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PRICE, Utah – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office is seeking public input on an environmental assessment that addresses how the office will respond to applications for special recreation permit activities within Congressionally designated wilderness areas throughout the Price Field Office. 

The proposed action is a programmatic process to authorize special recreation permits for commercial and organized group activities within the 17 wilderness areas. Permits will be consistent with management objectives in the Price Field Office Resource Management Plan, compliant with the BLM special recreation permit manual and policy, and necessary for realizing the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas. The following restrictions are proposed:

• The special recreation permit may not contain a competitive event component.
• The special recreation permit may not contain a vending permit component. 
• The special recreation permit may contain commercial and organized group events. 
• The special recreation permit may only contain the following activities: hiking, backpacking, hunting, canyoneering, horseback riding, fishing, climbing, boating, and camping. 
• The special recreation permit may not contain any other types of activities, even if they are non-mechanized. 
• All special recreation permit holders would adhere to a stipulation that requires them to educate their participants about wilderness and wilderness etiquette. 
• Special recreation permit group size would be 25 or less along the southern portion of the San Rafael Reef from South Temple Wash to Ding and Dang Canyons, and for any permitted river trips. 
• Special recreation permit group size would be 14 or less in all other wilderness areas in the Price Field Office. 
• The maximum number of allowable commercial special recreation permits per activity would range from six to double the current number of special recreation permits. 
• The number of commercial special recreation permit trips allowed per permit would be no more than three trips per week within any given wilderness area. This limitation would not apply to Wild Horse Canyon, Little Wild Horse Canyon, Chute Canyon, Crack Canyon, Bell Canyon, or Ding and Dang Canyons, or to the Green River Daily because of their front country nature and high level of private use.  

When wilderness management plans are adopted for each of the 17 wilderness areas, group size limits and the number of outfitting permits may be reassessed for each wilderness area. This environmental assessment is being proposed to provide a more efficient way to respond to new applications until additional wilderness planning is completed.
 
For more information, please visit the ePlanning project website at the following link: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013661/510.  

The BLM is requesting public input during a 30-day scoping period. Comments must be submitted on or postmarked by Oct. 17, 2021. Please reference “wilderness special recreation permit environmental assessment” when submitting comments. Written comments may be mailed, emailed, or submitted through ePlanning:

Mail: BLM Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501
Email: BLM_UT_PR_Comments@blm.gov
ePlanning:  https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2013661/510 

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so. 

For additional information, contact Jaydon Mead, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at (435) 636-3646. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.