The Utah Conservation Corps secured $610,000 in funding to maintain 100 miles of trails in the High Uintas over the next two years, according to an announcement from Utah State Today on Wednesday.
Trail restoration project details
The funding, provided through the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation’s Outdoor Recreation Initiative, will support crews working under the direction of the Ashley National Forest. Patrick Parsel, the Statewide Trails Program Manager with the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, said the project aims to restore access for hikers, hunters, anglers, and equestrians following damage caused by wildfires and beetle kill.
Benefits for crews and users
Sean Damitz, executive director of the Utah State University Center for Community Engagement, noted that the funding allows Utah Conservation Corps crew members to gain hands-on skills while serving National Forest users and local outfitters.
Great Salt Lake water efforts
In a separate report from March 2025, the Policy Exchange Research Center (PERC) detailed ongoing efforts to address the decline of the Great Salt Lake. The report highlighted Utah's "water policy moonshot," which includes using voluntary water leasing to pay rights holders to leave water in streams to replenish the lake.
Challenges in water management execution
The PERC report noted that while the state has implemented new task forces and reformed water laws, the execution of water leases faces legal and technical challenges. The report also identified agricultural water diversions as a primary contributor to the lake's decline, noting that 85 percent of the lake’s area loss can be attributed to irrigated agriculture.
