53B-18-1002 - Establishment of the center -- Purpose -- Duties and responsibilities.
53B-18-1002. Establishment of the center -- Purpose -- Duties and responsibilities.
(1) There is established the Mormon Pioneer Heritage Center in connection with UtahState University.
(2) The purpose of the center is to coordinate interdepartmental research and extensionefforts in recreation, heritage tourism, and agricultural extension service and to enter intocooperative contracts with the United States Departments of Agriculture and Interior, state,county, and city officers, public and private organizations, and individuals to enhance Mormonpioneer heritage.
(3) The center has the following duties and responsibilities:
(a) to support U.S. Congressional findings that the landscape, architecture, traditions,products, and events in the counties convey the heritage of pioneer settlements and their role inagricultural development;
(b) to coordinate with extension agents in the counties to assist in the enhancement ofheritage businesses and the creation of heritage products;
(c) to foster a close working relationship with all levels of government, the private sector,residents, business interests, and local communities;
(d) to support U.S. Congressional findings that the historical, cultural, and naturalheritage legacies of Mormon colonization and settlement are nationally significant;
(e) to encourage research and studies relative to the variety of heritage resources alongthe 250-mile Highway 89 corridor from Fairview to Kanab, Utah, and Highways 12 and 24, theAll American Road, to the extent those resources demonstrate:
(i) the colonization of the western United States; and
(ii) the expansion of the United States as a major world power;
(f) to demonstrate that the great relocation to the western United States was facilitatedby:
(i) the 1,400 mile trek from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake by the Mormon Pioneers; and
(ii) the subsequent colonization effort in Nevada, Utah, the southeast corner of Idaho, thesouthwest corner of Wyoming, large areas of southeastern Oregon, much of southern California,and areas along the eastern border of California; and
(g) to assist in interpretive efforts that demonstrate how the Boulder Loop, Capitol ReefNational Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the Highway 89 areaconvey the compelling story of how early settlers:
(i) interacted with Native Americans; and
(ii) established towns and cities in a harsh, yet spectacular, natural environment.
(4) The center, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Interior, the National ParkService, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service, the Utah Department ofCommunity and Culture, the Utah Division of State History, and the alliance and itsintergovernmental local partners, shall:
(a) assist in empowering communities in the counties to conserve, preserve, and enhancethe heritage of the communities while strengthening future economic opportunities;
(b) help conserve, interpret, and develop the historical, cultural, natural, and recreationalresources within the counties; and
(c) expand, foster, and develop heritage businesses and products relating to the culturalheritage of the counties.
(5) The center, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National
Park Service, and with funding from the alliance, shall develop a heritage management plan.
Amended by Chapter 148, 2005 General Session