St. Louis Gateway Arch is rusting

by Leigh Caldwell on

The landmark Gateway Arch, part of a National Park Service site on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, is corroding, and no one seems to know the extent of the damage.

That’s the word from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which studied reports on the corrosion dating back to 1984.

The culprit seems to be moisture leaking into the Gateway Arch – a sophisticated engineering feat made up of stacked triangular sections of carbon steel, concrete and stainless steel.

The big question is whether the streaks of rust and other discoloration, which can be seen on the upper portions of the outside of the arch, are merely cosmetic or more severe.

Let’s remember that this monument is not just pretty to look at — people ride up to the top of the Arch in a vertical tram system.

National Park Service officials insist that there is no safety issue at the Arch, for now. The agency has just funded a study to determine whether the 45-year-old arch just needs a cleaning, or whether a full-blown restoration will be required.

[Image credit: Flickr user chutme]

14 New National Monuments Being Considered

by Kraig Becker on

Last week a leaked document from the Department of the Interior gave travelers and outdoor enthusiasts a glimpse into potential plans by the Obama administration to designate as many as 14 new national monuments spread out across nine western states. And while a spokesman for the DOI was quick to point out that the memo was just a draft for internal discussion, environmentalists and conservatives were equally as quick to line up in praise, and condemnation, of the proposal.

The list of potential new monuments, and the states in which they are located, includes the following: San Rafael Swell, UT; Montana’s Northern Prairie, MT; Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve, NM; Berryessa Snow Mountains, CA; Heart of the Great Basin, NV; Otero Mesa, NM; Northwest Sonoran Desert, AZ; Owyhee Desert, OR/NV; Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, CA (expansion); Vermillion Basin, CO; Bodie Hills, CA; The Modoc Plateau, CA; Cedar Mesa, UT and the San Juan Islands, WA.

Many of these places are already popular destinations for hikers and backpackers, but naming them as national monuments gives them protected status and removes them from the jurisdiction of the states in which they reside. That is exactly why representatives from Utah are up in arms, and are preparing to fight this proposal to the bitter end. Senator Orin Hatch, who represents that state, has widely been quoted as saying he’ll do everything in his power to prevent the proposal from moving forward, and likewise Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert has been extremely outspoken against the plan as well, arguing that the states should be allowed to manage their own natural resources, not Washington bureaucrats who have never stepped foot on the land.Whether the Department of the Interior moves forward with the plan remains to be seen, but it seems everyone is already gearing up for a big fight. Meanwhile, the hikers that are already enjoying these public lands will probably continue to do so, and not even notice a change should they federal government take control.

For more information on this story, including a look at each of the potential new monuments, check out this story over at The Adventure Life, where you’ll also find the whole controversial document itself in .pdf format.

UPDATE: The Senate rejected a move on February 25 to bar the Obama administration from designating any new national monuments, including two in Utah, that were listed in a leaked Interior Department document. As a result, the administration is required to work closely with local communities affected by any such designation.

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