Trust for Public Land and U.S. Forest Service Protect the North Canyon Junction in Davis County, Serving as Critical Trail Linkage for Advancing Utah’s Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Trust for Public Land [TPL] in partnership with the United States Forest Service [USFS] announced today the permanent protection of high-priority parcel of land near North Canyon in Davis County, Utah that will serve as a key trail access point to the North Canyon Trail and a critical linkage to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The North Canyon Junction property will now become a part of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in a deal facilitated by TPL.

This transaction permanently protects an important four-acre parcel that features a critical trail junction for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail [BST]. The acquisition secures public access, enhances trail connectivity and will help enable trail management.

“The Bonneville Shoreline Trail will one day stretch 280 miles from the Idaho border to Nephi in the heart of Utah, and much work remains to complete this visionary trail corridor. The North Canyon Junction acquisition adds another important, and strategic, piece to the BST trail corridor puzzle,” said Jim Petterson, Trust for Public Land’s Mountain West Region Vice President. “The North Canyon Junction parcel sits between Bountiful and Salt Lake City and secures important trail access for recreational users to get outside, enjoy the outdoors and the wonders of the Wasatch Front.”

For over three decades, Trust for Public Land has worked to protect the foothills of the Wasatch Front in support of advancing the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, completing more than 20 land acquisition projects since 2000 along the trail corridor.

“This purchase helps to conserve open space on the Wasatch Front while improving protection of watersheds and water resources,” said Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Supervisor Dave Whittekiend. “Improving access to public lands is inherently important, and this action will provide more flexibility to provide access to the Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest.”

The BST is one of the top recreation sites in the increasingly urban Salt Lake City region. With 100 miles of the trail completed, once finished the BST will run for more than 280 miles from Brigham City to Nephi, following the prehistoric shoreline of Lake Bonneville within the national forest and other public lands along the foothills of the Wasatch Front. Although much of the trail has or had been on private land, it has been heavily used for years by residents of six rapidly-growing counties – Box Elder, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, and Cache. Acquisition of this parcel will provide much needed public access to the trail system and popular forested recreation lands in the growing Salt Lake metro-region.

Today’s news follows the recent passage by Congress of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Advancement Act [BSTAA], a TPL-supported federal investment that is designed to help improve public access, protect the lands around the trail, and ultimately fully complete the unique and popular 280-mile outdoor recreation treasure.

The Bonneville Shoreline Trail Advancement Act will resolve user conflicts along the trail, while extending Wilderness protections to the recently acquired lands surrounding Camp Tracy. In 2016, TPL worked convey the lands around Camp Tracy to the U.S. Forest Service, protecting public access and ensuring Camp Tracy’s future in Mill Creek Canyon. Utilizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, nearly 850 acres were added to the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The property contains a portion of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, as well as Mill Creek — a tributary to the Jordan River. Mill Creek Canyon and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail are major recreational destinations due to their proximity to Salt Lake City and the greater Wasatch Front corridor.

Trust for Public Land (TPL) purchased and transferred the North Canyon Junction parcel with funding provided by the federal Receipts Act and a catalytic donation from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.