ST. GEORGE — People from the region’s off-road community stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the basement of the Washington County Library in St. George Tuesday as they sought to learn more about a proposed land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management and Washington County Water Conservancy District.

Those in attendance fear such a move will erode and possibly destroy outdoor recreation in a part of the Sand Mountain area.

The exchange would involve 1,050 acres of BLM-managed land for 89 acres within the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. According to the BLM, the 1,050-acre parcel is located in Warner Valley, approximately 1.5 miles from the St. George Regional Airport, 7 miles east of the city of St. George and just outside the city limits of Washington City in unincorporated Washington County.

Warner Valley is also the site of a reservoir the water district has had in its long-term plans for several years and is a primary reason for the proposed exchange.

“What we really want is a reservoir,” Zach Renstrom, general manager of the county water district, told St. George News. “That’s the main goal.”

However, the parcel is also within the Sand Mountain Special Recreation Management Area, and that has put the off-road community on alert.

The proposed trade: A lot of land for a little land

According to the Utah Public Lands Alliance, off-roaders and other outdoor recreationists stand to lose access to the West Rim Trail, the restroom facilities on Pipeline Road, disbursed camping areas and potentially the Ridgeline Trail. The latter was built to help counter the loss of a pre-existing trail that would be destroyed when the reservoir is eventually built.

The Tuesday afternoon rain stopped by the time a long line of people leading into the library’s basement began to reach outside by 4:45 p.m. Many in line wore shirts, jackets, hoodies or caps that marked them as off-road enthusiasts who had come to attend a scoping meeting at 5 p.m. held by the BLM concerning the land exchange.

“Nobody here is opposed to the reservoir,” Rich Klein, president of Trail Heroes, told St. George News during the BLM’s scoping meeting. “We all know we need water here in St. George. That makes absolute sense.”

What doesn’t make sense, he said, is that the BLM is willing to exchange such a large parcel of land frequently used for off-road events and other outdoor activities for 89 acres within the Red Cliffs NCA.

The property in question is located east of the Middleton Bench, approximately 1.5 miles east of Cottonwood Springs Road and adjacent to the Green Springs master-planned community to the east in Washington City. The western boundary of the property follows the right-of-way for the Northern Corridor.

The listed owner of the property is “His Family Matters.” The group’s property, like others in the mid-1990s, became landlocked within the newly-created Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. These private parcels, sometimes referred to as “in-holdings,” were no longer viable for development once the desert reserve was established.

The purpose of the desert reserve is to protect the Mojave desert tortoise, a reptile with a population that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Since that time, the federal government has been working with landlocked property owners  to either trade the land for BLM property elsewhere or purchase it outright in order to mitigate the impact on the affected landowners.

In the case of the 89 acre parcel, the water district plans to buy the land within the Red Cliffs NCA (which overlaps much of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve) in exchange for the 1,050 acres in the Warner Valley/Sand Mountain area for the reservoir.

Jason West, director of the BLM’s St. George Field Office, said land exchanges were based on the valuation of the property being sought. While an appraisal of the 89-acre property has yet to be made, evaluations of other private parcels struck in the desert reserve have shown to be relatively high, he said.

When an appraisal is completed, West said it could have an impact on how many acres may be traded between the BLM and water district once that step is reached.

Off-Road Community: Concerns over access loss, annexation and skepticism toward promises of continued, unrestricted use

When St. George News arrived at the library in St. George, cars, trucks and various other vehicles lined the streets and occupied all parking in the vicinity. On several of the parked vehicles were stickers noting membership in or support of groups like Trail Heroes, the Utah Public Lands Alliance, Desert Roads and Trails Society, Blue Ribbon Coalition and other off-road groups.

Inside, the stairwell leading into the basement was crowded with people with the basement itself experiencing much the same. People stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they waited for a turn to sign in and enter a room where the scoping meeting was being held. So many people showed up initially that only a handful of individuals were allowed in every few minutes.

“We need to make sure our concerns are listened to and expressed and that’s why you have this big public response here tonight,” Ben Burr, executive director of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, told St. George News. Both the coalition and Utah Public Lands Alliance focus on preserving access to public lands for recreational use.

“Some of the parcels that are up for exchange contain some of the really popular trails that are often part of some of our big events like Trail Hero and the Winter Jamboree,” Burr said, adding the off-road events, as well as other forms of recreation, on Sand Mountain and the surrounding area have an economic benefit that he said brings millions of dollars into the county.

“So to be trading out those trails for a small piece of desert tortoise reserve doesn’t seem like the best of ideas,” Burr added.

Klein also wasn’t very pleased about the possibility of losing open access to lands used for off-roading. His group, Trail Heroes, focuses on helping disabled individuals and veterans enjoy and explore the outdoors through motorized tours.

Jeeps, off-highway vehicles and similar means are “their legs to go experience the great outdoors,” Klein said. “Without that motorized access, we lose that for them and they are a voice that is often not heard well in the off-road community.”

An individual who has explored the outdoors through Trail Heroes and similar programs is David Adams. While sitting on a mobility scooter and his service dog lying quietly beside him as he spoke, he expressed his own opposition to the land exchange, as well as an accompanying plan by Washington City to eventually annex Warner Valley.

Sand Mountain is “a gem and a jewel” and “is not the place” for future residential development a future annexation could bring, Adams said

Officials with the water district and Washington City confirmed there are plans to annex the Warner Valley area and the planned reservoir along with it.

