Wyoming Lawmakers Working to Protect Name of Devils Tower

In recent years, there have been efforts to change the name of one of the most famous landmarks in Wyoming, the Devils Tower National Monument. However, Wyoming senators Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso are doing their part to keep the name intact.

Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced legislation that will keep the name of the Devils Tower National Monument as such, as it's been the name of the landmark since the 1800s. Co-sponsoring the bill to protect the name is Senator John Barrasso.

The monument, which is located in the northeast corner of Wyoming, was proclaimed as the first national monument in the United States by President Theodore Roosevelt back in 1906. The monument is a popular attraction for tourism, seeing as how it attracts more than half a million visitors every year.

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Lummis made a statement regarding the bill she has introduced to protect the name of Devils Tower:

Devils Tower is one of the most iconic sights in Wyoming...It’s the first national monument in the United States, and a place of significance for everyone who sees it, from the tourists who visit to the native peoples and Wyoming residents who live nearby. Devils Tower is well known across the country and around the world as a historical and cultural landmark, and it is critical that we maintain its legacy and its name.

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names has been asked by petitioners frequently in recent years to change the name of Devil's Tower, but those attempts have failed. Lummis and Barrasso hope the new bill introduced will keep the national monument's name for good.