Millard County approves general letter supporting Utah National Guard training area near Crystal Peak Road

Paul Raymond, identified in the meeting as director of strategic planning, told the Millard County Commission that the Utah National Guard has identified an area near Crystal Peak Road and Highway 50 in Tule Valley and the House Range as a potential training site and that the footprint under consideration is "just short of a 100,000 acres." He said the work would likely require a land exchange with federal managers, grazing-lease coordination, and an Environmental Impact Statement before any training could begin.

Raymond said the proposal would not create a permanent base with barracks, but would include permanent ranges and potentially a motor pool near Black Rock; most troops would travel in for multi-day exercises or weekend training. He said the Air Force and other federal partners would need to coordinate airspace because some artillery rounds can go up to about 15,000 feet. He asked the commission for a letter of support that the Guard could provide to Malloys office to help advance land-exchange discussions.

Commissioners pressed staff on details the Guard would need to resolve later, including whether any roads would become county-owned or remain under federal/state control, how grazing rights would be preserved for local permittees, and how public access to non-firing areas would be managed. Raymond said impact areas used for live fires would be fenced and temporarily closed during exercises but that the Guard planned to keep as much land as possible open to public users when not in use. He outlined a tentative timeline: about a year to complete a land transfer if negotiations move forward, two to three years for environmental study, and a five- to six-year horizon before the first large-scale training exercises could occur if every step were favorable.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission seconded a motion to provide a general letter of support; commissioners asked staff to draft a short, one-paragraph letter that notes the countys general support at the approximate location and explicitly states that details (road agreements, grazing arrangements and other terms) would be worked out later. The motion passed by voice vote.

What the county approved at the meeting was a general expression of support rather than a binding agreement. Commissioners and staff directed follow-up work to draft the letter, work on road maintenance/ownership options (including potential cooperative maintenance or memoranda of agreement), and meet with grazing permit holders to protect their rights. Raymond said the Guard would participate in cooperative arrangements and that federal funds sometimes could be routed through state channels to support local road work.

The commission vote: the board approved sending a general letter of support; details and any formal agreements will be developed in subsequent staff-level work and public environmental review.