Sand Hollow - Planning ahead

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Sand Hollow - Planning ahead

Source: Planning ahead | thespectrum.com | The Spectrum
March 2, 2009
Planning ahead
BY PATRICE ST. GERMAIN

SAND HOLLOW - Utah State Parks and Recreation is developing a resource
management plan (RMP) for Sand Hollow State Park located near Hurricane. A
planning meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hurricane City
Office Building at 147 N. 870 West. Community members, park visitors and
other interested parties are welcome and encouraged to attend.

In the years since Sand Hollow Reservoir was dedicated on April 14, 2003, the
park with its blue waters and red sand dunes has been a popular draw for a
myriad of recreational users.

Boaters, OHV'ers, fisherman, campers and others have used the state park
with the number of visits increasing each year.

Now, Utah State Parks and Recreation is developing a resource management
plan for the park to identify issues relating to public use, resource
management and future development at the park and the public is invited to
give their input.

"This is a chance for people to tell us what they want," Laura Melling, manager
of the Sand Hollow Complex said. "This is an idea gathering meeting."

Melling said the park will soon have a concessionaire that will do boat and ATV
rentals, and sell fishing supplies and food.

But what other facilities may be developed or needed at the park is the
question and the resource management plan will be a directional plan for the
park over the next 10 years.

Melling said there are compatibility issues because the park is no longer
remote but has development on its doorstep and the meeting will look at
issues as well as the future of the park.

Hurricane resident and president of the Tri State ATV Jamboree JayVar
Campbell said as far as those who utilize the park and popular Sand Mountain
for off road recreating, there will be no issues unless the access changes.

Right now, unless an OHV vehicle goes through the park, access to Sand
Mountain, from either the Hurricane Cliffs area or Washington Dam Road, is
free.

Campbell said if that access were fenced, there would be objections.

Rock Smith, planning coordinator for Utah State Parks said the park needs a
resources management plan in part because of the rapid growth in the area.

Residential development surrounds the park on three sides.

Smith said the parks department doesn't go in with an agenda. Instead, park
personnel go into the meeting and let issues develop.

The planning will be done with a team that includes cooperating partners from
the water district, Bureau of Land Management, park users and municipal
leaders.

Hurricane Police Chief Lynn Excell is on the planning team and is also an ATV
user.

Excell said he was pleased to be able to give input for both positions and help
the park look at plans for the future.

"Our first meeting was strictly a tour of the park, what has been accomplished
and what is the in the plans and understanding and looking at its overall
mission and how to implement that," Excell said. "I'm just there to try and
facilitate or coordinate a conduit between Hurricane City and the state parks."

Excell said the conduit is not only for law enforcement but an overall interface
and said the city has worked cooperatively with the park and that the
cooperation has worked well.

Smith said the goal is to get many people at the meeting to let them know
what is actually out at the park and the increasing opportunities.

"We are really interested what the public wants and (to) give more
opportunities in the future," he said.