Editing Bryce Canyon National Park (section)

==History==

===Native American habitation===
Little is known about early human habitation in the area. Archaeological surveys of the Paunsaugunt Plateau indicate that people have lived in the area for at least 10,000&nbsp;years. [[Basketmaker culture|Basketmaker]] [[Ancient Pueblo peoples|Anasazi]] artifacts thousands of years old were found south of the park. Other artifacts from the [[Pueblo]]-period Anasazi and the [[Fremont culture]] (up to the mid-12th century) were found.<ref name="Tufts1998p73">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Tufts|1998|p=73}}</ref>

The [[Southern Paiute|Paiute]] Native Americans moved into the area around the time that the other cultures left.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> These Native Americans hunted and gathered for most of their food, while supplementing their diet with cultivated plants. The Paiute in developed a [[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America|mythology]] surrounding the hoodoos. They believed that they were the Legend People whom the trickster [[Coyote (mythology)|Coyote]] turned to stone.<ref name="NPSguide">[[#NPSguide|NPS visitor's guide]]</ref> One older Paiute said his culture called the hoodoos ''Anka-ku-was-a-wits'', which is Paiute for "red painted faces".<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

===European American exploration and settlement===
[[Image:Bryce Cabin circa 1881.jpg|alt=Black-and-white photo of log cabin with thatched roof|thumb|Ebenezer Bryce and his family lived in this cabin below Bryce Amphitheater ({{circa|1881}})]]
In the late 18th and early 19th century the first European Americans explored the area.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> [[Mormon pioneers|Mormon scouts]] visited in the 1850s to gauge its potential for agriculture, [[grazing]], and settlement.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

The first major scientific expedition was led by [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] Major [[John Wesley Powell]] in 1872.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> Powell, along with a team of mapmakers and geologists, surveyed the [[Sevier River|Sevier]] and [[Virgin River]] area as part of a larger survey of the [[Colorado Plateau]]s. His mapmakers used many Paiute place names.<ref name="Harris1997p46"/>

Small groups of Mormon pioneers followed and attempted to settle east of Bryce Canyon along the [[Paria River]]. In 1873, the Kanarra Cattle Company started to graze cattle there.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] sent Scottish immigrant Ebenezer Bryce and his wife Mary to settle land in the Paria Valley to apply his carpentry skills. The Bryce family settled right below Bryce Amphitheater—the main collection of hoodoos. Bryce grazed his cattle inside what are now park borders, and reputedly thought that the amphitheaters were a "helluva place to lose a cow."<ref name="Kiver1999p523"/> He built a road to the plateau to retrieve firewood and timber, and a [[canal]] to irrigate his crops and water his animals. Other settlers soon started to call the unusual place "Bryce's Canyon", and the name stuck.

A combination of drought, [[overgrazing]], and flooding eventually drove the remaining Paiutes from the area and prompted the settlers to attempt to build a water diversion channel from the Sevier River drainage. That effort failed, leading most settlers, including the Bryce family, to abandon the area.<ref name="Harris1997p46"/> Bryce moved his family to [[Arizona]] in 1880.<ref name="TheHoodoo"/> The remaining settlers dug a {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on}} ditch from the Sevier's east fork into Tropic Valley.<ref name="Harris1997p46"/>

===Creation of the park===
[[Image:Bryce Canyon Lodge.jpg|right|thumb|[[Bryce Canyon Lodge]] was built between 1924 and 1925 from local materials]]
These scenic areas were first described to the public in magazine articles published by [[Union Pacific]] and [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe]] railroads in 1916.<ref name="Kiver1999p523"/> Forest Supervisor J. W. Humphrey among others promoted the scenic wonders of Bryce Canyon's amphitheaters, and by 1918 more articles helped to spark interest.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> However, poor access to the remote area and the lack of accommodations kept visitation to a bare minimum.

