CEDAR CITY — The Bureau of Land Management Cedar City Field Office is seeking public comment on an environmental assessment analyzing a proposed project to improve visitor experience and provide safer access at the Parowan Gap in Iron County.

The proposed project supports the BLM multiple-use mission by providing for the long-term preservation of cultural and paleontological resources at the site, as well as the restoration of habitat for threatened and endangered species like greater sage-grouse and Utah prairie dog. By replacing non-native and invasive species with native grasses and forbs, the BLM anticipates improving wildlife habitat and preventing continued erosion of some cultural resources currently threatened by noxious weeds.

The proposed project would also locate several new public-parking areas away from cultural resources; provide a convenient visitor turnaround, a non-motorized visitor trail, shade structure, and restroom facility; and stabilize areas to help prevent rockslides.

The Parowan Gap is home to one of the most concentrated collections of petroglyphs — some estimated to be 5,000 years old — in the American West. Unique geological formations and dinosaur tracks are also found in the area.

The assessment is available electronically on the Environmental Notification Bulletin Board. Search using “Parowan Gap Access”  in the project name field.

Written comments will be accepted by letter or email until close of business Mar. 3. Please note comments should be as specific as possible, and the most useful comments contain new technical or scientific information relevant to the proposed plan. Comments containing only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process. Please reference “Parowan Gap Access” when submitting written comments.

Submit written comments 

By Mail

• Attention: Dave Jacobson
• Bureau of Land Management
• Cedar City Field Office
• 176 East D. L. Sargent Drive
• Cedar City, UT 84721

By email

• [email protected]v

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment — including personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. The BLM will not consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

Contacts

• Dave Jacobson – Telephone 435-865-3010
• Telecommunications for the deaf – Federal Information Relay Service – Telephone 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.

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