[{"_1":2,"_105":-5,"_106":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85,95],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6641695,"mediaKeyId","3677847-06ea338747134783f50a5408afd2b003","parentId",3677847,"title","Public Lands Council approves minutes, discusses bylaws terms and schedules follow‑up field trip","audioSeconds",7482,"startMs",190000,"endMs",7672000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3677847-06ea338747134783f50a5408afd2b003&start=190&end=7672","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6641695/Utah/Public-Lands-Council-approves-minutes-discusses-bylaws-terms-and-schedules-followup-field-trip","mediaUrl","author","Emery County Public Lands Council","date","2025-06-03T10:00:00Z","article","The Emery County Public Lands Council opened its meeting by approving the minutes from the prior meeting, discussed an apparent discrepancy in the council’s bylaws concerning executive committee term lengths, and set a near‑term plan for a field trip.

Council member Ben moved to approve the minutes; Cheryl seconded the motion. The chair called for voice approval and recorded the motion as adopted: “All in favor? Aye.” The council reviewed typographical errors raised by several members and asked staff to correct repeated paragraphs and misspellings in the published draft minutes.

Nut graf: Council members reviewed the bylaws’ language and noted the bylaws state executive committee terms are two years while application paperwork shows a four‑year term. Members asked staff to clarify whether the council should expect staggered two‑year reappointments and whether the county’s application will be revised. The council did not adopt bylaw changes at the meeting but asked staff to place a bylaws item on a future agenda if formal revision is desired.

Council members also discussed a customary summer field trip. The group agreed to hold the regular meeting in the coming month and ask agencies and council members to propose sites that the council could visit afterward; the chair said the field trip will not be in July but will be scheduled after agency reports at the next meeting.

Ending: The meeting ended after standard agency reports and discussion; the council later made and approved a motion to adjourn.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Emery County Public Lands Council - 06-03-25 Public lands audio","oneSentenceSummary","At the start of the meeting council members approved the previous meeting minutes, discussed a discrepancy between bylaws (two‑year executive committee terms) and application paperwork, and agreed to schedule a field trip after agency reports next month.","taxTitle","Emery County Public Lands Council, Emery County Boards and Commissions, Emery County, Utah","taxId",74993,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6641700,"County and BLM staff review traffic‑counter data and consider reporting to Public Lands Council",152,1067000,1219000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3677847-06ea338747134783f50a5408afd2b003&start=1067&end=1219","/articles/6641700/Utah/County-and-BLM-staff-review-trafficcounter-data-and-consider-reporting-to-Public-Lands-Council","Council members discussed visitor counts, traffic counters and tourism data during the Emery County Public Lands Council meeting and agreed staff should present usage trends at a follow‑up meeting.

BLM staff demonstrated the Traffix traffic‑counter network and said the system includes about 70 counters across the landscape; the county has purchased about 10–12 units. The presenter showed examples of a site record that displays daily, weekly and annual use, and told the council the busiest year recorded at a sample site was 2023 with a drop in 2024. “You can see daily, most of our use on weekends. What time of day people there? Monthly, yearly. Like, you got way more data than you could ever imagine,” the presenter said.

Nut graf: Council members asked for a standing report on visitation data so the council and county can use counts for planning and to address concentrated use areas. Staff agreed the data are accessible and said the BLM or county could present periodic summaries, including trends and site‑level statistics, at future council meetings.

Commissioner Andy (identified in the meeting as a county commissioner with responsibility for travel and public lands) said he had used the counters’ data and suggested the counts should be made routinely available to the council: “So do we have that information? Do we have that data?... It’s just a matter of figuring out how to use it in our planning, and we use it in our planning at the BLM all the time.”

Council members noted other data sources: local QR‑code surveys placed in post offices, transit room tax (bed‑tax) reporting used for trails and events, and RAC (Recreation Advisory Council) presentations that sometimes include counter summaries. Staff proposed assigning Rod and Jim (county/BLM liaisons) to work out who to invite from BLM to present the counters and tourism trends to the Public Lands Council at a future meeting.

