The Department of Interior has recognized a new addition to our understanding of the Utah portion of the Transcontinental Railroad with an Environmental Achievement Award, for the new publication “Rails East to Ogden: Utah’s Transcontinental Railroad Story” a free publication of the Bureau of Land Management and Monograph No. 29 in the ongoing BLM Cultural Resource Series. Recognition of this product by the Department of the Interior was for the tremendous “efforts to promote and protect cultural resources to include archaeological sites, historic buildings and sites, cultural and historic landscapes, and tribal trusts.”
After years of working on this story, this publication represents the most comprehensive study of any historic resource on BLM administered lands in Utah. It is the culmination of many years of on-the-ground and in library research. It contains over 300+ pages, 115 figures, and 23 tables. The estimated value of volunteer time for this research project is in the 100’s of thousands of dollars. Focus was to make a deeply scholarly volume that can still be used and enjoyed by the public.
ACRA members Michael Polk (Aspen Ridge Consultants) and Ken Cannon (Cannon Heritage) were vital to the creation of this publication. Authors Michael Polk and Chris Merritt (Utah State Historic Preservation Office) and Contributors Ken Cannon, Michael Sheehan (Bureau of Land Management, Salt Lake Field Office), and Molly Cannon (Utah State University) worked collaboratively to re-tell and add to this amazing story with in-depth research into Utah’s role and legacy in this important story.
Readers can download this publication for free from the Utah Division of State History’s website at this link. There are many stories left to uncover, but this group of scholars have started to slowly peel back the layers of history.
