WILLIAM STUDEBAKER, POET: THIS IS THE CITY NO ONE BUILT.

EACH MONOLITH AND BOULDER IS CRAFTED BY WIND AND WATER.

FOR CONVENIENCE, ALL THE STREETS RUN DOWN HILL AND DISAPPEAR IN THE DISTANCE.

BRUCE REICHERT: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SLEEPY SOUTH CENTRAL CORNER OF IDAHO IS FINALLY DISCOVERED?

WHAT IS LOST...AND WHAT IS GAINED?

STAN LLOYD, LOCAL RESIDENT: THIS PARTICULAR AREA NEEDED PROTECTION AND YET, SOME WAY OF CONTINUING THE OLD VALUES.

THAT'S IMPORTANT TOO...THAT'S HISTORY TOO.

REICHERT: WE'LL SEARCH FOR SOME ANSWERS IN THE ONCE SILENT CITY OF ROCKS.

REICHERT: 150 YEARS AGO THIS WAS A BUSY PLACE, A DESTINATION SPOT FOR WEARY TRAVELERS, A PLACE TO REST AND TO MARVEL AT THE GRANITE OUTCROPPINGS.

HI, I'M BRUCE REICHERT AND WELCOME TO OUTDOOR IDAHO.

YOU KNOW, THOSE WHO KEPT DIARIES WROTE FONDLY OF THE VALLEY OF ROCKS.

SOME EVEN USED AXLE GREASE TO WRITE THEIR NAMES ON THE GRANITE.

BUT NONE OF THESE PEOPLE COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT MANY YEARS LATER THERE WOULD BE A SECOND MIGRATION.

THIS ONE OF YOUNG PEOPLE COMING FROM LONG DISTANCES WITH COLORED ROPES ANXIOUS TO HANG FROM SHEER ROCK WALLS ONE OF THE FIRST EMIGRANTS CALLED THIS THE CITY OF ROCKS, ALTHOUGH EVEN TODAY THERE ARE HARDLY THE AMENITIES WE ASSOCIATE WITH CIVILIZATION.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND, HOWEVER, ARE SOME THINGS SELDOM FOUND IN A CITY.

"I HAVE NOT TIME TO WRITE THE HUNDREDTH PART OF THE MARVELS OF THE VALLEY OF ROCKS."

THOSE WORDS WRITTEN IN 1849 COULD SUM UP THE REACTION OF VISITORS EVEN TODAY.

THIS IS A PLACE WHERE SOME OF THE OLDEST ROCK ON THE CONTINENT RESTS COMFORTABLY WITH SOME OF THE YOUNGEST.

THE RESERVE ARE CALLED THE TWIN SISTERS, -- MOTHER AND DAUGHTER MIGHT BE MORE APPROPRIATE.

THIS IS ALSO A PLACE WHERE DIFFERENT CULTURES -- LIGHT YEARS APART -- ARE LEARNING TO CO-EXIST.

IN 1988 IT FELL TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO DEVISE A MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE...THAT PROTECTS THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL AND SCENIC VALUES OF THIS VERY RURAL COUNTRY SIDE WHILE STILL SOMEHOW MANAGING TO DEAL WITH THE EXPLOSIVE RECREATIONAL GROWTH.

DAVE PUGH, SUPERINTENDENT, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: THE NATIONAL PARK AREAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE A REPUTATION WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AND THE WORLD PUBLIC AS BEING SPECIAL PLACES TO VISIT.

WHETHER WE DID ANYTHING HERE AT ALL IN THE WAY OF IMPROVEMENTS, FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS, THE NAME NATIONAL WILL ATTRACT A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PEOPLE.

THAT BEING THE CASE, AND NO WAY TO REVERSE THAT, THEN WE SHOULD BE PREPARED TO DEVELOP THE FACILITIES TO SOFTEN THE BLOW OF THAT NUMBER OF TOURISTS ON THE LANDSCAPE -- THAT'S RESTROOMS.

BEFORE THE PARK WAS ESTABLISHED THERE WAS A MAJOR PROBLEM HERE WITH HUMAN WASTE, TOILET PAPER AND FECES ALL AMONG ALL THE ROCKS.

THAT PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED BY THE INSTALLATION OF RESTROOMS.

