Colorado A Classic Western Quarrel: A History of the Road Controversy at Colorado National Monument

The impact of the Colorado National Monument's establishment was not immediately understood by its adjacent communities. For most of the parks first nineteen years—1911 to 1930—local populations continued to use the area for recreational and non-recreational purposes with little or no knowledge of how national monument status changed the area. Even with the National Park Service's establishment in 1916, federal guidance in the administration and development of the park was limited. In fact, the Park Service's indifference to the park's needs was often frustrating to local park promoters. Consequently, community leaders in Grand Junction and Fruita took an active role in promoting and eventually administering the park. Frustrations over Park Service regulations and general cynicism toward the federal government emerged for the first time during these years.

Otto's Agenda

An important influence on the early development of the park was, not surprisingly, John Otto. The formal establishment of the Colorado National Monument did not exhaust Otto's enthusiasm for the project. After 1911, his early energy for the "park proposition" metamorphosed into a concerted effort to develop the park. His plans for the park, and the manner in which he pursued those plans, were pivotal to the way in which the community reacted to the park and eventually to the Park Service. Otto's years as custodian reflected a typical western frustration with the federal government in general. As the sole caretaker for the park, he was often left to enforce the rules of an absentee Park Service. This necessarily created resentment in Otto and eventually in those local residents who helped to develop the park.

Representative Taylor suggested Otto for the custodian position shortly after the establishment of the Colorado National Monument. Otto's nominal salary of one dollar a month came from a government contingency find, which made him an official federal employee, and authorized him to run the park. [170] Despite the meager salary, he took the job very seriously. Aided by his letter-writing skills, Otto worked to improve roads and trails, waged a relentless campaign to achieve national park status for the Monument, and even established a game preserve complete with elk and buffalo.

In terms of developing the relationship with the local community, however, Otto's attempt to enforce regulations in the park was his most important contribution. Technically, he should have been enforcing the Antiquities Act; instead he created his own form of law enforcement. Otto's interpretation of park regulations included a wide variety of restrictions. In one of his fliers, entitled "The Colorado National Monument: Regulations," he outlined his interpretation of the law in this way:

No Guns of any kind permitted. No Posts, Christmas Trees or Green Stuff of any kind to be cut. No Wood to be taken without a permit. The marking of autographs, dates, initials, drawings, or other pencilings or carvings of any kind whatsoever, and the painting or posting of advertising signs on the rimrock walls or rocks or trees, is prohibited. Do not set fire to growing trees or roll rocks down the sides of the canon. Be careful in selecting the spot for your camp fire so as not to scorch the surrounding trees, rock, etc. Assist in keeping the park clean. Wherever you camp or eat your lunch, clean up all waste paper, boxes, plates, tin cans, etc. Leave no refuse. [171]

In his attempt to restrict local use of the park, John Otto bore the burden of enforcing regulations single-handedly. More importantly, these rules created a chasm between Otto and those local residents not interested in park development of any kind. His attempts to enforce the regulations also indicated that some local residents, especially ranchers from Glade Park, felt that the Monument was like any other part of the public domain and should be similarly used.

Most of Otto's efforts to protect the park were aggravated by its location, insufficient manpower, and local residents either unfamiliar with, or resistant to, the regulations. Because portions of the park were still used for stock drives, Otto frequently charged ranchers with trespassing. On several occasions he became quite aggressive. As early as 1913, Otto complained that some "half-witted cowpunchers" known as the Smithy brothers continued to drive their cattle over the park's trails, despite warnings that the trails were for horses and people only. According to Otto, "other cow people have never attempted to drive stock over these trails," so it seems that Otto previously tried to familiarize people with park policy. He eventually requested that a federal court address the matter of convicting these men. [172] The General Land Office notified the "cow outfit" that continued illegal use would result in a hearing before the U.S. District Attorney. [173] Otto did his best to enforce regulations on his own, but often sought advice from the General Land Office, and later, the Park Service.

Another far more colorful trespassing case began in the winter of 1914-15, when what Otto referred to as a "Kaiser-worshiping, Hun-principled sheep man" named Gus Bullerdick brought his sheep to the mouth of the Monument Canyon. It is not clear how Otto issued warnings regarding trespassing, but his relations with Bullerdick indicate that he was not diplomatic. In fact, Otto admitted that Bullerdick was the only person he "ever had to pack a gun for." [174] On one occasion, Bullerdick threatened to split Otto's head with an axe. [175] In the winter of 1918, Bullerdick again tested Otto's patience, when he and his sheep broke through the fence across the mouth of Monument Canyon. Later that year, he allowed his sheep to graze near the intake of the Fruita water system near the park's west entrance. In January, 1919, Bullerdick brought his herd of more than 1,000 sheep to the upper rim rocks of the park. [176] For Otto this was the final straw. He appealed to Stephen Mather, then Director of the National Park Service, for advice.

