The Summit County government closed on the 8,588-acre 910 Cattle Ranch property on Tuesday in a move the county is touting as the largest conservation victory in its history. “It’s been a long time coming,” said County Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby. “We’ve had a lot o f ups and downs and back and forth, but we’re here, and it feels great.” Kirby said the county has been working for over a decade to conserve the ranch, which is one of the few remaining contiguous properties in Summit County. “It’s this swath of untouched land in our county surrounded by a lot of development and a lot of loss of habitat,” she said. “All the things we’re doing on this property helps protect the watershed, helps get more water to the Great Salt Lake and provides a valuable (wildlife) habitat and opportunity for scenic and recreational activities that our community loves.” Summit County Council Chair Canice Harte said he was “over the moon” excited about the acquisition, which he called an “incredible gift for future generations.” “The people of Summit County have identified (open space preservation) as a priority,” Harte said. “They made that clear when they voted for the open space bond to essentially tax themselves to raise $50 million to purchase open space and protect wildlands. We’ve had the Ure Ranch, the 910 Cattle Ranch and several other projects that are really just great wins for the people.” Harte said the county owning the 910 Cattle Ranch is akin to controlling a small state park because of the sheer size of the property. He said the county plans on opening the property up to the public in the future, but conservation will remain the priority, and recreation opportunities may be limited. “I want to protect the wildlife habitat and the open space there, so we should really take our time,” Harte said. “We don’t need to rush into this.” The county hired a consultant to help create a recreational plan for the ranch, and Kirby said “stakeholder meetings” with different conservation experts will begin in the next few months. Community members have already had opportunities to speak with county officials about how they would like to use the property, and more public engagement sessions will likely be scheduled over the next few months. “People want to preserve the habitat and the connectivity for wildlife while still having recreation, so there will probably be hiking trails,” Kirby said. “E-bikes are forever prohibited on the property, and bikes and mountain biking will be very limited.” Kirby said the 910 Cattle Ranch will be geared more toward hiking and “the equestrian experience,” which have less of an impact on wildlife than other recreational activities. Most likely, the ranch will be split into different “zones,” with some zones earmarked for recreation while others will be restricted to ensure a protected wildlife habitat. “Within the next year, we’re hoping to have a phase one soft opening with some pilot projects on the property,” Kirby said. “By next summer, we can have some community footprints on the land, or at least that’s the hope right now, but it’s going to be a soft opening. It’s not going to be the whole ranch at once.” The county is working on putting together an event to celebrate the acquisition in the spring, but details have not yet been finalized. Kirby encouraged anyone interested in following developments on the 910 Cattle Ranch to sign up for the Lands and Natural Resources newsletter, which will be the best way to find public engagement opportunities. “We really appreciate the community’s input on this,” Kirby said. “This is a place where we want to provide for our residents as much as our visitors, but it’s important for us to hit that mark, and we really appreciate the feedback we’ve gotten so far and look forward to getting more.” The post Summit County hopes to open 910 Cattle Ranch to public within a year appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less