Mountain Meadows may become national landmark

Excerpts of Mountain Meadows Massacre site may become national landmark by JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press
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The southern Utah site where Mormons massacred the members of a 19th Century Arkansas wagon train is on its way to becoming a National istoric Landmark.

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In November, a National Parks Service Advisory Board subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend a petition to elevate the Mountain Meadows Massacre site to landmark status, parks historian Lysa Wegman-French said.

"I see no obstacles ahead," said the Denver-based Wegman-Smith, who has worked on the application since 2008. "We're not hearing any objections from any quarter."

Landmark status would guarantee public access and federal oversight that includes public input on any construction or development.

[I]n recent years, church officials and three descendant organizations - the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation, Mountain Meadows Association and Mountain Meadows Massacre Descendants - worked to mend the rift. The church, which owns much of the massacre site land, announced its plans to seek national landmark status in 2008.

Representatives of all three groups were in Washington, D.C., in November to support church historian Richard Turley's presentation to the parks subcommittee.