Mather's response to Otto indicated that regulations regarding national park lands were quite specific, and that it was important for local people to understand their significance. He advised Otto to enlighten Bullerdick regarding Section 56 of the Criminal Code which stated the following:

Whoever shall drive any cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock upon any such lands (that is, any lands of the United States in pursuance of any law that have been reserved or purchased by the United States for any public use) for the purpose of destroying the grass or trees on said lands, or where they may destroy the said grass or trees shall be fined not more than $500, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. [177]

Bullerdick was warned that if he continued to ignore regulations, criminal proceedings would be brought against him. Otto's hope that the Park Service would "prosecute him good and right" was an indication that an authority other than Otto was needed to oversee problems of this nature. [178] The Smithy brothers, and the Bullerdick case reveal that some individuals were either not aware or were openly defiant of regulations within the park. These situations also reflect the kind of attitude that many local residents held toward the park—that public lands were to be used, not preserved.

Problems with trespassing plagued Otto's years as custodian, but enforcement of regulations extended into other areas as well. In some cases, individuals were so incensed by these regulations that they appealed to the Secretary of the Interior. This occurred when Otto started a wood hauling business in the park. With the proceeds he hoped to finance the completion of a scenic road through the park. Otto initiated the enterprise during World War I when economically depressed conditions characterized the Grand Valley. Thinking he could alleviate some of the hardship, Otto wrote to the Department of the Interior, requesting permission to supply dead wood from the park for people to heat their homes. At the end of the war, Otto decided to issue permits for 50 cents a load for anyone willing to haul his own wood out of the park. When one resident took wood without a permit, Otto promptly obtained a search warrant, and went to the man's home to collect the money. [179] Another resident, W.H. Post, appealed to the Secretary of the Interior, claiming that it was "unamerican to make old timers" pay for wood "taken from any Park or from the public domain." [180] Although Post's comment was directed at Otto's wood business, it also symbolizes the overall feeling among many westerners: that the public domain, even when a national park was involved, was for public use. Otto frequently encountered this attitude.

The wood hauling business was equally frustrating to Otto, who originally hoped to use the funds to finance his road. His repeated requests for Park Service appropriations over the years were denied. To make matters worse, once the National Park Service learned that he was making money off the wood business, they demanded that he send them every dime. Otto set up an account worth $35.05 in the Bank of Grand Junction. He agreed to send it to the Park Service but hoped to keep 10 percent of the money as commission. The Park Service refused him that as well. [181] This interaction typified Otto's relationship with the National Park Service, which was absent during the first years of the park's development.

As the park's first custodian, Otto naturally shaped local views of the new park. Unfortunately, he was in a position where he gained little support from Park Service officials and increasingly alienated himself from local residents. Nevertheless, other aspects of Otto's agenda for the park were beneficial to local interests. His involvement in road building efforts throughout the Grand Valley and in the Colorado National Monument, for example, allowed him to work cooperatively with local communities.

Road Building, 1911-1927

Road building continued to be a mutual interest for park promoters and non-promoters after Colorado National Monument was established. The communities of Grand Junction, Glade Park and Fruita pushed to build a road to Glade Park, while Otto and the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce worked for a scenic route through the park. The nature of road building to and through the park revealed that local and park transportation needs were closely linked.

Each of the Grand Valley's communities had practical and economically motivated transportation needs. In 1909, the newly formed State Highway Commission accepted plans for two state roads in Mesa County: a route from Grand Junction to the Utah state line and one from Grand Junction to Montrose. [182] The county commissioners and Grand Valley automobile owners backed the Midland Trail (today's I-70), the desert route from Grand Junction to Utah that competed with Otto's Union Trail. In 1912, a portion of the Midland Trail from Mack to Utah was completed, thus eliminating the Grand Valley's isolation from the rest of the country. [183]

Other road proposals were less dramatic in scope. Citizens of Fruita met in December, 1911, to discuss the possibility of building a better road from Fruita to Glade Park for the purpose of generating business relations with that area. [184] In April, 1912, Glade Park residents petitioned the county commissioners for a "road through No Thoroughfare Canyon and also submitted a survey showing the location of the road." [185] Glade Park was still working to find a better route to Grand Junction on which to drive cattle and transport farm goods. [186] In December 1912, Otto joined the effort to construct a road to Glade Park, when he, John G. McKinney, and William C. Hermann formed the Colorado River Auto Transportation and Toll Road Company. Its purpose was to "build, construct, operate, and maintain a toll road" from Grand Junction, through No Thoroughfare Canyon, and up the rim rocks toward Glade Park. [187]

Developing transportation in the Grand Valley was intertwined with the effort to build a scenic road through the Colorado National Monument, a fact that became problematic as the park developed, and as the communities grew and their needs changed. Due to its location, the Monument was a natural thoroughfare between Grand Junction and Glade Park, so it was logical to build roads that served both as scenic routes for the park and as access to the Grand Valley.

