Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Conservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Utah Openlands seeks local pledges to reach $1 million goal for Emigration Canyon conservation easement
Summary
Utah Openlands told the Emigration Canyon City Council it needs more local pledges by March 31 to help place roughly 80 acres owned by the Butcher family under a conservation easement; the project’s overall target is $1.5 million.
Brad Barber of Utah Openlands told the Emigration Canyon City Council that the group is working with two property-owning families to place about 80 acres in Emigration Canyon under a conservation easement.
“We have been working for a number of well, actually, for a couple of years and working with the, a couple of families, the Butcher family and, Sizemore Alvey family up the street here to try to protect that land under conservation easement,” Barber said.
The conservation group has set an overall fundraising target of $1,500,000 for the purchase of easement rights. Barber said the local fundraising effort has produced pledges of $940,000 to date and that the project team’s goal is to raise $1,000,000 of that amount from the local community. He told the council the team needs additional local pledges by the end of the month to meet that locally-raised target.
“We are still trying to get pledges in the amount of another $60,000 to, have enough funds to move forward,” Barber said, and he gave a March 31 deadline for the local pledging target.
Barber said the families involved — which he identified in remarks as the Butcher family and the Sizemore Alvey family — have told Utah Openlands they may sell the land for development if the conservation financing is not in place. He asked residents who are able to consider pledging to contact him by email and offered to answer questions about the project.
The council did not take formal action on the request at the meeting. Barber left contact information with council staff for anyone interested in making a pledge or seeking additional details.
Details provided at the meeting indicate: - Project target: $1,500,000 total - Local fundraising goal (subset of total): $1,000,000 - Local pledges reported at meeting: $940,000 - Additional local pledges requested to reach the local goal: $60,000 - Local deadline for that pledge amount: March 31
The council packet did not include a formal resolution or funding commitment. Barber said the group has an established working relationship with the families and local neighborhoods and is continuing private fundraising efforts.
