There’s little doubt we made headway in our meeting yesterday, but we are still in the first inning of a game that may well go into overtime. Let me recap what changed this morning, and what steps we need to take…
What happened this morning with the Water Conservancy? Jeff Bieber, Casey Lofthouse and I met with WCWCD’s Zach Renstrom, General Manager, and Morgan Drake. We showed them the maps we prepared, and explained that our main concerns were:
- Continued use of the area east of the reservoir in the same manner it has been used for years, Open OHV.
- Restrictions that would not allow any development east of the Reservoir.
- Access from the Washington Dam via Ridgeline Trail, or some route in that area.
- Staging and Camping in the Washington Dam area.
Zach committed that he was agreeable to executing some type of agreement like a deed restriction, that would guarantee OHV Open Access would continue permanently. He also said he would also agree to a permanent restriction that would prevent any development in the same area, other than perhaps a water tank and pipeline. He also agreed that WCWCD would ensure that either the Ridgeline Trail, or a replacement trail WCWCD would construct would keep access from Washington Dam.
He explained that the last issue was more complicated because the Water District was not, and would not be in the recreation business, their interest was solely in the reservoir. Their presumption is that they would retain ownership of the land north of the reservoir, but would contract with a recreation manager, such as State Parks or either the Cities of Washington or Hurricane. They would not select a partner until they began the process of actually building the reservoir, so it is impossible to say how it would be managed or if it there would be a fee area. He added that because the land is fairly limited between the 7 and the reservoir (there is no plan yet for where to place the dam), most of the recreation opportunities would be on the west and south sides of the reservoir.
We think there may be a way to get a fee free staging area northeast of the dam. As we were told many years ago, the large free camping area will become a thing of the past once dam construction begins.
The commitments made by WCWCD cannot be accepted without a healthy degree of skepticism, and there is no binding written agreement to rely on, but UPLA and DRATS will continue discussions with WCWCD, and begin to consult with attorneys on the best way to ensure these commitments are binding. Once those binding assurances are granted, we hope to be able to withdraw our opposition to the exchange.
UPLA, DRATS, Trail Hero, Ride Utah and many others are recommending to Oppose the Exchange. With continued negotiations, we hope to be able to withdraw our opposition, but not now.
What Do I Need to Do Next?
The Land Exchange is still a very real threat, and we need to double down on our efforts with the Scoping and EIS comments as if there is no other verbal agreement. It would be foolish to count on that to save us.
What we need to do now is as simple as 1-2-3
- Show Up for the meeting Tuesday- Be respectful and learn not only the proposal, but how to submit comments that make a difference.
- Submit Your Comments Electronically using your choice of methods:
- By email sent to blm_ut_sgfo_comments@blm.gov with a copy to StopSandMtnSale@gmail.com
- Visiting Blueribbon Coalition’s Action Alert at https://www.sharetrails.org/stop-the-sale-of-sand-mountain/#/104/
The deadline has been extended till Midnight April 19, 2023
We recommend you put your thoughts together, and hold off a few days before submitting them until we get more information, which we will post here.
- Stay Engaged. We are only in the first inning of an overtime game. If you’re not getting the UPLA and DRATS Emails, sign up for them today to stay informed.
The momentum created by the OHV community has been phenomenal so far, we need to be repeating that again each day in the future.
Together, We Can Win,
But We Can’t Do It Without You!