The original promoters of the Monument—Representative Taylor, John Otto, and the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce—were instrumental in working to build a road through the park. Taylor introduced a bill on June 8, 1911, "for the construction of a National Road from Grand Junction, Colorado to and through the Colorado National Monument." [188] Although the bill did not pass, it requested an appropriation of $20,000 for the construction of the road to be "built under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior." [189] Response to the bill indicated that the economic potential of the road was important:

The construction of this road will mean much to Grand Junction in that it will mean a way of reaching the park by a good road by automobile. This means that thousands of visitors will see the park where only hundreds would in other large parks of natural wonders, tourist traffic is a prominent feature of summer traffic. [190]

Taylor introduced the same bill in every session of Congress between 1911 and 1917. The final attempt in April 1917 also failed. The rejection of Taylor's bills reflected governmental and congressional attitudes toward national parks in general. Prior to the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, Congress had little interest in developing the parks. [191] In fact, Congress did not appropriate any money for national monuments until 1916—ten years after the Antiquities Act passed. [192]

Despite the lack of legislative support, the campaign for a road continued. The first substantive efforts toward building a road through the Colorado National Monument were part of Otto's plans to include the Monument in a transcontinental highway known as the Union Trail. The Union Trail was designed to stretch from Grand Junction's Main Street Bridge, through the Colorado National Monument and the plateau country of Pinon Mesa, toward Moab, Utah. The section of the road that would eventually traverse the park essentially followed the same route but acquired several names: Rimrock Route, Otto's Road, Glade Park Road, and the Grand Rimrock Boulevard. [193]

More commonly referred to as Glade Park Road or Rimrock Route, this section of road was supposed to perform numerous functions: a route to Glade Park, a scenic drive, and a stretch of the transcontinental highway. Otto estimated that $1000 would be needed to construct it, but the $100 he had already raised would be a good start. He also took the time to challenge any engineer to survey a better route. [194] Mesa County Engineer James Fisk surveyed and approved of Otto's proposed route just days later. In his description of the road, Fisk commented that "there is one place where the traveler looks straight down for 400 feet into the depths of the Monument Park." [195] He estimated that for $6500 it could be built and would be an "important step toward development for this city" as well as a road of the "greatest scenic beauty," indicating that, from the start, the road served a dual purpose. [196] Although Otto started blasting for the road in January, 1912, it was not clear how much construction could take place before the limited funding ran out. [197]

In January, 1913, Otto wrote to the Commissioner of the General Land Office hoping to secure money for additional construction:

The world's greatest driveway shall be built on the top of the shelfrocks overlooking the National Monuments named after our great men in history. We hope that the department can recommend to congress an appropriation be made; Congressman E. T. Taylor has a bill on the calendar I believe. [198]

A report filed by the General Land Office echoed Otto's belief about the importance of a road through the park. General Land Office employee J.E. Connolly stated that, "unless some money is expended on the building of such a road or trail as will enable the ordinary citizen to wander at some convenience through it," the Colorado National Monument would probably not "become of great public interest" any time soon. [199] Connolly concluded his report by suggesting an appropriation of $300 for a caretaker's residence, and $800 for the "purpose of constructing roads or trails to the monument." [200] The request appears to have been denied.

The politics of road building had a strong impact on the success of this road proposal. Otto and the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce maintained a stormy relationship during these years. Competition between Otto's Union Trail, which the chamber felt was a "hopeless" endeavor, and the chamber's Midland Trail created a rift in the relationship. Otto believed that his route through the plateau country of Pinon Mesa was far more scenic than the chamber's Midland route that ran from Grand Junction through the desert to Utah. The chamber at first supported Otto's route, and then publicly denounced it. In Otto's assessment, the chamber was a "tin-horn road organization, automobile crazy beyond all hope." [201] At one point he even threatened to quit his work on the Rimrock Route.