“We’re very sensitive to the existing uses out there,” Washington City Mayor Kress Staheli told St. George News on Wednesday, noting other city officials met with representatives of the off-road community last week about the issue.

Washington City supports the land exchange in relation to the reservoir and also strives to be mindful of property rights along with pre-existing land uses, the mayor said.

Adams’ primary worry is that once some leeway is given for any sort of residential development near the off-road trails, it will gradually erode and ultimately destroy off-road recreation in the Sand Mountain area. It is a pattern he saw play out in his former home of Moab, he said.

“In Moab, every single year we lost access,” Adams said.” We lost more and more trails (to development). Pretty soon we could lose this gem (Sand Mountain).”

Washington City wasn’t the only place visited by concerned off-roaders. They also stopped by the water district on Monday and were told by Renstrom that the water district would preserve off-road access if the exchange went through.

“I agree that this land should be kept open for recreational reasons and I hope the BLM will support that also,” Renstrom said. “If the district acquires this land, we have no intention of developing housing or selling (land). I will advocate that we keep the area open for recreation.”

While there may be a verbal agreement from the water district to keep access open, the off-roaders St. George News spoke with said they will believe it when an agreement securing access in perpetuity is in writing and documented.

“We will fight for it if we don’t get it in writing,” Klein said. “We have to fight for it.”

As for what agency might manage the area once the reservoir is built, Renstrom said that remains to be seen, yet he reiterated the water district intends to keep recreational access open regardless.

‘Sleazy on many levels’: Ecological and procedural concerns

As the sardine-packed crowd in the library’s basement began to thin by 6 p.m., the scoping meeting remained thoroughly dominated by the concerns and questions brought by the off road community.

However, among the crowd was Richard Spotts, a retired BLM official who worked with the agency’s Arizona Strip Field Office for 15 years and has also been involved in other ventures regarding advocacy and law related to conservation and public lands.

He spoke with St. George News at the scoping meeting and expressed concerns about the particular ecological and procedural concerns he believes the BLM is sidestepping.

“This BLM proposed land exchange is a highly misleading if not downright corrupt Trojan horse,” Spotts said in an email that summarized his thoughts on the land exchange. “BLM is trying to conceal a proposed Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) Warner Valley water project near Sand Mountain as a benign tortoise conservation measure.”

The potential land exchange and pending reservoir project stand to negatively impact pre-existing desert tortoise habitat in Warner Valley as well as three federally-protected plant species and other sensitive species in the area, he wrote.

Furthermore, the BLM failed to mention these facts on their public notice about the scoping meeting, Spotts wrote.

“And it fails to fully acknowledge the potential effects on OHV and other recreational uses,” he continued. “On its face, this proposed exchange is outrageous and ridiculous.”

Spotts’ concerns are shared by the local environmental advocacy group Conserve Southwest Utah, which issued a press release Thursday outlining its concerns and questions.

A particular concern shared by Spotts and Conserve Southwest Utah is the level of environmental impact analysis being done by the BLM in regard to the land exchange. An “environmental assessment” is being completed regarding the impact of the proposed land exchange instead of a much more thorough and detailed Environmental Impact Statement.

“Is the BLM avoiding a thorough environmental review provided by an Environmental Impact Statement (required by (the National Environmental Protection Act) for certain actions ‘significantly affecting the quality of the human environment’) by labeling this project a ‘land exchange’ instead of future reservoir development?” Conserve Southwest Utah said in its press release.

A complete list of Conserve Southwest Utah’s concerns can be found here.

During a follow-up call with St. George News with Spotts on Wednesday, he said that the situation was “very sleazy on many levels.” He also found it ironic that he, someone who often finds himself at odds with the goals of the off-road community, found common ground in the objections they had over the proposed land exchange.

The scoping meeting: It’s too early for answers when not all the questions are known

“We’re interested in all points of view on how this potential land exchange could affect people who use the land,” Jason West, director of the BLM’s St. George Field Office, said during the scoping meeting.

When not surrounded by people sharing objections or asking questions about the proposed exchange, West spoke with St. George News about the purpose of the scoping meeting, which he said is to start a conversation around the land exchange and bring all concerned parties to the table. This will enable the BLM to know what questions need to be addressed in their study of the impacted area.

The scoping meeting is part of an overall process to find the best questions to ask so the BLM can come to the best conclusion, West said.

An example of the questions to be addressed with proposed solutions is how trail use may be impacted.

“If we lose a trail, can we build a new one? If we lose a campsite, where can we make new campsites?” West said.

The crowd that filled the scoping meeting Tuesday evening was much bigger than West and his associates originally anticipated, he said, yet added he was happy for the turnout and opportunity to help people learn more about the proposed land exchange.

“Anything that brings you to the table, I’m willing to address,” he said. He also acknowledged the work done by the off-road community to get the word out about the meeting.

“They represent huge segments of the population that go off-roading. They’re here and they’re a part of the process,” he said.

Organizers remind the public it is important to remember that the overall process is in the very preliminary stages for now, so specific answers and details about the land exchange and its impacts are not yet available or known.

“Again, this is all preliminary,” West said. “So until anything is in writing and we actually have a proposal and environmental document, it’s all just talk at this point.”

The next step in the process is the release of a preliminary environmental assessment for the land exchange that is slated for December. The release of the document will be accompanied with its own 30-day public review and comment period.

Ed. note: The article has been updated with information about the comment period. Developer Bob Brennan was also mistakenly identified as the property owner of the 89 acre parcel within the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

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