Trails committee: county denied major grant for quarry road, trails work proceeding with state crews

Trails staff briefed the Emery County Travel Bureau on several public‑lands and trails items, including a denied grant application for the road serving the Cleveland‑Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and ongoing trail maintenance projects supported by state crews.

Staff said the county applied for a grant to redo the quarry road but was denied this funding round. Meeting remarks described earlier cost estimates for the project that varied widely during planning discussions; staff said county leaders declined to carry a multimillion‑dollar local match and the county ultimately withdrew from the large‑scale proposal. One staff speaker said the project’s earlier planning budget was roughly $130,000 and that a later federal plan itemized much larger costs; the county did not have the multi‑million dollar local share and chose not to pursue the larger project when the grant was denied.

Separately, staff reported trail maintenance work is proceeding: the state of Utah trail crew based in Richfield is scheduled for work at Horse Canyon and Flood Canyon with local partners including the San Rafael Backcountry Horsemen; two new trails crew hires were onboarded to give the county more scheduling flexibility; Hub is completing artwork for new trail maps and the BLM is working on IT integration so digital maps can be available on Avenza before printed maps are produced.

Staff also said the Cleveland‑Lloyd Quarry will remain open through the summer while planned construction and building consolidation work is postponed until the fall. The board received the updates for information; no board action was requested at this meeting.