Emery County trails committee approves minutes and focuses on signage, lost-hiker rescues and airstrip fly-in

The Emery County Trails & Recreation Advisory Committee met on Jan. 31 and approved its minutes as corrected, then turned to a broad review of trail maintenance, signage and visitor-safety concerns across county-managed and adjacent public lands.

Why it matters: committee members described repeated search-and-rescue calls for visitors who missed turns in Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon, debated stronger trailhead warnings and considered practical fixes such as refreshed maps, in-trail markers and larger signs. The group also reviewed forthcoming projects including airstrip repairs and volunteer trailwork that affect recreation access and public safety.

The meeting opened with a motion to approve the minutes; S4 moved to approve and S2 seconded, and the committee recorded the minutes as corrected after S6 pointed out spelling and wording fixes.

S5 outlined plans for the Sagebrush Bench Airstrip: a site survey on Aug. 20, an equipment day in September to grade and prepare the runway, and a backcountry fly-in scheduled for Oct. 11. "We're expecting 70 to 80 planes to come in," S5 said, urging coordination to keep motorized routes off the airstrip and recommending signage and berming where ATV traffic approaches the strip.

BLM and Forest Service updates centered on trail repairs and planning. S8 said staff flagged a new loop road and campsites to finalize engineering and expected NEPA documents to be published in August. S8 also noted efforts to process backlogged permits and to update the county map in coordination with IT/GIS staff.

Signage and visitor education dominated much of the discussion. Multiple speakers recounted rescues of disoriented visitors who ran out of water or cell service. S4, recounting a recent rescue, said a hiker was "dizzy" and disoriented after hours on the route and was located only after sending a new location pin. S2 advocated stronger upfront warnings at trailheads, saying the county "need[s] an Angels Landing sign that says, attention, people have died on this trail," to convey real risk and to reduce preventable rescues.

Speakers acknowledged constraints: many canyon areas lack cell service (making QR-code solutions ineffective in-trail), and some landowners and user groups resist heavy-handed interventions. The committee discussed a mix of steps: improved trailhead kiosks, larger printed maps, clearer parking signage to separate livestock access from ATV parking, and targeted outreach explaining route difficulty before visitors enter backcountry canyons.

Park operations staff reported difficulties enforcing stage 2 fire restrictions. S11 said rangers have been repeatedly extinguishing illegal campfires and covering grills to limit use; the committee discussed potential escalations if conditions worsen and the prospect of stage 3 restrictions that could close roads or restrict public access.

Other items included replacement of an old bridge on the Dairy Trail, painting (repainting) slickrock route markers, a proposed volunteer day in September for trail/route maintenance, and continued coordination with climbing groups to establish formal parking at Cottonwood. S6 highlighted a successful youth bouldering program that runs nine weeks and serves local children; the travel council provided letters of support though transportation remains a challenge.

Formal votes on ordinances or budgets were not on the agenda; apart from approving the minutes, the committee made no recorded legislative actions. The meeting closed after members agreed to follow up on signage and joint planning with BLM/Forest Service staff.

The committee said it will pursue further meetings and a planning session with state park and BLM staff to refine signage and outreach strategies and to schedule volunteer projects for the fall season.