Despite these differences, the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce took an active interest in constructing a scenic route through the park. When Otto's exhaustive requests for appropriations continually failed, the chamber began its own campaign to gain support from the General Land Office and the Secretary of the Interior via Congressman Taylor. In January, 1915, the chamber wrote to Taylor requesting an appropriation for the construction of a 25-mile road through the park "that would surpass in scenic attractions any other road in Colorado." [202] Whether or not the plans for this road extended beyond Otto's route for the Glade Park/Rimrock Road is not known. The chamber estimated that $25,000 "would complete it fit for motor travel." [203] A "national park committee" consisting of people appointed to "have charge of the affairs of the park" who planned to "assist the government and the community" in developing the Colorado National Monument, was also created by the chamber. [204] Taylor's response was not positive. His attempts to acquire appropriations had failed, and he knew that it would be impossible to obtain any money from Congress for road building.

The Daily Sentinel also joined in the "road fever" by waging a fierce campaign during the fall of 1916 to promote the park and raise money for its development. Offering $25 toward park improvements, the Sentinel appealed to citizens of Mesa County to do their part:

If our people would take hold of this proposition, properly fence it, add some conveniences, widen and strengthen John Otto's wonderful trails, improve the roads from the city to the canyon and do a consistent and effective amount of advertising, we believe that in a comparatively short time the Monument Park would attract as many tourists each summer as the Garden of the Gods. [205]

The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, the local women's club, the county commissioners, and even the Rio Grande Railroad responded to the newspaper's plea by organizing fund raisers, publicity opportunities, and actively improving the park. May 2, 1916, was declared "Good Roads Day," a time for local "businessmen, professional men, laborers, and everybody else" to work on an approach road to the Colorado National Monument's east end. [206] in early November, 1916, a meeting was called in which George Bullock, chairman of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, was put in charge of the "Monument Park Development." With a donation of $100 to $200 from the Sentinel, this group hoped to "develop the park, trim the trees, erect a small rest room, [and] place benches under the trees." [207]

The road through the park was the most important element of the committee's proposed development plan. By December, 1916, the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce Monument Park Road committee had mapped a route through the park that, again, was most likely parallel to, or part of, Otto's earlier survey for the Glade Park/Rimrock Road. [208]

Other groups joined the push for the road as well. The general passenger agent of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Frank Wadleigh, commented that a road through the park would attract more tourists. [209] The Mesa County commissioners were approached by a committee including John Otto and other promoters to request that the approach roads to the park be maintained. [210] Glade Park ranchers even agreed to pledge $1500 for the construction of "John Otto's Rimrock" provided the county commissioners would also supply funds. Tired of the poor road conditions from Glade Park to Grand Junction, they were willing to contribute labor and money for an improved route, even if it happened to be a scenic road. [211] By this time, George Bullock of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce planned to travel to Washington to "plea for aid for the Monument National Park" with National Park Service Director Stephen Mather. [212] Unfortunately, like most attempts to acquire funds for park improvements, this too was unsuccessful.

In June, 1917, the United States entered World War I, a conflict that interrupted local financing of road projects in the park but eventually contributed to road building efforts in the Grand Valley. Throughout 1917 and 1918, there was very little newspaper publicity regarding the road. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported on a few of Otto's schemes, but its campaign to develop the park was nonexistent. By the middle of 1918, however, western Colorado was suggested as an appropriate spot for an internment camp for German prisoners-of-war. The Germans housed there would be an ideal labor force for the building of roads throughout the Grand Valley. Roads were needed to "help the government win the war" by providing routes for the transportation of produce and other goods from the Grand Valley to other regions. [213] In support of the idea of prisoner-of-war labor, Otto wrote to Congressman Taylor and revived the issue of a road through the park: "what good will a national park be to us unless there are the proper highways to connect up to it?" [214]

After the war, the community revived its efforts to build a decent route to Glade Park that would also serve as a scenic road through the park. Years of unsuccessful road proposals and failed attempts to acquire government support for the road prompted community members to take matters into their own hands. In July, 1919, G.F. Hinton approached the Mesa County commissioners with a petition signed by 60 residents of Glade Park who offered nearly $800 for the construction of a road. Clearly not interested in the proposal, the commissioners did not address the road idea until July, 1920, when Glade Park residents submitted yet another petition. This time, however, the residents stated that they would furnish $5200 for the construction. The county agreed to this, provided that it was not obligated to begin the road until the money was raised. [215]

A series of meetings between the county commissioners and local residents led to the eventual construction of a road, that probably began where construction on the original Glade Park Road had ended. In September, 1920, Glade Park rancher and engineer Bruce Claybaugh agreed to survey No Thoroughfare Canyon's road-building potential. Otto met with the county commissioners to suggest his Union Trail as a possible route. Eventually, the commissioners requested that Claybaugh survey both No Thoroughfare and the Union Trail. In November, the commissioners advertised bids for road construction on both routes. No one responded to the advertisement until December, and even then, only two contractors submitted bids. Contractor W. Wear proposed to construct the road for two dollars per cubic yard of material, while L.S. Shaw stated that he could build the road for an overall sum of $14,500, or for one-and-a-third dollars per cubic yard of material. On December 10, the county awarded the contract to J.S. Shaw. [216]

