Council adopts baseline report and conservation easement for 910 Cal Ranch, authorizes signatures at closing

Summit County Council approved adoption of the baseline report and conservation easement for the 910 Cal Ranch on Aug. 13 and authorized the county manager and council chair to sign the documents at closing.

Jess Kirby, director of Lands and Natural Resources, and Rachel Berard briefed the council on two years of due diligence including vegetation and wildlife studies, photo points and permanent monitoring locations. “The baseline is pushing about 250 pages long,” Kirby said, summarizing surveys that included bird and invertebrate studies and checks for sensitive habitat.

Kirby said the conservation easement will be donated to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (the grantee named in the packet) and will set protections in perpetuity for scenic, forest, historic, cultural, hydrologic, ecological, agricultural and nonmotorized recreation values. “The conservation easement establishes the conservation value, so it will be protected over time in perpetuity on the property,” Kirby said.

Councilmembers asked about monitoring and public access. Kirby said the grantee’s forester (named in the meeting as PJ Abraham) will perform annual monitoring and the county will receive copies of the monitoring reports. In addition, county staff contracted a local ecologist to establish permanent vegetation transects that will be monitored annually for five years and then every five years thereafter to track vegetation and habitat conditions.

Councilmember Roger moved to adopt the baseline report and conservation easement as contained in the meeting packet and to authorize the county manager and council chair to sign documents at closing; the motion was seconded by Megan and approved. Staff said the appraisal is currently under review by the U.S. Forest Service and, if approved, the Forest Service would have 30 days to release funding. Staff estimated closing could occur by the end of September, pending the appraisal and Forest Service release of funds.

Councilmembers and staff cautioned that the property will not open to public recreation immediately after closing. Recreation and range management plans required by the conservation easement will be developed after closing; the recreation plan will have public outreach and staff said the council will likely need to approve those plans as part of the easement requirements.

Staff reiterated that awarded acquisition funds remain allocated despite recent legislative budget discussion; a staff member stated the county’s award amount was $40,000,000 and that those allocated funds were not rescinded by the “big beautiful bill.” The county emphasized that the property acquisition and subsequent management activities remain contingent on the appraisal and federal/state fund release schedule.