WE DON'T BUILD THE RESTROOMS TO ATTRACT PEOPLE, WE BUILD RESTROOMS TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE, WITH PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE BRING WITH THEM.

SAME WAY WITH TRASH, OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS, ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

REICHERT: UNLIKE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK WHERE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RUNS EVERYTHING, A NATIONAL RESERVE HAS MANY MASTERS...FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, PRIVATE.

IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THERE ARE ONLY FOUR NATIONAL RESERVES.

THE CITY OF ROCKS IS ONE OF THOSE FOUR.

IN FACT, IT'S THE ONLY NATIONAL RESERVE IN THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST.

BUT THE CITY OF ROCKS NATIONAL RESERVE IS EVEN MORE UNCOMMON THAN THAT.

VERY SHORTLY THIS WILL BECOME THE ONLY NATIONAL RESERVE IN THE COUNTRY TO BE MANAGED BY A STATE AND CONFLICT IS INEVITABLE.

NED JACKSON, MANAGER, STATE PARKS & RECREATION: YES IT IS.

THERE'S BEEN TIMES WHEN WE'VE DISAGREED ON THINGS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S BEEN VERY CONGENIAL AND IT'S WORKED OUT VERY WELL.

BOTH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAVE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE LEGISLATION THAT THEY CAN PERFORM BETTER THAN THE OTHER I FEEL.

AND, WE'VE USED THE BEST OF BOTH SIDES IN ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE RESERVE.

ARE MORE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE AMERICAN WESTWARD MIGRATION THAN CITY OF ROCKS.

AND NO COUNTY IN IDAHO HAS MORE HISTORIC TRAILS THAN DOES CASSIA COUNTY.

COMING OFF THE OREGON TRAIL 50 MILES NORTH OF HERE, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF EMIGRANTS PASSED DIRECTLY THROUGH THE CITY OF ROCKS ON WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL.

THERE WERE ALSO TRAILS LIKE THE SALT LAKE ALTERNATE TRAIL, WHICH SKIRTED THE PRESENT DAY BOUNDARY OF THE RESERVE.

AND ANY LOCAL HISTORIAN WORTH HIS SALT KNOWS THE HARDSHIPS THESE PIONEERS FACED.

LLOYD: IN THE DISTANCE WE'RE LOOKING DOWN EMIGRANT CANYON, ALSO KNOWN TO THE STAGE DRIVERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT CAME LATER, AS THE DEVIL'S DRIVE.

ON IN THE DISTANCE, CLEAR OUT IN THE SKYLINE OUT THERE IS STRAVELL PASS AND ALL OF THE EMIGRANTS COMING INTO THIS AREA FROM SALT LAKE CAME ACROSS THAT PASS.

TO OUR LEFT, OVER HERE, IS THE AREA WHERE THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL JOINED THE UTAH TRAIL.

THE PEOPLE CAME AROUND THE ROCKS, AROUND THE POINT OF THE HILL AND JOINED UP WITH THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL RIGHT HERE.

AND THIS AREA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OVER HERE, IS ACTUALLY THE PLACE WHERE THE JUNCTION OF THE TRAILS CAME TOGETHER.

WE'RE LOOKING LITERALLY AT RUTS OF WHERE THE TWO TRAILS CAME TOGETHER AND PROCEEDED ON OVER THE HILL TO GRANITE PASS.

REICHERT: EVEN TODAY, THIS SOUTH CENTRAL CORNER OF IDAHO, WITH ITS MANY HISTORIC TRAILS, AND SMALL OUT-OF-THE-WAY TOWNS, CAN SEEM A LONG WAY FROM NOWHERE.

WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY EMIGRANTS 150 YEARS AGO.

LLOYD: THE WHOLE TRAVEL SITUATION WAS VERY TOUGH INDEED.

THE LOSS OF ANIMALS -- THEIR ANIMALS DIED IN GREAT NUMBERS.

NO WAY TO MOVE THE WAGONS.

THEIR WAGONS FELL APART IN THE DRY CLIMATE BECAUSE THEY WERE BUILT IN THE WET CLIMATE AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO KEEP THEM TOGETHER.

EXTREMELY TOUGH CONDITIONS EVERYWHERE WE LOOK INCLUDING THE SAGEBRUSH -- WHAT FOR FIREWOOD?