Even though it hired Shaw, the county still insisted that Glade Park raise $5200, or its equivalent in escrow, before construction began. In January Glade Park residents collected $5,375, and promised an additional $200 to $300. In February, the county directed the road supervisor to assemble a volunteer work force from Glade Park. [217] The county worked on the lower end of the proposed road and the ranchers started work in the higher elevations. [218] The road itself wound through difficult terrain:

The man who does not understand engineering may well take off his hat to the engineer who has the possibility of an auto road to such a spot. It is about 300 ft. straight up in the air from the bottom to the rimrock and underneath the foot there is nothing but solid rock with great canons on either side. [219]

Local volunteers proceeded to work on the road. Work on the road was carried out by local volunteers. A "gang of men" under the direction of Claybaugh began blasting despite concerns about the route's difficulty. Claybaugh dismissed these concerns by stating that most of the work would be done on sandstone that yielded easily to dynamite. The total estimated cost of the road was $12,000. [220] All of the work on the road—drilling, blasting, rock hauling—was done by hand. [221] The county formally organized the Glade Park ranchers and paid them $2.50 a day until April, when poor economic conditions forced wages down to 40 cents a day. The final cost of the road was $3,165, which the county paid to J.S. Shaw in July, 1921. [222]

Known as the Serpents Trail, the road was significant for a number of reasons. With its 52 switchbacks, the physical reality of the road was awesome. [223] It was 19 feet wide, with room for two cars to pass, and only one blind turn. By 1925, when it was done, hundreds of people had driven up and down its winding "serpentine" path. [224] At this time, only the upper 2-1/2-mile portion of the road lay within park boundaries; the rest of the road was eventually considered a county route.

The Serpents Trail, like most of the early road proposals, served a dual purpose. It was used twice a year by Glade Park ranchers as a stock driveway to Grand Junction, and as a general transportation route between Glade Park and Grand Junction. [225] The road considerably shortened the distance between the Pinon Mesa/Glade Park region and the stockyards in Grand Junction. To Otto and the future of the Colorado National Monument, however, the Serpents Trail was more than just a county road. It represented the first successful attempt to make the wonders of the park accessible to visitors. Otto already envisioned that the Serpents Trail would continue "around all the rims of the various canons of the Colorado National Monument and beyond." [226] Neither Otto nor local residents could envision, however, that this narrow road would cause the trouble it did once the park was fully developed, and community needs shifted.

Additionally, the construction of Serpents Trail shaped local perceptions of the National Park Service. Even though a portion of it ran through the national monument, the road was entirely funded by private and county dollars. The Park Service contributed nothing to this project. Consequently, local residents felt that the Park Service was not doing its part to develop the park, which was true. W.M. Wood of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce wrote to the Director of the National Park Service in 1923, clearly disgusted with government inaction:

All money spent on this Monument to date, with the exception of a very small amount, has been raised by public subscription and from the Chamber of Commerce funds and we feel that we have developed it to such a stage that the Government should be willing to pay something toward its maintenance and upkeep. [227]

The construction of Serpents Trail served as a catalyst for continued road building through the park. In 1926, the idea for a road connecting the western and eastern ends of Colorado National Monument emerged. Fruita's mayor, Frank Merriell, requested Park Service aid in constructing a road from town to Fruita Canyon. Because 2-1/2 miles of this road remained outside park boundaries, the Park Service replied that it could only fund the stretch of road within the park provided an estimate was sent. [228] The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce developed this Fruita road proposal further by suggesting to the Park Service that the road be extended through the park to connect with the Serpent's Trail to create a complete "highway around the rim." [229] A road between Fruita Canyon on the far western end of the park and the Serpent's Trail on the eastern end would span the entire park. In August 1926, A. E. Demaray, Acting Director of the National Park Service, arranged for an inspection of the proposed road so that a "recommendation could be made to the Director regarding inclusion of it as a project in a further National Park Service road program." [230] By this time, however, citizens of Fruita were exasperated with bureaucracy. They did not support Merriell's road around the rimrocks, believing that the continued push for roads up to Fruita Canyon was a waste of time and money. More effort, they stated, should be directed toward enlarging the Fruita reservoirs and repairing the Fruita water pipeline on Pinon Mesa that supplied the city's water. [231] Yet, despite the initial lack of enthusiasm, this road idea eventually gained both local and federal support.

