of our great country can engage each student to enjoy the beauty, culture, and enjoy the federal lands and waters free of charge.

This initiative began 01 September 2015 and ends on August 31, 2016. The free pass allows free access to the national forests, national parks, and national wildlife refuges, and so much more.

The National Park Foundation which is the nation’s official charity for the National Parks has been raising funds to work with connecting the fourth graders of our nation to have free access to all of public land and waters in America. A division of the Foundation’s Open Outdoors for Kids program, is designed to remove stumbling blocks for our fourth graders admission into the wonderlands of our natural parks and water ways. The Every Kid in a Park initiative has been designed for students in under served and urban communities. Due to the schools wide cutbacks in funding for grants for fields trips, the strategic funding will hopefully provide a learning experience for all fourth graders and their families.