THEY WOULD SET A FIRE AND SET THE PRAIRIE ON FIRE SOMETIMES, THEY LITERALLY DID THAT.

AND THERE ARE REFERENCES IN THE DIARIES TO THAT.

REICHERT: STAN LLOYD IS A LOCAL RANCHER WHO MOVES EASILY AMONG THE ROCKS AND THE LEGENDS AND THE DIFFERENT CULTURES THAT FLOURISH HERE AT THE RESERVE.

LLOYD: TO ME IT IS A VERY SPECIAL, A VERY PRECIOUS PLACE.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE PLACES IN THE WHOLE WORLD AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.

GEOLOGICALLY, HISTORICALLY, TO IDAHO AND THE NATION THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE A PART OF IT.

I ENJOY THE ROCKS VERY MUCH.

ALRIGHT, THIS LOOKS GOOD.

YOU WANT TO TRY THIS ONE RIGHT HERE?

YEA, WHY NOT, I MEAN WE'RE OUT OF THE WIND HERE.

IT'S KIND OF NICE.

REICHERT ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AGO, ANOTHER GROUP OF EMIGRANTS STARTED ARRIVING AT CITY OF ROCKS.

THERE WERE JUST A FEW CLIMBERS BACK THEN.

BUT WITHIN A FEW SHORT YEARS THE RESERVE HAS BECOME INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN FOR ITS TECHNICAL ROCK CLIMBING AND TODAY CLIMBERS COMPRISE THE LARGEST GROUP TO VISIT THE CITY OF ROCKS.

CAROL KOTCHEK, ROCK CLIMBER: GUESS I HAVEN'T DONE THIS CLIMBING IN QUITE A WHILE, BECAUSE I DON'T REMEMBER A THING ABOUT IT.

KOTCHEK: WHEN YOU'RE AN EXPERIENCED CLIMBER YOU CAN LOOK UP AND SEE THE HOLES AND GET AN IDEA OF HOW BIG THEY LOOK OR SMALL THEY LOOK.

SO, IF IT'S A VERY STEEP CLIMB, WITH VERY SMALL HOLES, IT'S MORE DIFFICULT.

GOD THAT LAST HOLE IS KIND OF FAR AWAY.

BUT THE HOLES ARE BIG AND THE ANGLE IS LOW AND WE'RE ABOUT TO GET TO THE ANCHORS.

AMY BARNES, ROCK CLIMBER: I FEEL THAT PEOPLE WHO CLIMB ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE VISUALLY AND PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY STIMULATED BY A VERTICAL ASPECT OF LIFE.

FOR ME THIS PLACE IS REALLY ROMANTIC.

I COME OUT HERE AND YOU SEE ALL THE SAGEBRUSH...YOU SEE THE CATTLE THERE IN THE FIELDS...YOU SEE THESE HUGE GRANITE PEAKS AND YOU SEE PEOPLE OUT SCRAMBLING AROUND AND HAVING FUN.

KOTCHEK: ALRIGHT STOP.

NOW YOU GUYS GET TO SEE HOW US MODERN CLIMBERS CLIMB.

USUALLY WE LEAVE THESE THINGS IN AND THE NEXT PERSON JUST COMES UP AND CLIPS THEM, STOP.

IN THE ROCKS SO WE DON'T HAVE TO PUT OUR OWN GEAR IN, IT'S ALREADY THERE.

STOP.

ONE THING THAT IS REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT THE CITY OF ROCKS IS IT'S VERY EXPANSIVE.

WE HAVE LITTLE OUTCROPPINGS ALL THROUGH THIS AREA AND SOME OF MY FAVORITE CLIMBS HERE WOULD HAVE TO BE "STRATEGIC DEFENSE", "SHE'S THE BOSH", "TERROR IN TINY TOWN", "CAIRO", "SKYLINE", THAT'S A REALLY FUN EASIER CLIMB.

YEAH, I ALWAYS THINK IF THERE'S A GOD, SHE MUST HAVE BEEN A ROCK CLIMBER.

REICHERT: WHY IS THIS GRANITE HERE, AND HOW DID THESE ROCKS ASSUME SUCH OTHER WORLDLY SHAPES?

FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE SOME SENSE OUT OF THE SKYLINE OF ROCK PINNACLES.