Ruby Syrett, Harold Bowman, and the Perry brothers later established lodging and "touring services".<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> Syrett later served as the first [[postmaster]]. By the early 1920s, the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] became interested in expanding [[Rail transportation in the United States|rail service]] into southwestern Utah to accommodate tourists.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

[[Image:Bryce Canyon visitors center.jpg|alt=Two story wood building next to flag pole with U.S. flag waving in the wind. Snow on the ground.|thumb|left|Visitor center in winter]]
[[Conservation (ethic)|Conservationists]] became alarmed by the damage overgrazing, logging, and unregulated visitation was inflicting on the canyon. A movement to protect the area soon started, and [[National Park Service]] Director [[Stephen Mather]] responded by proposing that Bryce Canyon be made into a state park. The governor of Utah and the [[Utah State Legislature]] lobbied for national protection. Mather relented and sent his recommendation to President [[Warren G. Harding]], who on June 8, 1923, established Bryce Canyon National Monument.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

A road was built the same year on the plateau to provide access to outlooks over the amphitheaters. From 1924 to 1925, [[Bryce Canyon Lodge]] was built from local timber and stone.<ref name="TheHoodoo_p5">{{Cite web |url=https://www.visitbrycecanyon.com/plan/park-history/ |title=Park History |publisher=Bryce Canyon Lodge |year=2023 |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911072620/https://www.visitbrycecanyon.com/plan/park-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Members of the United States Congress started work in 1924 on upgrading Bryce Canyon's protection status from national monument to national park to establish Utah National Park.<ref name="TheHoodoo_p5" /> A process led by the [[Utah Parks Company]] for transferring ownership of private and state-held land to the federal government started in 1923.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> The last of the land was acquired four years later, and on February 25, 1928, Bryce Canyon National Park was established.<ref name="Kiver1999p524">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Kiver|1999|p=524}}</ref>

In 1931, President [[Herbert Hoover]] annexed an adjoining area south of the park, and in 1942 an additional {{convert|635|acres}} was added.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/> This brought the park's total area to the ultimate {{convert|35835|acres}}.<ref name="Kiver1999p524"/> Rim Road, a scenic drive, was completed in 1934 by the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]. Park administration was conducted from Zion National Park until 1956 when Bryce Canyon's first superintendent started work.<ref name="Tufts1998p73"/>

===Later===
The [[USS Bryce Canyon (AD-36)|USS ''Bryce Canyon'']], named for the park, served as a supply and repair ship in the [[United States Pacific Fleet|U.S. Pacific Fleet]] from September 15, 1950, to June 30, 1981.<ref>{{cite DANFS |title=Bryce Canyon (AD-36) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bryce-canyon-i.html |access-date=September 15, 2016 }}</ref>

[[Bryce Canyon Natural History Association]] (BCNHA) is a non-profit organization, established in 1961.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://brycecanyon.org/pages/about.htm |access-date=November 16, 2008 |title=About Us |publisher=Bryce Canyon Natural History Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925153657/http://www.brycecanyon.org/pages/about.htm <!-- Added by H3llBot --> |archive-date=September 25, 2008 }}</ref> It runs the bookstore inside the park visitor center and support interpretive, educational, and scientific activities. A portion of the profits from all bookstore sales are donated to public land units.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} <!-- NEEDS CITESince BCNHA's inception in 1961, donations have exceeded [[United States dollar|$]]3.5 million. /NEEDS CITE -->

Responding to increased visitation and [[traffic congestion]], NPS implemented a voluntary, summer-only, in-park shuttle system in June 2000. In 2004, reconstruction began on the road system.

On April 7, 2020, Bryce Canyon National Park was closed to help prevent the spread of [[COVID-19]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/4/6/21210319/bryce-canyon-covid-19-garfield-county-governor-herbert-park-wants-to-close-over-coronavirus |title=Bryce Canyon joins list of closed national parks in Utah |last=O'Donoghue |first=Amy Joi |date=April 6, 2020 |website=Deseret News |language=en |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816210914/https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/4/6/21210319/bryce-canyon-covid-19-garfield-county-governor-herbert-park-wants-to-close-over-coronavirus |url-status=live }}</ref> before a phased reopening started on May 6, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kuer.org/public-lands/2020-05-06/capitol-reef-bryce-canyon-and-zion-are-starting-to-reopen-whats-next-for-utahs-national-parks |title=Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion are Starting to Reopen: What's Next for Utah's National Parks |last=Fuchs |first=David |date=May 6, 2020 |website=KUER |language=EN |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818140824/https://www.kuer.org/public-lands/2020-05-06/capitol-reef-bryce-canyon-and-zion-are-starting-to-reopen-whats-next-for-utahs-national-parks |url-status=live }}</ref>