WHAT ARE WE DOING? Utah Houses in Place of Popular Trails

Development Plan for Zone 6 in St. George 

Two popular areas for outdoor enthusiasts in Southern Utah are slated for development. Bear Claw Poppy has trails to ride mountain bikes and Moe’s Valley is known for climbing. In a recent meeting of the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan it was revealed they are looking to develop this area for housing. 

You may be thinking that these lands were protected, and that is true in part. It all has to do with the northern corridor the county has been trying to build that would connect I-15 to Ivins through the Red Cliffs Desert Preserve. This area is set aside to protect desert tortoise habitat.  

Back in 2021 the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came up with a plan to allow the road to be built in exchange for the zone 6 land being preserved as additional habitat. Since then, the federal agencies have put that plan on hold. This has left zone 6 to be opened to development. 

Alarm Bells Ringing for Conservationists 

As you can imagine, there are many unhappy with this news. The idea of expensive lots and luxury resorts replacing mountain bike trails and access to the cliffs is causing a lot of concern. 

These are school trust lands that when developed, the money is to go to schools. In the meeting, Aaron Langston of the Utah Trust Lands Administration explains that they have an obligation to move forward when there are those who want to develop these areas. He explains there are several development companies waiting. 

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At the same time, he says if the original agreement with the northern corridor were to be approved, Zone 6 would be protected. The deadline for this to happen is next summer. Things could change depending how the national election turns out this November as well as decisions that could change between agencies between now and then.