PUGH: THE REASON THE FORMATIONS ARE HERE IS WE'RE IN A PLUTON, MOLTEN LAVA BOILED UP AND THEN IT WAS ERODED OFF AND YOU HAVE THESE FINGERS OF WHAT WAS MOLTEN ROCK AT ONE TIME NOW STICKING UP IN THE LANDSCAPE.

AND YOU CAN SORT OF SEE THE ROUND BALL OF THAT PLUTON IN THE LANDSCAPE LOOKING ACROSS HERE.

REICHERT: THESE TWO LARGE CONICAL ROCK FORMATIONS WERE A MAJOR LANDMARK FOR NINETEENTH CENTURY TRAVELLERS ON THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL, GUIDING THEM ACROSS THE OPEN VALLEY TOWARD "PINNACLE PASS" AND THE JUNCTION WITH THE SALT LAKE ALTERNATE TRAIL.

BUT IT TOOK MODERN-DAY GEOLOGISTS TO CONVINCE FOLKS THAT THE "TWIN SISTERS" ARE BILLIONS OF YEARS APART IN AGE...THE RESULT OF A RELATIVELY YOUNG GRANITIC PLUTON INTRUDING THE OLDER METAMORPHIC ROCK.

THE RAVAGES OF OLD AGE CAN BE SEEN IN THE "SISTER" ON THE LEFT, SOME TWO AND ONE-HALF BILLION YEARS OLD...SOME OF THE OLDEST GRANITE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

THE "SISTER" ON THE RIGHT IS A MERE TWENTY-FIVE MILLION YEARS OLD.

EVERYWHERE IN THE CITY THE STRANGE SHAPES AND UNCOMMON TEXTURES ARE DRAMATIC PROOF OF THE POWER OF EROSION.

LLOYD: THIS REPRESENTS THE VERY CENTER OF A GRANITE INTRUSION AND IF YOU EVER WONDER WHAT THE CENTER OF A MOUNTAIN WOULD LIKE IF YOU COULD GET A LOOK AT THE ROCK, THIS IS EXACTLY IT HERE.

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE WEATHERING OF THE ROCK IS CLASSIC EXFOLIATION DOME.

REICHERT: MINERALS SUCH AS IRON OXIDES HAVE HARDENED THE ROCK'S SURFACE FORMING A PROTECTIVE SHELL.

WIND AND RAIN THEN ERODE THE MATERIAL UNDERNEATH CREATING ARCHES AND NICHES AND CAVES.

TRANSLATING THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE LANDSCAPE, THAT'S THE SPECIALTY OF WILLIAM STUDEBAKER.

STUDEBAKER: THERE'S A KIND OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAT I THINK IS IN THE LANDSCAPE.

AND IT'S IN CONCENTRATION IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS LIKE THE CITY OF ROCKS, LIKE THE LOCATION BEHIND US AND AROUND US HERE.

THERE SEEMS TO BE AN ABUNDANCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAT I'M TRYING TO TRANSLATE THAT CONSCIOUSNESS INTO WORDS AND INTO MY LANGUAGES AND THEN BRING THAT BACK OUT TO PEOPLE THROUGH POETRY WHO DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME HERE OR WHO DON'T RESPOND TO THAT CONSCIOUSNESS.

REICHERT: STUDEBAKER BEGAN CLIMBING THESE ROCKS LONG BEFORE IT WAS A POPULAR THING TO DO.

NOW HE VISITS THE RESERVE FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF EXPERIENCE.

STUDEBAKER: I THINK PEOPLE COME HERE TO LANDSCAPE LIKE THIS TO POSITION THEMSELVES AGAINST A BACKDROP OF GRANITE ROCK.

TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THEMSELVES IN THIS SORT OF MYTHICAL AND MYSTICAL LANDSCAPE, TO POSITION THEMSELVES IN THE SILENCE AND TAKE THAT KIND OF MAJESTY AWAY FROM HERE.

TO TAKE THE ROCK HOME, TO TAKE THE WIND HOME, TO TAKE THE GLORY OF THIS PLACE WITH THEM.

REICHERT: THIS LANDSCAPE HAS INSPIRED POETRY AND FLORRID PROSE FOR AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED FIFTY YEARS.

BUT EVEN CITY OF ROCKS HAS A FEW BUILT-IN PROBLEMS FOR POETS.

