Development in the Maze

[BenG7]

Hi everybody,

I'm a longtime lurker but wanted to bring attention to concerning developments happening in the Canyonlands area of Utah. Hopefully this is the right place to post this.

The National Park Service is planning on opening a road in the Maze so Wayne County can create a gravel pit. This pit would be located on a small parcel of Utah trust land surrounded by wilderness study areas and NPS land. Presumably, the materials from the pit would be used to further develop the area.

This is all happening in the Orange Cliffs District of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which is managed as part of the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. The proposed road is halfway between the Hans Flat Ranger Station and Flint Trail.



I attached a copy of the lease granted to the Wayne County Road Department, which I found on the Utah SITLA website.

It's disgusting that the chronically underfunded National Park Service (which lost 25% of its staff since January and has a $23 billion maintenance backlog) can apparently afford to open roads through wilderness. The Maze is one of the most remote and pristine areas in the country. If that isn't safe, where is?

I've sent both Glen Canyon (https://www.nps.gov/glca/contacts.htm) and Canyonlands (https://www.nps.gov/cany/contacts.htm) a comment opposing the project.

I know some of you ( @RyanP @Mikjik86 @IntrepidXJ @CodyL @b.stark @Nick @Jammer @John Morrow @Udink ) have been to the park a lot and know the area better than me. Can anyone think of ways to fight this or other places to post it? Would it be worth commenting to Wayne County or SUWA?

 

[RyanP]

Disgusting indeed. I don't know the best ways to fight it (if there are any) and am interested to hear other responses. Thanks for posting.

 

[Udink]

open roads through wilderness. The Maze is one of the most remote and pristine areas in the country

It's not wilderness. It's an existing road, there are multiple drill holes already on the NPS, BLM, and SITLA land in question. Re-opening less than half a mile of existing road doesn't bother me in the least. I've walked part of that road and I don't think extra tire tracks on it would really have changed my experience there--I just would have driven it instead.

 

[Bob]

And....... a lot of states are developing their "Trust" lands. They are actually ther to be able to return money to the state, like it or not. Up here, in Idaho Montana and Wyoming we have state lands leased to glamping bisinesses. In direct competition to local brick and mortar lodgeing businesses..... Nothing can be done really.

 

[BenG7]

It's not wilderness. It's an existing road, there are multiple drill holes already on the NPS, BLM, and SITLA land in question. Re-opening less than half a mile of existing road doesn't bother me in the least. I've walked part of that road and I don't think extra tire tracks on it would really have changed my experience there--I just would have driven it instead.

Thanks for your info.

It's not so much the road itself that concerns me as the precedent of reopening roads coupled with the development of a pit for further improvement.
I visited this year and noticed that the road between the ranger station and Flint Trail had been improved from 4wd/Awd condition to 2wd. A park ranger told me that it was the most improvement the road had seen in decades. It's safe to assume that the county is creating a gravel quarry to continue developing the area.

I imagine that other people go to the Maze to experience solitude. Would we really be happy if the whole Orange Cliffs area was developed to 2wd condition with gravel roads and heavier traffic? And how would that impact neighboring areas of Canyonlands and BLM that ARE proposed wilderness?

I'm not trying to be alarmist, but there are areas that only a few decades ago looked like the Maze. Now they're paved and busy. What's the red line before the NPS is violating its obligation to keep its lands unimpaired?