Figure 3.1. Aerial view of Serpent's Trail (right) and Rimrock Drive (left). Colorado National Monument Museum and Archive Collection.

Figure 3.2. Car ascending Serpents Trail. Colorado National Monument Museum and Archive Collection.

Park Administration and Otto's Ouster

The way in which the Colorado National Monument was administered increased frustrations in local park promoters and in those local residents resistant to park regulations. Otto, the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, and the National Park Service had responsibility at one time or another for running the park. Nevertheless, it seemed as if the local community actually administered the park, while the Park Service exercised an absentee role in the park's administration. Otto and the chamber of commerce inspired people to contribute time and money for the park's development, while the General Land Office and eventually the National Park Service advised Otto and the chamber of commerce regarding law enforcement, appropriations and the overall development of the park as a tourist attraction. What emerged was the feeling that the local community, because of its tireless contribution to the roads and other park projects, had earned the right to a certain amount of authority over park activities.

The dynamics between Otto, the chamber of commerce and the National Park Service reveal that, during most of the "Otto Years," local disenchantment increased. As early as 1913, a report submitted to the General Land Office indicated that the park's future did not look bright:

Under instructions of Chief Field Division, while in Grand Junction in October 1913, I made an examination of the Colorado National Monument, interviewed John Otto, the caretaker, and have the honor to report that since the establishment of this monument by proclamation May 24, 1911, practically nothing has been done there. [232]

Nothing had been done, because at that time there was no single agency to administer the national parks. When the Colorado National Monument was established in 1911, different government agencies, including the General Land Office and the War Department administered national park lands. Consequently, a consistent park policy failed to emerge. This made it easy for each Secretary of the Interior—who exercised ultimate authority over each park—to implement his own agenda. Inconsistent park policy eventually inclined park advocates to push for the organization of an agency that assured a standard of regulations for all parks. [233] The Antiquities Act of 1906 frustrated attempts to administer national monuments in any uniform manner. Instead of assigning one agency to administer all national monuments, Congress simply left the parks under the authority of the bureaus originally in control of those areas. In 1911, of the 28 national monuments, 13 were administered by the Forest Service, and 15 were under the auspices of the Department of the Interior. As a result, many national monuments, such as the one in Colorado, suffered from inadequate and poor management. [234]

Unfortunately, even after the National Park Service Act was signed in August, 1916 by Woodrow Wilson, the status of national monuments remained the same. The Park Service was a "separate government agency committed solely to park management and protection." [235] This meant that it remained under the control of the Department of the Interior but that the Secretary of the Interior no longer had direct control over each park. Many national monuments, however, were still left under the authority of the Forest Service and the War Department until the 1930. [236] This, along with the fact that the newly established Park Service had only a $20,000 appropriation with which to work, aggravated any local attempts to develop the national monuments. [237]

Between 1911 and 1927, the chamber of commerce, the county, and other local sources had invested $40,000-$45,000 in the Colorado National Monument. This included financing road proposals, the purchase of elk and bison for the game preserve, and subsidizing Otto's monthly $1 salary with an extra $25 per month. [238] Between 1920 and 1928, the chamber alone contributed $2500 to the park's needs. W.M. Wood, Secretary of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, referred to the Monument as "perhaps the most unique of Government properties in that it has been financed almost entirely by local capital." [239] Cynicism toward the federal government, specifically the National Park Service, already infused the local attitude. One of the Park Service's biggest mistakes at this time was either its inability or lack of interest in becoming more involved in the Colorado National Monument. The Park Service's absentee role only reinforced the belief that the local community was in charge of the park.

Perhaps the communities of Grand Junction, Fruita, and Glade Park were not aware that, although the Park Service became an agency in 1916, it was not equipped to appropriate vast sums of money for all parks. Between 1917 and 1922, only $75,500 was expended on all national monuments. The Colorado National Monument received very little of this. [240] The government was only able to supply two appropriations of $400 each for fencing between 1920 and 1928. [241] The Park Service's lack of support for Colorado National Monument during its first decade was not a sign of its apathy; rather, it was indicative of the Park Service's lack of funding in general.

Lack of Park Service funds was not the only local frustration. Over the years, Otto's and the chamber's efforts to convince officials in Washington to visit the Colorado National Monument were unsuccessful. Otto had written numerous letters to various officials, including the Director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather, and his assistant Horace Albright, urging them to visit the park. His attempts were largely unsuccessful.