Ending: The council asked staff to schedule a data presentation at an upcoming meeting and to follow up with BLM and RAC contacts to assemble traffic‑counter and visitation trend reports.","BLM and county staff told the council they maintain a network of traffic counters (Traffix) across public lands and can provide usage reports; commissioners and council members asked that data be brought to a future meeting for planning and tourism management.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":50,"_51":92,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":93,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":94,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6641705,"BLM to open short scoping period for Wedge/Buckhorn campsite plan; proposes phased campground and parking changes",685,3414000,4099000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3677847-06ea338747134783f50a5408afd2b003&start=3414&end=4099","/articles/6641705/Utah/BLM-to-open-short-scoping-period-for-WedgeBuckhorn-campsite-plan-proposes-phased-campground-and-parking-changes","BLM staff told the Emery County Public Lands Council they intend to open a short public scoping period next week on a management proposal for the Wedge and Buckhorn Draw that would add developed campgrounds, parking and trail connections and restrict dispersed camping on the rim.

The proposal, described by BLM staff, aims to shift dispersed camping away from sensitive rim areas and concentrate overnight use at developed sites nearer the road. Jayden (BLM staff) showed a conceptual layout that would ultimately provide roughly 40 developed campsites across two new campground areas — built in phases — plus group sites, day‑use parking and connector trails to existing overlooks and trailheads. “We’re actually proposing to build a campground back off the road a little bit…that’s what we’re gonna do our NEPA for so that we can not have to redo this 10 years down the road,” the presenter said.

Nut graf: The proposal is intended to reduce resource damage and safety hazards caused by dispersed rim camping and to provide clearer visitor facilities; BLM plans a brief scoping window, an open house in Emery County and phased construction if public input and environmental review support the work.

Key elements the BLM described include:
- Phased campground construction in areas identified as less resource‑sensitive, with initial phases sized to allow expansion if demand and environmental review support it. The full conceptual footprint shown to the council would yield approximately 40 campsites when complete, with an initial smaller buildout possible.
- Reconfiguring rim‑side parking and restricting camping at immediate overlook rims; a major parking area and larger vault toilets would serve the primary overlook while camping shifts to the new developed loops.
- Enhanced day‑use parking, improved restroom facilities, and designated staging for equestrian and bike users. The BLM said they intend to include ADA improvements at overlooks.
- Fee authority for developed campsites: staff noted a business plan approved in 2020 identified the wedge as a fee area; developed campsites would likely be $15 per night while group sites could be reserved under established fee limits (up to $75 for group sites, current practice typically less).

BLM staff said they have coordinated with partner groups including ranchers, Backcountry Horsemen, mountain‑bike and OHV user groups and recent RAC (Recreation Advisory Council) discussions. The agency plans to post a short news release and run a 15‑day scoping period, then hold an open house in Emery County once the scoping notice is public.

Council members raised enforcement and visitor‑management questions, including how the BLM would remove existing fire rings and block newly closed areas; the presenter said camping closures would be phased and enforcement presence increased after camping alternatives are in place. Staff also said signage and a higher enforcement presence would be used to support new closures.

Ending: The BLM asked the council to encourage public comments during the scoping window and offered a formal open house once the scoping notice is published. Officials said they will publish the scoping notice as soon as possible and return with more detail at follow‑up meetings.","BLM staff told the Emery County Public Lands Council they will open a brief public scoping period next week for a management plan at the Wedge and Buckhorn Draw; proposed actions include phased construction of developed campgrounds, new parking and closures of dispersed rim camping.",{"_33":96,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":97,"_41":98,"_43":99,"_45":100,"_47":101,"_49":50,"_51":102,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":103,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":104,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6641709,"BLM outlines fertility, darting and gather plans for Muddy Creek wild horses and nearby burros",1724,1633000,3357000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3677847-06ea338747134783f50a5408afd2b003&start=1633&end=3357","/articles/6641709/Utah/BLM-outlines-fertility-darting-and-gather-plans-for-Muddy-Creek-wild-horses-and-nearby-burros","Mike Tortell, assistant field manager for the Bureau of Land Management’s range, wildlife and wild horse program, told the Emery County Public Lands Council that the BLM is using both PZP and the longer‑lasting product GonaCon to reduce reproduction in wild mare populations, and described operational limits and recent results.

