Heather Finch

When given this assignment, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I knew that I needed to do something that interested me and involved the environment. As I contemplated on ideas of what to do, it hit me. I needed to do something about trails. As I searched madly online to find any indication of a law that had been created about trails, I found that it was actually quite difficult to find anything that was even remotely to do with their protection. Either my searching skills were off, or I just plain stunk at finding anything… but in the end, I did find a law. I decided to try and hike some nearby trails… but hiking at the end of March in the state of Utah isn’t the greatest idea unless you have snowshoes. And, for that matter, while driving to the area I was planning on hiking, I got a flat… which made life even more interesting. (Luckily, I do know how to change a flat!) Anyway, as I hiked in some areas closer to the valley, I felt like something was missing… like I needed to make this even more personal. So, back to the Internet I went, when I found this AWESOME act: The National Trails System Act. This act was actually first made in the 1960’s. It was created as a means of protecting trails across the United States that were historically beneficial and educational to people. Over 45 trails were named, and in that group, the Mormon Trail was listed as a trail that should be protected.

That’s when I knew. Never before had I been to the Mormon Trail. Too many times I had heard stories about it, but I wanted to go there myself. Turning this moment into a date, I actually ended up going 3-wheeling to Emigration Pass and to a couple sites in which the Mormon Trail was located. I was able to take a lot of awesome pictures! Because of the awesome Utah weather in the spring time, I was able to take pictures in over a foot of fresh snow… but even better, it gave me an opportunity to imagine more what the pioneers must have faced when coming to Utah. As I took many pictures and ended at “This is the Place” monument, I had a sudden desire to research more of my own family history to determine if I had any ancestors that had come across the trail. I knew I had a couple, but I was interested to know during what times they came.

I took this opportunity to meet with my grandmother to go through the family history. I found out that I had many ancestors that came on the trail, but that actually I had one that came with the first group with Brigham Young. His name was Thomas Bullock. Bullock acted as a personal scribe to Joseph Smith, as well as Brigham Young and eventually became a church historian. I really enjoyed reading about him and others who came across the trail.

I’m grateful for the opportunity that I had to research more about my genealogy, and for the opportunity that I had to be educated not only about the Mormon Trail just as the purpose of the National Trails System Act desired, but for the opportunity to appreciate my own history. The point I really wanted to get across to people was that Environmental Policy can be in place for other means besides protecting the health of people, or protecting endangered species. Environmental policies, in the case of this act, can be means of education and in my own case, a chance for me to connect not only with the environment, but with my past as well.