Otto's role in the development of the Monument, however, was soon to be extinguished. As early as 1924, officials in Washington, tired of his incessant letters, began to put them into "files unanswered." [242] In July, 1926, Otto's relations with local officials worsened as well. Fruita's Mayor Merriell wrote to the Acting Assistant Director of the National Park Service, A. E. Demaray, to express a common complaint with Otto and his ideas:

Mr. Otto has a great many ideas some of them good about the Monument, but I am sorry to say that the rest of us do not always understand all of them and frequently do not agree with them when we do. [243]

Merriell also explained that Otto had been subsidized by the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce at $25 per month but had shown few signs of actually making progress with his projects. Despite Otto's obvious dedication to the park, Merriell suggested that it was time for a "new program." [244]

The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce joined the effort to relieve Otto of his duties. In January, 1927, the president of the chamber wrote to the National Park Service stating that Otto had "served his purpose as custodian" and that his poor judgement threatened the future of the Colorado National Monument. He also explained that the chamber had a "very deep interest in this Monument" and that it recommended Merriell to replace Otto. [245] Park Service officials began to heed the chamber's advice, and they agreed that Otto was "certainly not the type of man we should have representing the National Park Service." [246]

On January 22, 1927, Merriell was offered the custodianship and the ouster of Otto was complete. When Otto learned of this, he reacted with indignation:

I heard this moment that I am to be supplanted by another man. You can't send him along any too quick. I don't give a whoop whom you do appoint. [247]

Otto's bitterness grew when he learned that Merriell, who he felt had "no national park kick in him" was offered the custodianship. Otto resented Merriell for his endorsement of the Midland Trail, which competed with Otto's Union Trail. He also lashed out at Fruita, a town that had not "contributed a cent in the last ten years toward this monument." [248] On February 23, 1927, the Park Service officially terminated Otto as custodian of the Colorado National Monument. Otto did what he could to fight the decision. He continued to protest Merriell's appointment: "I've done my own engineering on all my trails, fences, etc., and I didn't need him over me whatever ... he is not very popular among his own people in Fruita ...." [249] When Otto finally decided to abandon his crusade against the Park Service, he insisted that he did not have time for government positions anyway because he was "going into politics." He then organized his own "Colorado River Basin Chamber of Commerce" to further develop his interests in the Grand Valley. [250] His final assessment of his contribution to the park was, as always, to the point: "I believe it is safe to say that if it hadn't been for me the Colorado National Monument would today be a 'stinking sheep dump'—I have saved this much for humanity so far." [251]

By the end of Otto's custodianship, the National Park Service and the local community enjoyed a cooperative relationship. Even the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce established a working relationship with the Park Service. Both the chamber and the mayor of Fruita asserted enough control to convince National Park officials that Otto was unfit to serve as custodian. At the same time they emphasized their "deep interest" in the park. It was evident that a shift from the visionary plans of John Otto to the "new program" of Grand Junction community leaders was taking place. The role of the Monument was changing as well. With the construction of the Serpent's Trail, and new plans for a more extensive route across the park, public use of the Colorado National Monument was sure to increase.

The Chamber of Commerce and its New Program, 1927-1931

Between 1927 and 1930, the Colorado National Monument underwent a number of significant administrative changes that signalled increased National Park Service involvement. Although Otto stated that he had no further interest in the Colorado National Monument, he continued to grace the National Park Service with his opinions and suggestions. In the meantime, the National Park Service searched for a suitable custodian for the Colorado National Monument. After all of the turbulence surrounding Otto's dismissal, Frank Merriell was not appointed custodian. Park Service officials seemed to think that he would accept the position right after Otto's ouster. Merriell, however, expressed on several occasions that, before he accepted the job, he wanted members of the chamber of commerce to meet with Otto and "tactfully bring to his attention the need for a change." [252] The problem of actually eliminating Otto's interference seemed to exacerbate the effort to hire a new custodian. It is not clear if Merriell felt threatened by Otto, but the fact that he never accepted the position indicates that this was a possibility.

By April, 1927, Grand Junction businessman A.T. Gormley had been offered the custodianship with the assurance that Otto was no longer affiliated with the Monument [253] Otto seemed satisfied with this choice, and had at an earlier point even recommended Gormley as a possible candidate for the job. [254] Gormley accepted, and attempted to resume Otto's interrupted plans for fencing the park. The National Park Service appropriated $400 for fencing materials. In August of that year, however, plans for the park were once again interrupted when Gormley resigned. Otto took the opportunity to remind the Park Service that since he had been "bucked out" nothing had been done to improve the Colorado National Monument. He also pointed out that Gormley had been too impatient and ill-prepared to handle some of the physical tasks necessary for the custodianship. [255]

