MONTROSE – Getting the Black Canyon designated as a national park was a long and difficult journey, but many of those who fought to protect the canyon were on hand Saturday to mark the tenth anniversary of that achievement.

A leading champion of the bill that created the park, former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, joined former Rep. Scott McInnis and others in an outdoor ceremony overlooking the canyon.

Campbell gave a lot of credit to his wife, Linda, for helping get the bill passed to establish the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. He said her family settled in this area in the late 1800s, “not long after my relatives on the Indian side stopped chasing her ancestors.”

Campbell said the park set an example for the rest of the country because it was the first time that the park service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service collaborated in managing a national park.

The ceremony opened with a prayer and a blessing, read in Ute, by Roland McCook, representing the Ute tribe.

After the ceremony, McCook said he was gratified that the land where his ancestors roamed freely will forever preserved. He said he asked that people “walk softly on the environment and appreciate what we have here.”

The bill to create the park was first proposed by Park Ranger Dave Roberts, said emcee Connie Rudd, superintendent of the national park, Between 1985 and 1999, five bills were introduced to established the park.

Coming up with a bill that finally passed was a tremendous effort, McInnis said.

“If any piece of the puzzle objected, the bill would not have passed,” he said. “It was fragile.”

About 75 people attended the ceremony, followed by refreshments and live music at the park visitor’s center.