Colorado’s Governor Conveniently Declares Big Rock State Landmark
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There is no official government definition for what constitutes a "state landmark," but there is an official definition for U.S. National Historic Landmarks. A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is generally a building, district, object, site, or structure, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its national historical significance. Seems like a redundant definition, but it's specific enough to exclude obviously insignificant things like, for example, random big rocks which happen to fall on roads.
Ignoring both the connotation and denotation of the word "landmark," Colorado's Governor Jared Polis tweeted the following in the wake of an admittedly-very-large-rock causing a road closure in southwest Colorado:
Everybody meet Memorial Rock.
We will not be destroying this 8.5 million pound boulder - which is the size of a house. Instead, we’re going to make a new state landmark and save taxpayers money.https://t.co/BlkgnKwBEM
— Jared Polis (@GovofCO) June 4, 2019
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If it ain't about the money... We respect the decision to reroute the road around the rock, especially if it will save taxpayers money. What's slightly more suspect is claiming that the rock will be made a state landmark. It's a rock, Jared. A very large rock, but certainly no landmark.
