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Utah County opens public hearing on land swap for Bridal Veil Falls, residents push for protections and no gondola
Summary
The commission held a public hearing on a proposed land swap with the U.S. Forest Service to consolidate county ownership at the base of Bridal Veil Falls. Staff said the conservation easement removes commercial options such as a gondola; a public commenter urged care to avoid overdevelopment.
Utah County commissioners held a public hearing on June 11 on a proposed land exchange with the U.S. Forest Service that would transfer the base of Bridal Veil Falls to county ownership in exchange for federal lands on adjacent mountainsides.
County staff described the swap as a way to reduce management conflicts between federal and local authorities and to make improvements consistent with an existing conservation easement and the county’s adopted concept plan. Richard (county project manager) said the goal is to place amenities and maintenance responsibilities for the falls on contiguous, county-owned land that the county already manages.
“Anytime the county proposes disposing property or transferring it out of our name to somebody else, we have to by law have this hearing,” Richard said, describing the request as a land exchange rather than a purchase.
A public commenter, Mark Allen of Protect and Reserve American Fork Canyon, urged caution and stronger safeguards. Allen said opponents remain “adamantly opposed” to any gondola and asked for protection of the site’s character. He also raised concerns about access, prior special-use permits and information requests; he said a GRAMA request did not return all materials he expected.
Richard responded to a commissioner question bluntly about one contested amenity: “There will be no gondola. Period. K. The commission made that decision several years ago as it went into the the conservation easement that was taken off the table.” He said tram infrastructure removed years ago has not been rebuilt and that the current, adopted concept plan contains no plans for a gondola.
Commissioners who spoke in favor characterized the swap as returning stewardship to local control and enabling safety and visitor-management improvements. One commissioner thanked Rep. John Kennedy (congressional staff referenced) and Gov. Spencer Cox for support in negotiating the exchange and said work on improvements to county-owned areas would begin this year; staff confirmed construction on county-owned parcels would start in the coming season but that work on parcels subject to the swap would await completion of the federal process.
After public comment the commission recessed the hearing and later closed it by motion. No final land-transfer deed was recorded at the meeting; staff said federal steps remain and that Congress’s review is ongoing.
The commission directed staff to continue coordinating with the Forest Service and federal representatives while proceeding with improvements on lands the county already holds.