STUDEBAKER: IT'S ALREADY BEEN LABELLED, IT'S ALREADY BEEN NAMED A CITY OF ROCKS AND SO IT CARRIES ITS OWN METAPHOR...IT CARRIES ALMOST AN ALLEGORY AND IF I'M GOING TO TITLE ANYTHING CITY OF ROCKS, OR IF I'M GOING TO DEAL WITH IT IN A FASHION THAT MY AUDIENCE MIGHT BE AWARE OF WHERE THE PLACE IS AND IT'S NAME, THEN I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT METAPHOR THAT IT'S BEEN GIVEN.

AND THAT'S SORT OF LIKE PUTTING HANDCUFFS ON THE LANGUAGE BECAUSE IT STARTS TO STRUGGLE WITH THE IMAGERY THAT PEOPLE IMAGINE IT HAS.

THIS IS THE CITY NO ONE BUILT.

EACH MONOLITH AND BOULDER IS CRAFTED BY WIND AND WATER.

FOR CONVENIENCE, ALL THE STREETS RUN DOWN HILL AND DISAPPEAR IN THE DISTANCE.

RIGHT NOW HAWKS ARE OUT TAG-TEAMING YOUR LUNCH...RAVEN, RABBIT AND COYOTE ARE WANDERING, WHEREVER YOU GO, AND THE SILENCE, THE SILENCE IS THE SOUND OF PENSTAMON AND PAINTBRUSH... ESPECIALLY PAINTBRUSH, APPLYING MORE COLOR.

ALL OVER TOWN THE SKY IS EMPTY EXCEPT FOR ONE FARAWAY CLOUD, IDLING ABOVE SOFT RAIN, HANGING DOWN.

IF YOU GET LOST, JUST KNOCK AND EVERY DOOR WILL OPEN.

SO THE IDEA IS TRY TO GIVE THE LANDSCAPE'S POINT OF VIEW IN A WAY THAT WILL ALLOW THE HUMAN BEING EXPERIENCING THE POEM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO RELATE TO THE LANDSCAPE, BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE LOSING OUR ABILITY TO RELATE.

I THINK WE ARE GAINING IN OUR APPRECIATION AND LOSING OUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH IT.

REICHERT: BENEATH ANOTHER ROCK OUTCROPPING, SOME OF THE LOCAL RESIDENTS GATHER FOR AN EVENING OF OLD-FASHIONED DUTCH OVEN COOKING.

DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, STATE PARKS OFFICIALS SPONSOR EVENTS LIKE THIS TO REMIND FOLKS OF THE RESERVE'S RICH HERITAGE.

KATHLEEN DURFEE, STATE PARKS & RECREATION: I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU HERE TO OUR PROGRAM THIS EVENING, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU CAN ALL JOIN US.

WE LIKE TO HAVE THESE PROGRAMS SO THAT WHEN YOU COME AND VISIT US YOU CAN FIND OUT HOW THE EMIGRANTS FELT WHEN THEY WERE TRAVELLING ALONG THE TRAIL.

AND SINCE WE'VE ALL BEEN FED SO WELL TONIGHT AND WE'RE READY TO SIT AROUND THE FIRE AND HAVE SOME FUN, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF I GAVE A FEW OF YOU SOME EMIGRANT JOURNALS TO READ SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF GET A FLAVOR OF HOW THEY FELT WHEN THEY WERE TRAVELLING ALONG.

RICHARD MONCUR: HE HAD TAKEN A NOTION TO VISIT CALIFORNIA, OREGON AND, OF COURSE, HAVING NO MONEY, AND BEING IMPATIENT OF DELAY, HE STARTED WITHOUT ANYTHING...JUST THE BARE ESSENTIALS.

IN FACT, HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY WAGON TRAIN AND SO HE JUST KIND OF WENT FROM CAMP TO CAMP, AND FROM TRAIN TO TRAIN AND HE BORROWED, BEGGED, OR APPROPRIATED SUFFICIENT SUPPLIES FOR A DAILY GRUB.... CLEONE MONCUR: WE WERE SO SPELLBOUND WITH THE BEAUTY AND THE STRANGENESS OF IT ALL, THAT NO THOUGHT OF INDIANS ENTERED OUR HEADS.

