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BLM Buying Land to Keep Clutter Out of Grand Staircase

By Michael Frank on February 1st, 2013

Cockscomb_cottonwoodThe stretch of canyon country east of Escalante, Utah, is empty and desolate, and the Bureau of Land Management wants to keep it that way. With help from the Grand Canyon Trust and money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the BLM is purchasing 21 acres of inholdings that lie inside the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The trust began snapping up the small parcels a few years ago when it heard rumblings that owners wanted to develop tourist-friendly businesses there; Escalante is filled with outfitters, restaurants, and lodging, but the surrounding canyons are dead empty. This being Utah, some people don’t like it — the official policy of Garfield County, of which just three percent is private, is to oppose more government ownership, even if it means someone puts up a Hotdog on a Stick franchise in sight of Calf Creek. Via Salt Lake Tribune.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2013 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “BLM Buying Land to Keep Clutter Out of Grand Staircase”

  1. Ben February 1st, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    Have you been to Escalante before? “Escalante is filled with outfitters, restaurants, and lodging” That is not an accurate description of the town. You are outta the place before you even knew you were in a town.

  2. Rob S. February 4th, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    Agree with Ben