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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The U-S Senate passed a bill that would add the variant routes taken by Mormon pioneers to the national trail system.
The bill's sponsor, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, told the Deseret News that the trails are the highways of our history. He said the legislation would help to preserve the stories of the early pioneers who settled in Utah and throughout the West.
The bill would also add the Pony Express and California and Oregon national historic trails.
When those historic trails were originally established, Congress only allowed one point-to-point path to each. For example, the route followed by Brigham Young in 1847 became the Mormon pioneer trail, however, most of the other Mormon pioneers used other starting points.
The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
