BLM to improve recreation access with Dry Fork trailhead improvement project
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KANAB, Utah – Construction on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) Dry Fork Trailhead project is scheduled to start on Monday, continuing through December 20, 2019. The Dry Fork Trailhead is in Kane County along the Hole-in-The-Rock road, approximately 25 miles southeast of Highway 12.
This project is designed to improve access, disperse recreational use to other popular slot canyons within the drainage system to reduce congestion and user impacts, and provide for improved public safety and protection of sensitive resources. There are no plans to implement road closures during construction. Temporary inaccessibility may occur, but motorists will be allowed to proceed when safe to do so.
“These slot canyons are popular with the general public and receive intense use. Last fiscal year, we received 35,000 visitors in the Dry Fork Slot Canyons area,” said the GSENM Acting Assistant Monument Manager Jabe Beal. “Currently, the user-created trailhead is located in a Wilderness Study Area (WSA) and provides no facilities. The new trailheads will move the parking area outside of the WSA, provide toilets, and interpretive kiosks to address public health and safety.”
A Decision Record for this environmental analysis was signed on June 5, 2018, for the development of two new trailheads. Construction for the second trailhead, located along Hole-in-the-Rock Road, is scheduled to commence in spring of 2020.
For more information about the Dry Fork EA, please visit https://go.usa.gov/xVhUt.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.