14 minute read
Protecting The Wasatch Through Pottery
Salt Lake City’s Foothills: On the Brink
Written by Hilary Jacobs, Save Our Foothills
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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.
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 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!
What will the future of the Wasatch look like?
Wilderness Stewardship and Education
Written by Alex Schmidt, Campaigns Coordinator
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.
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.
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 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.
Chris Monte Photography; 2019 Wilderness Stewardship Project
vOLUNTEER Today
Contributed By The Commissioners Of The Central Wasatch Commission June 7, 2021
Overlooking Little Cottonwood Canyon, Taken By 2019 Summer Outreach Intern Ben Schoffstall
In connection with UDOT’s Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), we, the undersigned commissioners (Commissioners) of the Central Wasatch Commission (CWC), hereby state the following. For over two years, CWC has actively engaged in assessing the foundational elements of the upcoming Draft EIS and successful solutions for transportation in the Central Wasatch Mountains. Throughout that process, each Commissioner has invested heavily in studying and reviewing objectives and options regarding the complex decisions surrounding solutions to the transportation and preservation challenges facing Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) and the Central Wasatch Mountains. Although our work in this critical area is not yet complete, we have decided to issue this statement in the interest of sharing some observations we have at this time.
The Commissioners are unified in the opinion that “doing nothing” regarding the challenges facing the Central Wasatch Canyons is not a viable solution. In addition, although we are not yet fully united on a preference for a particular transportation mode, we continue to work toward arriving at consensus. In the meantime, we have come to agreement on a set of “pillars” that we believe should be considered and implemented in connection with the eventual transportation solution. These broad principles are consistent with the original intent of the Mountain Accord, and we believe should be applied to whatever transportation mode is ultimately recommended in UDOT’s Record of Decision.
PILLARS
Visitor Use Capacity The transportation alternatives being evaluated in the EIS have the potential to significantly increase the quantity of visitors accessing LCC, and what they do when they visit. All of these alternatives pose a risk of “over-use” of LCC, which could result in negative environmental, public safety and water resource consequences. Additionally, over-use could negatively impact the visitor experience for both tourists and locals who seek to enjoy recreation and nature from unmanaged crowds.
These concerns have been raised repeatedly by the public, various groups, and elected officials during the EIS process, but the limited scope of the EIS’s stated “purpose and need” has not allowed UDOT the opportunity to fully consider these issues. To appropriately address the risks, we believe a corresponding visitor use strategy needs to be identified and implemented to complement any existing management plans.
Watershed Protection Protection of the fragile environmental conditions of the Central Wasatch Mountains is the highest priority for the communities that rely on these Mountains for watershed and water supply. Any transportation solution for LCC should minimize and mitigate negative environmental impacts, including irreversible damage to the watersheds that provide precious drinking water to more than 450,000 people in the Valley and in the LCC itself.
Traffic Demand Management, Parking and Bus (or other Transit) Strategies The Commissioners favor the implementation of a set of traffic management strategies that address both traffic impacts on the roads accessing Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, as well as the roads within these Canyons. In addition, consideration of expanded bus (or other transit) service and parking management outside of the Canyons is critical, regardless of the transportation mode ultimately selected for LCC.
Management strategies outside of the Canyons include providing parking in dispersed locations and improved bus (or other transit) service. The Commissioners also favor appropriate roadway improvements along Wasatch Boulevard and 9400 South. Canyon traffic management options include variable tolling, limited access for single occupancy vehicles, carpool programs, and the reduction of on-road parking. These Canyon strategies should be utilized immediately as a “first phase” of the final EIS alternative implementation, i.e., even before a long-term LCC transportation mode is designed and constructed. None of the proposed transportation alternatives in the EIS will be fully effective without corresponding traffic demand management, expanded regional parking, and bus (or other transit) strategies.
Integration into the Broader Regional Transportation Network Understanding that the EIS is limited from a geographic perspective to a narrow focus on LCC and its immediate surrounding area, a broader, more holistic approach should be used when implementing solutions for traffic issues related to LCC. To that end, consideration should be given to the integration of any LCC-oriented system with transportation issues attendant to Big Cottonwood Canyon and the broader valley-wide transportation network. To justify the cost from a public benefit perspective, a large-scale infrastructure investment that serves a singular purpose (i.e., alleviating traffic congestion issues affecting LCC) should be accompanied by broader service and infrastructure investment in other areas of the valley. As a result, we support the exploration of the idea of transit micro-hubs in areas throughout the valley as gathering places for visitors and residents to catch transit.
Year-Round Transit Service The Commissioners consider year-round transit service to destinations in the Canyons a priority, including dispersed recreational opportunities, and other dispersed recreational opportunities in the surrounding areas (such as areas along the foothills). The existing LCC EIS only considers winter, peak transit service.
Long-Term Protection of Critical Areas Through Federal Legislation Transportation improvements for LCC should be coupled with improved land and natural resource protection. The ultimate transportation solution should be conditioned upon the passage of federal legislation (the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act). This coupling of federal legislation to transportation is necessary given the delicate balance that was central to the Mountain Accord agreement, based on four principal tenets: transportation, economy, recreation, and environment.