The resignation of Gormley left the National Park Service and local park promoters in a familiar quandary. Park Service officials were faced with the challenge of finding a "local representative" to manage the Monument's affairs, since it still was not able to finance a fulltime employee at the park. Otto expressed his interest in the position, but the Park Service was not willing to reappoint him. Instead, they suggested that perhaps Otto, working under the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, might manage the park. [256] By late October, 1927, the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce had officially accepted the responsibility of administering the Colorado National Monument. Of course the Park Service still exercised ultimate authority over the park's development. [257]

The chamber's new position of authority persuaded Park Service officials and politicians to consider constructing a road through the Colorado National Monument. While the Serpents Trail was certainly better than no road at all, it did not access some of the park's more outstanding features. Due to increasing tourist levels and the chamber's increasing embarrassment over the Monument's lack of facilities, it requested an appropriation of $5,000 from Colorado Senator Lawrence Phipps for the construction of a smaller road from the edge of Monument Canyon to Independence Monument. [258] It was hoped that a road across the park could also be constructed eventually. The larger road spanning the park would cost an estimated $50,000, and was necessary if the Colorado National Monument was ever to reach its potential as a tourist attraction:

The difficulty in making available the features of the area has been the lack of a highway leading into it. People come here from all sections of the United States with the object of seeing the Monument, only to find that although good roads lead to its boundary at various places, to actually see it requires an uncomfortable trip by horseback or foot. [259]

Senator Phipps responded by urging the National Park Service to consider the road proposals. [260] In March, 1928, the Park Service requested that its Chief Engineer, F.A. Kittredge, visit the Monument to survey the proposed road plans for both the trans-Monument route and the shorter road through Monument Canyon. [261] Kittredge eventually inspected the Colorado National Monument twice. The second inspection, in August, 1930, was the most beneficial to the park's road development plan. A tentative appropriation of $2500 was offered after Kittredge made his inspection and recommended that contract work commence on the road around the rim of the park. [262] The money would only be available, however, if the road was built according to National Park guidelines and if the county was willing to build approach roads to the park. [263]

In the summer of 1930, the local community conducted some of its own surveys of the road proposal. In June, the chamber of commerce sent two engineers to survey a proposed "auto trail from the top of the Trail of the Serpent leading northward to take in as many of the canyons as possible." [264] Another group, including W.M. Wood of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, and Al Look of the Daily Sentinel conducted an inspection of the road site in August. The result of this inspection was a local commitment to planning and financing the new road. The $2500 appropriation encouraged the chamber of commerce and the county to provide the additional expenses necessary for construction. The chamber agreed to conduct a proper survey, and to open construction to competitive bidding with the expectation that the county would be the low bidder. [265]

The $2500 appropriation symbolized progress to the local community. Ever since the chamber began its most recent campaign for a scenic route through the park, the hope for government funding had been slim. Park Service officials had originally planned for an appropriation from the 1930 budget. [266] This hope was dashed when in April, 1929, the Director of the National Park Service, Horace Albright, advised Senator Phipps that the 1930 Interior Department Appropriation Bill for national park and monument roads and trails had been cut. [267] Albright underestimated available funds. It is not clear if the money was left over from the 1930 appropriation, but $2500 was allotted and authorized by Albright for the proposed road. By April, 1931, another $5000 had been allocated by the National Park Service for the Colorado National Monument. [268]

Despite the appropriation, the uncertain relationship between the chamber and the county threatened to obstruct plans to start the road through the park. A disagreement arose when the county officials decided to expend less than the chamber of commerce had thought it would on the road. In his assessment of the situation, Park Service Engineer Kittredge stated that, because of the seriousness of this misunderstanding, the appropriation might be more productively used elsewhere. He also suggested that the Park Service make a "reconnaissance" of the possible routes in the spring of 1931, and complete a survey of the stretch of road to be constructed. Kittredge felt that Park Service involvement might appease both local factions, although he knew that the county's willingness to construct an approach road to the park was essential to the project. [269]

By late 1930, it was evident that, while the local management of Colorado National Monument was still strong, the National Park Service had begun to involve itself more heavily in the affairs of the park. The chamber of commerce still managed the park with the aid of Otto, who had ostensibly been working for the chamber and claimed to have been the "acting custodian" since his "resignation" in January 1927. [270] He resented the fact that the chamber received so much of the credit for the Monument's development, and still believed that his contribution to the park was more important. [271] With or without Otto's help, the chamber had effectively convinced National Park officials and politicians of the need for a road through the park, and in doing so had increased Park Service involvement. Both the National Park Service and the local communities of the Grand Valley were entering a new phase of their relationship.