Current Issues
Rock art and other ancient artifacts are now protected by law and, although enforcement is difficult, outright looting and malicious vandalism are largely a thing of the past. Nine Mile Canyon's rock art, however, is still at risk. Carved and painted mainly on weathered sandstone panels, the images are susceptible to erosion, which is accelerated by touching and airborne dust. The dust is a special concern as heavy industrial traffic in the canyon increases.
Nine Mile Road, once such an important route, is almost completely unpaved. In fact, it is considered the poorest of the four old military roads in Duchesne County. Difficult to travel as it is, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) designated it as a Scenic Backcountry Byway in 1990. But the road itself no longer limits travel in the canyon as it once did. The rapid proliferation of off-road vehicles has brought new access to the canyon's attractions—and new threats to their survival.
Read more about this topic: Nine Mile Canyon
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or issues:
“What in fact have I achieved, however much it may seem? Bits and pieces ... trivialities. But here they won’t tolerate anything else, or anything more. If I wanted to take one step in advance of the current views and opinions of the day, that would put paid to any power I have. Do you know what we are ... those of us who count as pillars of society? We are society’s tools, neither more nor less.”
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)
“I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)