The Flaming Gorge Ranger District is considering a boundary adjustment of the Buckboard Marina’s special use permit, according to a press release from the Ashley National Forest.
The adjustment would remove water acreage and add areas of land to the east and south, including part of the South Buckboard areas that is currently used for dispersed camping. The adjustment would also increase the permitee’s authorized acreage by 3 acres (increasing it from 77 acres to 80 acres).
The Buckboard Marina is approximately 22 miles south of Green River off of Highway 530. The water level at Flaming Gorge Reservoir has dropped drastically over the last 5 years. The bay where the marina stations the docks has dropped in elevation to a point where they cannot function properly, as the cliffs pose too steep of a drop now that the water has receded. The reduced water has also created an encroachment of dispersed campers to the south that have created management difficulties for both the marina and for law enforcement. Original boundary maps for this special use permit included water acreage.
However, the Act of March 4, 1915, as amended July 28, 1956 (Public Law 829), which is the authority under which marina permits are authorized, only encompasses land-based acreage in its 80-acre maximum. By adjusting the boundary to exclude water acreage and add additional land areas, the marina would be able to move docks and water facilities to deeper water locations and continue to service the recreating public in this area.
This proposed action may be categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment (EA), pending extraordinary circumstances review, because it fits the following category: 36 CFR 220.6(e)(3) – Approval, modification, or continuation of special uses that require less than 20 acres of National Forest System lands. The boundary adjustment would result in a net increase of 3 acres in this special use permit.
To learn more about the project, click here.
Comments are being accepted on any of the projects described in the East Zone Small Project Newsletter.
If you are interested in or affected by this proposal, this is your opportunity to make your concerns known prior to the point at which we will make a decision. Comments should be specific to the project and include information we should consider in reaching a decision.
Please submit comments, via email or hard copy mail, by April 21, 2023. Email: comments-intermtn-ashley@usda.gov (please put the name of the project you are commenting on in the subject line).