DAVID WELLS: WE DESCENDED TO THE VALLEY...THERE WERE PYRAMIDS OF WHITE GRANITE THAT WOULD RIVAL THE WORLD RENOWN WONDERS OF THE NILE...ROCKS IN THE FORM OF CASTLES, WITH DOMES AND TURRETS... REICHERT: THIS PART OF THE RESERVE WAS UNTIL RECENTLY, PRIVATE PROPERTY.

FEDERAL MONIES HELPED PURCHASE THIS LAND IN 1993.

WHAT MANY FULLY HALF OF THE CITY OF ROCKS IS STILL PRIVATE PROPERTY.

ALMOST ALL OF IT NOW POSTED "NO TRESPASSING".

CHARLIE WARD, RANCHER: THAT SIDE THERE WAS WIDE OPEN.

THE CATTLE USED TO CUT THROUGH AND GO RIGHT UP TO "REGISTER ROCK" AND THEN CUT UP THE WAY.

REICHERT: RANCHER CHARLIE WARD RUNS HIS CATTLE THROUGH THE CITY OF ROCKS EACH JUNE.

IT'S A SHORT CUT TO A GRAZING ALLOTMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE.

WARD: YOU'VE GOT GOOD PEOPLE AND BAD IN ALL THINGS.

I'VE HAD PEOPLE OUT OF THE EAST THAT WAS AMAZED AT THINGS AND YOU JUST TELL THEM TO STAND QUIET AND THE COWS WILL GO BY THEM AND THEY'LL STAND AND WATCH YOU AND ENJOY IT.

I HAD TWO JAPANESE PEOPLE RIGHT BY "BATH ROCK" THAT STOOD ON THE ROCKS AND WATCHED THE WHOLE COMMOTION.

IT'S INTERESTING, AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE OTHER GROUP THAT IT'S THEIRS AND THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES AND RIGHT DOWN THROUGH THE ROAD AND THROUGH THE CATTLE THEY COME.

REICHERT: WARD SAYS THAT FOR THE MOST PART HE GETS ALONG WELL WITH THE CLIMBERS.

BESIDES, IT ONLY TAKES HIS CATTLE TWO OR THREE HOURS TO CROSS THE RESERVE.

WARD: THE WAY IT'S SET UP, IT'S GOT TO WORK, IT'S GOT TO WORK.

I HOPE THE PROGRAM, AS IT SETS TODAY WILL STAY BUT I'M AFRAID THAT IN 10 YEARS YOU WON'T KNOW IT'S THE SAME PROGRAM, BECAUSE THERE WILL BE CHANGES SOMEWHERE.

LLOYD: SOME PEOPLE ENJOY SEEING A CATTLE DRIVE AS THEY COME INTO THE CITY OF ROCKS AND OTHERS ARE GREATLY IRRITATED BY A BUNCH OF COWS IN THE WAY.

SOME CAN SEE THE OLD WEST, AND SOME CAN SAY THAT THE OLD WEST SHOULD DIE RIGHT HERE, WE'RE TIRED OF THESE COWS IN THE ROAD.

REICHERT: FINDING A BALANCE BETWEEN PRIVATE INTERESTS AND PUBLIC USE...THAT'S THE TRICKY PART IN THIS NATIONAL RESERVE WHERE MOST OF THE OPEN GRASSLAND IS PRIVATE PROPERTY.

PUGH: MY FEAR IS A PERSONAL FEAR AND I THINK IT'S SHARED BY A FEW OTHERS, IS COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE RESERVE.

I WOULD HATE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.

HOWEVER, THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HAS NO WAY TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING ON PRIVATE LAND.

COMMISSIONERS CAN STOP UNWANTED COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE PRIVATE PROPERTY HERE.

AND IN 1993 THEY DID PASS AN INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE.

JOHN ADAMS, CASSIA COUNTY COMMISSIONER: AND WITH THIS ZONING, IT WILL NOT ALLOW ANYTHING, ANY CHAIN RESTAURANTS TO COME IN, THIS TYPE OF THING.

IT'LL KEEP IT PRETTY MUCH LIKE IT IS TODAY, RANCHING, WESTERN-TYPE ATMOSPHERE THAT GOES ALONG WITH THE THEME OF THE NATIONAL RESERVE.

