VERNAL, UTAH — The Ashley National Forest is reviewing recreation facilities on the Vernal and Flaming Gorge Ranger Districts for decommissioning under an Environmental Assessment (EA) and is holding public meetings to seek public input into this effort.
With the consistent reduction in budget and personnel to sustain the recreational infrastructure on the Ashley National Forest many facilities now face backlogged maintenance needs leading to a reduction in the Forest’s ability to provide quality recreational facilities for public use.
After an initial assessment the proposed action has identified 12 recreation locations for decommissioning.
Locations identified for decommissioning include the following:
Upper Marsh Creek – Remove the crumbling boat ramp and decommission the site.
Long Park – Remove the crumbling boat ramp and nonfunctioning vault toilet and decommission the site.
Greendale Campground – Remove the furnishings; decommission the water system and individual campsites, but leave the Group Site across HWY 191 open.
Antelope Flat Campground – Remove the furnishings and decommission individual camp sites, but leave the Group sites open along with the REA boat ramp facilities.
Skull Creek Campground – (1) Remove the furnishings and decommission the water system and campground, or (2) Decommission the water system but leave the campground open with reduced fees.
Oaks Park Campground – Remove the vault toilet and furnishings and decommission the site.
Red Canyon Campground – Remove the furnishings and decommission the site.
Sheep Creek Bay Campground – Remove the fence and restroom facilities. Make this a part of the Sheep Creek bay boat ramp parking area.
Red Spring Campground – Remove toilets and furnishings and decommission the campground.
Kaler Hollow – Remove the furnishings and toilet and decommission the site.
Navajo Cliff Picnic Site – Remove the furnishings and toilet and decommission the site.
Lucerne Group Campground – Remove the shelters for safety reasons, remove the bathroom facilities, and decommission the older group campground above Lucerne Marina.
A goal of this process is to identify those recreation structures that are not sustainable and using public comments make a decision that reduces the recreational infrastructure and gain alignment with current and projected budget and personnel levels.
This will enable the Forest to sustain quality recreational infrastructure for public use across the Ashley National Forest.
To discuss this effort the Forest has planned four public meetings to discuss this proposed action.
March 13, 2014 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Daggett County Office Building, Manila, Utah
95 North 1st West
Manila, UT 84046
March 14, 2014 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Duchesne County Building, Duchesne, Utah
734 North Center Street
Duchesne, UT 84021
March 19, 2014 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Uintah Applied Technology Campus, Vernal, Utah
450 N 2000 W
Vernal, UT 84078
March 20, 2014 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Dutch John Community Center, Dutch John, Utah
530 South Blvd.
Dutch John, UT 84023