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County approves Willard Canyon Trail agreement; public commenters press for reopened access
Summary
Box Elder County approved a multi‑party agreement intended to preserve public access to Willard Canyon by relocating and dedicating the trail where mining activity has made the existing route unsafe; public commenters, including a local trail coalition, asked the sheriff to open the route and sought a copy of the agreement for legal review.
Box Elder County Commissioners approved Agreement 25‑24, a three‑party deal among Box Elder County, Willard City and the Wells family designed to preserve continued public access to the Willard Canyon trail while allowing the trail to be relocated where mining activity has rendered parts of the old route unsafe.
County Attorney staff described the agreement as providing a process to vacate the current trail alignment and dedicate a new alignment as needed; the contract anticipates future relocations (“we may have to do it 3 or 4 times,” the county attorney said) and establishes Willard City as the local enforcement authority for trail rules on city‑controlled segments.
Why it matters: the Willard Canyon trail is a long‑used public access route that community members and local leaders say is central to recreation and local history. Mining activity near the canyon has created safety concerns that prompted the agreement to relocate the official trail alignment rather than leaving a blocked or hazardous trail in place.
What county attorneys and commissioners said
Annie Hansen, representing the County Attorney’s Office, told commissioners the agreement is meant to keep the trail accessible while accommodating active mining operations and that it was the product of cooperation among the Wells family, Willard City and county staff.
"It’s an agreement between all three to make sure that the trail stays in place," county staff said during the meeting. "It also anticipates that we may need to do that again in the future."
Public comment and requests
Mark Murphy, a Willard resident and organizer of the Wheeler Canyon Access Coalition, told commissioners his group has pursued non‑litigious avenues, working with Willard City and outside advisors to restore access. He said fences, locked gates, barbed wire and signage remain at the trailhead and that a trail camera has appeared at the entrance.
Murphy asked the sheriff to reopen the trail and requested a copy of Agreement 25‑24 for review by the coalition’s attorney; the commission’s staff indicated a copy would be made available through the clerk’s office on request.
Next steps
Commissioners approved the agreement and directed county staff to record and dedicate the new trail alignment as provided in the contract. Willard City will handle enforcement on portions of the trail within city jurisdiction; the county attorney’s office is assigned to coordinate the recording and dedication steps.
The commission recorded the motion to approve Agreement 25‑24 by voice vote; the agreement’s execution and any subsequent relocations of the tread will follow as the parties survey and record the new alignments.