LLOYD: SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE SOMETHING COMMERCIAL AND OTHERS DON'T WANT SOME SORT OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE, CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT DETRACTS FROM THE TRADITIONAL VALUES.

AND YET, I HAVE HEARD OF PEOPLE COMING INTO THE TOWN OF ALMO OR THE AREA OR INTO THE RESERVE HERE AND THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO DUMP THE HOLDING TANK ON THEIR VEHICLES, THEIR TRAILERS AND THEIR MOTOR HOMES.

THEY WERE NEVER IN SUCH BACKWARD PLACES IN ALL OF THEIR LIVES.

HARDLY ANY PLACE TO BUY FUEL...NO MOTELS, NO ANYTHING.

WE'RE LOOKING AT A 100.000 VISITORS THIS YEAR, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SOON, PROBABLY 250,000 VISITORS AND THAT'S NOT A LOT COMPARED TO THE PARKS BUT IT IS A LOT CONCERNING ALMO, IDAHO AND ELBA, IDAHO, OAKLEY, IDAHO AND THESE AREAS IN THE SOUTH END OF CASSIA COUNTY.

BARNES: THIS IS A FUN CLIMB.

STEEP AT THE BOTTOM.

GOOD CITY OF ROCKS, THE USUAL CITY OF ROCKS COMBINATION.

REICHERT: BUT FOR MANY IN THE CLIMBING COMMUNITY, THE BIGGEST THREAT COMES FROM THE GOVERNMENT BLOCKING THEIR ACCESS TO THE ROCKS.

BARNES: I FIND IT HARD TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT SOMEONE BEHIND A DESK IN DENVER, COLORADO IS DECIDING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE.

I WOULD LET PEOPLE COME OUT AND ENJOY THIS AS A NATURAL RESOURCE AND AS A RECREATION AREA.

I WOULDN'T LIMIT THEM TO NOT BEING ABLE TO DRIVE IN AND HAVE TO RIDE ON A BUS AND LOOK AT IT FROM A BUS.

I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE RESOURCE.

MAURA LONGDEN, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RANGER: WELL, CONTROVERSY FOLLOWS THE ISSUES AROUND AND FOLLOWS THE CITY OF ROCKS AROUND.

FOR THE MOST PART, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO BE AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE FOR COMMENT AND THE RUMOR MILL ALWAYS GETS THE BEST OF US AND SOMETIMES I TRULY BELIEVE THAT PUBLIC COMMENT IS A GOOD THING.

I MEAN SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO CALL THE PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS TO TASK AND ASK FOR EXPLANATION AND THAT'S JUST FINE.

ONLY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STAFF MEMBER STATIONED HERE.

SHE HAS BEEN WORKING TO COMPLETE A CLIMBING MANAGEMENT PLAN.

LONGDEN: WE TRULY ACCEPT CLIMBING AS A WELCOME AND LEGITIMATE ACTIVITY HERE.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE THINGS SUCH AS THE INSCRIPTION ROCKS, WE HAVE PRIVATE PROPERTY, WE HAVE SOME CULTURAL RESOURCES THAT WE NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR AS WELL AS THE NATURAL RESOURCES SUCH AS VEGETATION.

THE TRAMPLING AND BREAKING OF VEGETATION, CONGREGATION OF PEOPLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ROCK, THIS ALL HAS AN IMPACT.

WITH ENOUGH HELP AND PUBLIC REVIEW, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S COMPATIBLE FOR BOTH, BEING ABLE TO CLIMB AND ALSO BE ABLE TO PROTECT THE AREA.

I TRULY BELIEVE THEY CAN GO HAND IN HAND.

REICHERT: FIFTY TWO THOUSAND EMIGRANTS PASSED THIS WAY IN ONE YEAR IN 1852.

THIS YEAR THEY'RE EXPECTING TWICE THAT NUMBER.

THESE VISITORS, THE ROCK CLIMBERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, THE RANCHERS AND POETS.. THEY ALL BRING SOME- THING DIFFERENT TO THE CITY... AND IF THEY LET IT, THE CITY WILL OPEN ITS DOORS TO THEM AND REWARD THEM, JUST LIKE IT DID TO THE EMIGRANTS 150 YEARS AGO.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

KAY JENSEN: TRANSCRIPTION FOR CLOSED CAPTIONING