St. George • A new outdoor store will soon crop up in southwestern Utah’s Pine Valley, and visitors can shortly resume looking down from one of Dixie National Forest’s highest overlooks.
Those are two of the benefits that will result from a partnership formed in April between the U.S. Forest Service and the nonprofit Zion Forever Project, a joint effort aimed at preserving and improving southern Utah’s public lands.
“This collaboration symbolizes a shared commitment to preserving our national treasures for future generations,” stated Natalie Britt, president and CEO of the Zion Forever Project. “The amazing landscapes of Utah go far beyond our national parks, and supporting our partners at the U.S. Forest Service in this new endeavor is more than a duty; it’s a privilege.”
Branching out for public lands
The Zion Forever Project is already the official nonprofit partner of Zion National Park and Cedar Breaks and Pipe Spring national monuments. Its newest venture with Dixie National Forest is the first it has undertaken with a partner outside of the U.S. Department of Interior or National Park Service.
On May 24, the partnership could begin paying dividends with the opening of a retail store at the Pine Valley Heritage Center, which is located in Pine Valley about 38 miles north of St. George. Previously, under the auspices of the Forest Service, the center at 132 E. Main St. was staffed by volunteers who handed out maps and trail guides on busy summer weekends.
When the center reopens, Zion Forever officials and volunteers will run the new store, selling souvenirs, hiking apparel and other outdoor staples along with dispensing maps, trail guides and information.
“All the proceeds from those sales will go directly back to funding projects in the Dixie National Forest,” said Zachary Almaguer, Zion Forever Project’s communications manager. “Those funds will go to trail restoration and forest management projects … and education programs.”
For Dixie National Forest Supervisor Kevin Wright, the educational expertise Zion Forever brings to the table is as important as its fundraising prowess. He said the store proceeds will enable the nonprofit to help Forest Service officials better tell the story of Dixie National Forest and Pine Valley.
“Zion Forever can help us create a seamless recreation experience for visitors,” Wright said. “Sometimes, people don’t differentiate between the National Park Service, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, and Zion Forever can help us bridge that [educational] gap.”
Putting a roof on
Besides opening the new store, the new partners are collaborating with Iron County tourism officials to restore the roof that high winds ripped off the Brian Head Lookout, a historic fire observation tower and overlook that Civilian Construction Corps workers built during the Great Depression on the Cedar City Ranger District’s highest point (roughly 11,000 feet). The project is currently in the fundraising and design phase.
The Zion Forever Project currently operates five retail stores that benefit its partners: three at Zion National Park and one apiece at Cedar Breaks and Pipe Spring national monuments, the latter located in Arizona. In addition, Almaguer said, the nonprofit holds events and solicits donations, all of which go directly to its government partners to invest back in maintenance, education and other areas of need.
Almaguer said the nonprofit has funneled millions of dollars to its partners for use in educational efforts like the Junior Ranger Program and the Zion Classroom, a virtual learning experience that Zion National Park broadcasts to several countries around the world. Roughly $600,000 it raises each year goes to bus students — many of them from low-income families — in Utah and Nevada to Zion National Park for an immersive learning experience.
The funds Zion Forever generates or collects are also used to enhance its partners’ educational efforts by providing subject-matter experts in a wide variety of academic disciplines. For example, Southern Utah University professor and bat expert, John Tayor, will be taking part in the opening of the Pine Valley Heritage Center later this month for a night sky event that will focus on bats.
Zion Forever’s largest donation thus far is $3.5 million toward the construction of a new visitors center that is slated to open in August at Cedar Breaks National Monument. The remainder of the $7 million facility is being funded through the National Park Service’s Centennial Challenge matching fund program.
The Dixie National Forest consists of nearly two million acres that stretch 170 miles across southern Utah, straddling the divide between the Great Basin and the Colorado River. Its elevations range from 2,800 near St. George to over 11,300 feet at Blue Bell Knoll on Boulder Mountain, according to Forest Service officials.
The public is invited to celebrate the opening of the new store at the Pine Valley Heritage Center, 132 E. Main St. in Pine Valley, on May 24 and 25. The festivities will begin each day at 10 a.m.
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