Salt Lake City’s Foothills: On the Brink
Wilderness Stewardship and Education
Written by Hilary Jacobs, Save Our Foothills
Written by Alex Schmidt, Campaigns Coordinator
In 2016, Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands decided to overhaul the extensive network of trails in the city’s Foothills. Under the guise of a new Trails Master Plan, the Parks department promised a trail system that would accommodate a full spectrum of users—hikers, runners, bird watchers, botanists, dog walkers, skiers, snowshoers, picnickers, and mountain bikers, among others—while also prioritizing equitability, environmental sustainability, habitat protection, accessibility, and safety.
The Wasatch, and surrounding valley’s and ranges are feeling the heat. Not just from soaring temperatures of a dry summer, but also because of the excitement of the masses who are exploring and escaping into the wonders of our shared public lands.
Those of us who have used the foothill trails for decades eagerly anticipated well-crafted new trails that would complement those we so greatly valued. Instead, we are facing poorly planned, erosion-prone trails that pit pedestrians and bicyclists against each another. Favorite walking trails have been closed (and demolished) in the name of “revegetation,” even as unsustainable trails have been gouged out of fragile hillsides, pristine meadows, and essential What will the future of the Wasatch look like? habitats. Plants and wildlife have been displaced or killed as trails and hillsides erode, slump, and collapse. Collisions between bicycles and wildlife have already occurred. And this is but the beginning of the destruction that is spreading like a cancer across our precious foothills. To date, only Phase 1 of the plan has been initiated; Phases 2 and 3 will add an additional 50 miles to the 15 that have already been bulldozed. When Phase 3 is complete, not a single mountain top or wilderness area between Meridian Peak to the north and Emigration Canyon to the south will be free of high-speed mountain bike traffic. Adding insult to injury, the trails on the ground often do not match the trails on the Masterplan. When asked about this discrepancy, the Parks department said the so-called Masterplan is “only a guide.” In other words, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been granted to bike-trail consulting and construction firms without oversight or accountability. Moreover, the new trails have been built without following any of the National Park Service or U.S. Forest Service trail-building guidelines. The Save Our Foothills campaign is working to put a stop to this environmental assault, and we need your help! Following strenuous citizen objections, Phase 1 construction has been paused for a four-month review. Now, please sign our petition at SLCFoothills.org to demand that all work be stopped until a legitimate and truly inclusive Foothills Trails Masterplan—based on sound ecological, geological, environmental, zoological, and archaeological studies—has been completed. Anything short of this is unacceptable. Salt Lake City has only one chance to get this right. As stewards of these precious lands, our first priority must be to maintain the environmental integrity of Salt Lake’s Foothills so that we can continue to enjoy the myriad resources the Foothills so generously provide, including water, beauty, nature, and refuge. We can determine our legacy; we stand at the precipice now. For more information or to find the petition, please go to slcfoothills.org!
8 Save Our Canyons, Summer 2021
Save Our Canyons is continuing our efforts of stewardship and environmental education this summer with our Wilderness Stewardship and Education Coordinator staff position. With support from the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance and the Hemingway Foundation — we have been awarded funding to bring on a part time staff person to further our efforts as a partner to the US Forest Service, Utah Department of Transportation, and several public and after school youth programs through our SOCKids Program.
Chris Monte Photography; 2019 Wilderness Stewardship Project
Our Wilderness Stewardship and Education program comes from the recognition that our local wilderness areas are being gradually degraded by overuse. Our project recognizes that many of those who love and visit the canyons lack a functional understanding of the critical importance of the Wasatch Mountain watershed and the sensitivity of this landscape to external pressures. As advocates who have worked to protect these mountains and canyons through policy measures for nearly four decades, Save Our Canyons recognizes our responsibility to actively care for this landscape by helping to maintain it and by educating those who use it. The purpose of this project is to educate new generations about the importance of wilderness designations and to give back to our wilderness areas by actively working to maintain them. Our trail work will include such activities as: trail maintenance, rehabilitating and restoring sensitive areas, packing out garbage, and dispersing unsanctioned hardened sites such as camps and campfires. With 1,800 native plant and animal species in the Wasatch, most being found in designated wilderness areas, we take our responsibility of caring for these areas seriously. It is our goal that each year we focus on one wilderness area in the central Wasatch Mountain Range to maintain, restore, and create an education plan to educate the public.
vOLUNTEER Today
Volunteer this summer with Save Our Canyons and enjoy the wonders of the Wasatch Mountains. Participating in our WSP helps to make a positive impact on the flora and fauna, while enjoying the fruits of your labor with old friends and new. Sharing your favorite story of a night in Lone Peak Wilderness, quiet moments observing a Moose in the Twin Peaks Wilderness area, or maybe a speedy descent down the fins of Mount Olympus’ best kept secrets during a Save Our Canyons volunteer day helps deepen the connection you and others have with this landscape.
www.saveourcanyons.org
www.saveourcanyons.org
Save Our Canyons, Summer 2021
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