A July 8 commentary published in The Salt Lake Tribune advocated for the permanent closure to vehicles of the Salt Lake County road in upper Millcreek Canyon above what commonly is called the Winter Gate. The upper road already is blocked by the Winter Gate from November through June, but the writer believes that creating a year-round vehicle barrier would be better.
In making her case, however, she ignores historical context and disregards other important interests.
The Mormon pioneers constructed the first roadway into Millcreek Canyon in 1848 and extended the road into upper Millcreek Canyon by 1852. The main canyon road has been reconstructed, improved upon and maintained ever since.
At first, roads in Millcreek Canyon were built for one purpose – logging. After that, canyon roads also served sawmills, mining operations and hydroelectric facilities. Recreation became important in the canyon in the 1930s and the Civilian Conservation Corps and similar public work groups began to construct hiking trails, picnic grounds and, yes, additional roads within canyon drainages specifically to meet the growing recreational needs of the surrounding communities.
As a result of all this activity, the canyon “creatures” referred to in the commentary have co-existed with, dodged and somehow survived alongside canyon activities, roads in various forms and vehicles of one type or another for 174 years.
None of this is to say that road planners should not work to minimize impacts to the canyon environment or its resident creatures. They should. But canyon history shows that a complete closure of the upper Millcreek Canyon road to vehicles is not necessary to meet that objective.
The commentary further opines that the “best way for people to enjoy upper Mill Creek … is to keep the upper canyon gate closed all year [and create] a pedestrian pathway for all people to enjoy.”
Which people is the writer talking about? Not the people who travel by car every summer to the White Bridge, Maple Cove, Evergreen, Fir Crest or Clover Springs picnic areas all located above the Winter Gate. She must not be talking about the people who travel by vehicle — some with multiple mountain bikes lashed on board — to reach the many trailheads above the Winter Gate like Elbow Fork, Alexander Basin, Little Water and Big Water.
She isn’t talking about people whose vehicles pull horse trailers (horses are allowed on some upper Millcreek Canyon trails), travel by car to fish along Upper Millcreek, or who use vehicles to visit other upper canyon sites like Thousand Springs.
She could not possibly be talking about people like me (or my parents in their 90s) who travel by car to their cabins located several miles above the Winter Gate, some of which were built almost a century ago and all of which have been cherished by families for many, many generations.
She also could not be talking about people who are physically unable to hike or bike the way she can, but who still want to enjoy the upper canyon during the summer and early fall from the comfort and mobility of their cars.
She also isn’t talking about the people who serve the upper canyon as first responders, including firefighters who have little chance of continuing to offer fire and other protection throughout the canyon without adequate roads for transporting their heavy equipment.
Not stopping at closing county roads, the writer also proposes to wipe out Salt Lake County’s Upper Millcreek District Park near the bottom of Millcreek Canyon, which was established as a tribute to the hearty souls who helped develop Millcreek Canyon and who built sawmills and other facilities in and below the canyon during the last half of the 19th century.
In place of the park’s replica sawmill, memorial placards, and rock monuments, she would put up a parking lot for cars that, under her plan, would forever be blocked from accessing upper Mill Creek Canyon. This suggestion not only disrespects the memory of those who helped shape Mill Creek Canyon into the place we all love today, but it’s an affront to their ancestors who first envisioned the park and helped pay for it.
Millcreek Canyon, under the administration of the Forest Service, is a multiple use canyon. Permanently closing an existing public road to create an exclusive path for a select segment of the public has never been part of the multiple use program.
Let’s not go there. Instead, let’s help road planners minimize canyon impacts while also improving the upper Mill Creek Canyon road. That approach will safeguard the canyon and all its visitors.
Michael Jenkins has hiked, skied and travelled by car along the upper Millcreek Canyon road and many other places in the canyon for more than four decades. He currently is working on a book about the history of Millcreek Canyon.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/JGXKk2q
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