Tortell said PZP (porcine zona pellucida) requires annual boosters and is administered by dart or by injection in corrals, while GonaCon is a premixed adjuvant that can be delivered in darts and can suppress fertility for multiple years. “Since then, any mares that have been released on the ground, if they have not received a previous dose, they will get a dose. They'll be held for 30 days. They'll get a second dose before they go out. That should hold them for 5 years,” Tortell said.

Tortell walked council members through the program’s record‑keeping requirements: treated animals must be identifiable by photos or freeze brands so staff can track who has been dosed and when. He described field challenges for darting — animals’ wariness, the need to be within 50 yards for reliable hits, and the logistics of retrieving spent darts — and said overall hit rates are variable, “about 50% or less,” depending on distance and conditions.

Nut graf: The BLM’s stated near‑term goal is a traditional gather to reduce the Muddy Creek herd to the unit’s low AML (appropriate management level) and then use capture‑treat‑release and targeted darting to keep mare recruitment down. Operational constraints, equipment limits and legal requirements mean progress has been slow: only a small fraction of horses in the larger herd have been treated so far.

Tortell gave recent population figures and program status. A March flight produced a direct count of 344 horses in the Muddy Creek herd (the BLM later flagged a potential double count that could reduce the number to about 336). He said the Muddy Creek allocation is 75–125 animals; the BLM aims to bring the herd down to the low end of that range in a future gather and then treat mares released back to the range.

On treatments completed to date, Tortell said the BLM’s tracking sheet shows six mares treated in the herd; he noted that treatment coverage is therefore “less than 1 percent” of the population at present. He also told the council that a court decision last fall has restricted the BLM’s ability to conduct darting until NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act) analyses are completed or reinstated for the activity: “As of right now, with court decision to come down last fall, we can't dart until we get NEPA back in place. So once we get NEPA back in place, then we just start treating again,” he said.

Tortell described capture‑treat‑release as the preferred method when feasible. In that approach, staff corral animals, treat identifiable mares (including freeze branding if needed to ensure later recognition), and release them back to the HMA (herd management area). When animals are too hard to identify visually, the BLM freezes brands at handling to make later field identification possible.

On burros, Tortell said the Burroughs herd is much smaller than Muddy Creek and that officials documented a concerning pattern during recent gathers: an asinine herpes virus has been killing pregnant jennies under the stress of gathers and captivity. He estimated around 40–60 burros in the HMA at present and said fertility work there will require capture‑treat‑release because individual identification is difficult in that population.

Council members asked about vaccine efficacy and references; Tortell said long‑term efficacy varies by adjuvant and dosing and offered to bring controlled‑study references to a future meeting. He noted that GonaCon should last roughly five years between treatments, while PZP generally requires yearly doses (a pellet form can extend that to about 22 months).

Ending: Tortell said the BLM’s operational plan is to complete NEPA for the Muddy Creek management actions, then gather toward low AML (75 animals), treat released mares and resume targeted darting. He closed by inviting follow‑up questions and offering to return with more data and study references on efficacy and protocols.

","At the Emery County Public Lands Council meeting, Bureau of Land Management assistant field manager Mike Tortell briefed the council on fertility-control methods, capture and darting operations, herd counts and constraints including a NEPA pause on some treatments.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Public Lands Council approves minutes, discusses bylaws terms and schedules follow‑up field trip

County and BLM staff review traffic‑counter data and consider reporting to Public Lands Council

BLM to open short scoping period for Wedge/Buckhorn campsite plan; proposes phased campground and parking changes

BLM outlines fertility, darting and gather plans for Muddy Creek wild horses and nearby burros