The Narrows are closed

This is insane.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2018/09/26/private-landowner-posts/

Access to Zion Narrows ‘for sale’? Private landowner posts ‘no trespassing’ in world-famous route; hiking permits discontinued


Photo borrowed from Kenneth Steinsapir on Facebook.

View attachment 69782


MORE INFO HERE:
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.o...backcountry-trek-shut-down-zion-national-park


I'm quoting from above article:
"Trust For Public Land staff said Wednesday that the property in question that created the access problem is not the Chamberlain Ranch itself, but another parcel that lies between the ranch and the Narrows.

“The Trust for Public Land has been working for over a decade to protect the splendor of Zion National Park and secure access to the Zion Narrows, one of America’s most iconic outdoor experiences. In 2013 we were able to successfully conserve the 285-acre Chamberlain Ranch, which today provides one of the main access points to the Zion Narrows Trail," said Jim Petterson, the Trust's Southwest area director.

"We have been working closely for over three years with the owners of the 880-acre Simon Gulch property and key federal and state agencies to protect the property from subdivision and to secure a permanent access easement through the property for the Zion Narrows trail," he added in an email. "The Simon Gulch property is adjacent to Zion National Park, and borders two Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas. It includes over a mile of the Zion Narrows Trail, and a mile of the North Fork River, which offers important wildlife habitat and is a vital source of drinking water for downstream communities. We are working hard to find a solution that resolves this access issue and restores public access to this remarkable natural resource.”
 
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I can't imagine that someone won't step up and acquire title or easement. Maybe even the feds themselves, even given the political situation.


There is a conservation easement on the Chamberlain Ranch, but not yet not the 880 acres Simon Gulch property. The "Trust For Public Land" has been trying for 3 years to get an easement on the Simon Gulch property too.
 
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I can't imagine that someone won't step up and acquire title or easement. Maybe even the feds themselves, even given the political situation.

I highly doubt the feds will step in this in political climate. If it were up to the UT GOP, all of the federal land would be turned over to the state and much of it sold off or leased out for mineral or fossil fuel extraction.
 
I highly doubt the feds will step in this in political climate. If it were up to the UT GOP, all of the federal land would be turned over to the state and much of it sold off or leased out for mineral or fossil fuel extraction.
Strawmen like this aren't particularly helpful when it comes to healing the partisan divide. Even the most radical proposals (read: the crazy lawsuit UT filed against the feds to turn over almost everything to the state) exempted national parks. As everyone knows, the NPS runs in the red, but it's a huge boon for local economies.
 
Strawmen like this aren't particularly helpful when it comes to healing the partisan divide. Even the most radical proposals (read: the crazy lawsuit UT filed against the feds to turn over almost everything to the state) exempted national parks. As everyone knows, the NPS runs in the red, but it's a huge boon for local economies.

As are the monuments and as was the Outdoor Retailer Show, which brought $40M+ into the local economy annually. Exempting the National Parks from state takeover doesn't detract from the fact that UT politicians like Hatch, Noel and Stewart could care less what the public says about preserving the monuments.
 
While not specifically related to this issue, access to Cutthroat Castle in Hovenweep National Monument has also been closed because of a private landowner closing the access road.

https://www.nps.gov/hove/learn/management/cutthroat-closure-080618.htm

Same for Painted Hand Pueblo in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument which uses the same road for access. Apparently the road only crosses a short corner of private land. This one hasn't seemed to make the news, even locally...
 
So that's why cutthroat castle is closed.
Didn't know about painted hand pueblo being closed.
 
Looks like access was extended through 31 March with ongoing negotiations continuing (or at least will be continuing post gov't shutdown) for a more permanent solution.
 
As are the monuments and as was the Outdoor Retailer Show, which brought $40M+ into the local economy annually. Exempting the National Parks from state takeover doesn't detract from the fact that UT politicians like Hatch, Noel and Stewart could care less what the public says about preserving the monuments.
Actually thete are a lot of Utahns who feel the sane way. It isn't just politicians.
 
Actually thete are a lot of Utahns who feel the sane way. It isn't just politicians.

I'd like to see those who voted for state takeover be handed the bill for management without federal assistance. State ownership of federal lands sounds nice in theory to some people, but states like WY have woken up to the reality of what it means for public access. Turn it over to the states and there will be an inevitable loss of access since the states will sell it off to keep taxes low, not to mention an environmental catastrophe.
 
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