Written by Alex Schmidt, Campaigns Coordinator
Since 1972, Save Our Canyons mission has been to protect the wildness and beauty of the Wasatch Mountains. We do this in a variety of ways by working on land use ordinances, partnering to purchase lands, engaging in land planning processes, and responding to proposals confronting the Wasatch. One of the most productive ways to protect lands is to petition Congress to permanently protect this place for the values that we, their constituents, hold dear.
As such, our current goal in partnership with local communities, governments, and stakeholders is to protect 80,000 acres of public land and your watershed by working with Congress to designate the Central Wasatch National Conservation & Recreation Area (NCRA). Once passed, this legislation will connect fragmented land with areas currently under federal protection, designate additional wilderness areas, and limit future development on public domains of the Wasatch — all while protecting our shared values of natural places.
However, there are several outstanding issues that must be resolved to bring this legislation to a place where the lands we are charged with stewarding for future generations are protected. Tell the Central Wasatch Commission that in order to continue supporting this proposed legislation the following must be addressed and resolved:
• The proposed “White Pine Watershed Protection Area” area in Little Cottonwood Canyon contains wilderness quality lands that should be added into the Lone Peak Wilderness Area to protect plants and animals as well as the future of non-mechanized experience for hikers, walkers, picnickers, or wildlife viewing. • Grizzly Gulch, Patsy Marley, Mount Wolverine, and Catherine’s Pass must be permanently protected within this legislation. • Transportation is given priority over the protection of water and numerous dispersed recreational activities along the
Little Cottonwood Riparian Habitat Conservation Area threatening species, water quality and activities like camping, bouldering/climbing, hiking and mountain biking at areas like Tanners Campground, White Pine, and Little Cottonwood Trail. • The proposed legislation should support transit access to trailheads and dispersed recreation sites. Or encourage the implementation of/and adherence to a recreation management plan that would benefit the recreation experience and protection of our environment. Sign Our Petition Today
By taking action today you are requesting these issues MUST be resolved in the next draft of the National Conserva-
tion and Recreation Area Act before introduction. This is a pivotal time for our communities who wish to protect the Wasatch Range as a source of water, place of solitude, and our shared home with 1,200 plant and animal species. Sign our petition today by scanning the QR Code in the upper right hand corner of the page. If you are new to QR Codes, here are some helpful steps in completing this action:
• Open the QR Code reader on your phone or camera • Hold your device over a QR Code so that it’s clearly visible within your smartphone’s screen. • Two things can happen when you correctly hold your smartphone over a QR Code. Your phone automatically scans the code. On some readers/phones, you have to press a button to take a picture, not unlike the button on your smartphone camera. If necessary, press that button. • Your smartphone reads the code and navigates you to our NCRA action. • After completing the petition. Text the link to 10 people to help us protect your water and public land in the
Wasatch.
SAVE oUR cANYONS Speaker Series
Written by Development Director Grace Tyler
“Far Out” taken by Samuel Werstak; Instagram @sam_werstak
Our Speaker Series held during March 2021 gave an opportunity to celebrate the Wasatch Mountains, while practicing social distancing.
The Speaker Series featured unique voices about water, climate change, and conservation of wild places followed by a short presentation on current issues Save Our Canyons is tackling.
If you missed any of our events we recorded them over Zoom and uploaded them to YouTube. Turn the video on while working and listen as you would a podcast or grab a beverage and host a Save Our Canyons Speaker Series at your home! Watch today: https://saveourcanyons.org/the-latest/save-our-canyons-blog/wasatch-wednesday-speaker-series
Save Our Canyons would like to say thank you to Brad Meiklejohn, Ayja Bounous and Torrey House Press, and Laura Briefer and Mike DeVries for participating in our Speaker Series! The threats to the Wasatch, to our watersheds, to the places that inspire our rapidly growing communities and the generations that will surely follow, are intense, complex, and need attention. What they need perhaps most of all is unity.
We can show unity in a variety of ways by: attending a Save Our Canyons event, attending a public meeting, signing a petition, volunteering with our organization, or writing a Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed showing support for protecting the wildness and beauty of the Wasatch Mountains, canyons, and foothills.
In the coming months we will have an update about the UDOT Draft Alternative EIS! Please stay tuned in for this update.
Ways to stay informed: • Email list: Sign up for our action alert emails through our website • Facebook: Save Our Canyons • Instagram: @saveourcanyons
Throughout this newsletter you will find different actions from signing the Central Wasatch National Conservation & Recreation Area (NCRA) petition on p.12, becoming a member of the Save Our Canyons on p.15, and becoming a stewardship of the land on p.9.
Save Our Canyons is a community driven organization and there are many wanys to get involved, including making a donation.
Here are several ways you can donate to Save Our Canyons:
• Online Donation • Mail in a check to PO Box: 112017 Salt Lake City,
UT 84147 • Donate stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRA accounts, real estate, life insurance, business interests, and bequests through your will or trust!
Every generous donation helps to protect the public land in the Wasatch Mountains.
