Mill Creek Canyon in Moab has seen a dramatic increase in recreational use in the last few years, resulting in significant impacts to natural and cultural resources, public safety hazards, and impacts to nearby neighbors. While the canyon and Powerdam, the busiest trailhead, are on BLM land, the issues affect the City of Moab, Grand County, nearby residents, user groups, and others with an interest in the canyon. Representatives of these agencies and groups are now working together to come up with solutions that work for the community.
Background:
• In 2018 Moab City's Mayor called a focus group together. The focus group applied for and was awarded a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program to facilitate a collaborative working group including the City of Moab, Grand County, Bureau of Land Management, Moab Solutions, Rim to Rim Restoration, Mill Creek Village HoA and others.
• Purpose: The collaborative group is working with an RTCA facilitator to develop communitysupported short- and long-term strategies to manage the impacts from recreational use in Mill Creek. Some of the issues this group plans to tackle include identifying collaborative strategies and resources to handle recreational use; improving access for emergency services or search and rescue; mitigating traffic congestion in nearby neighborhoods; and protecting the sensitive riparian environment and archeological sites.
Next steps:
The collaborative group is working on gathering information and defining the primary issues in Mill Creek in order to address impacts. As part of this process, we are seeking input from the community that can help guide future efforts in the canyon.
We want to hear from the community about ideas and concerns for Mill Creek Canyon and the Powerdam area. A survey will be sent out shortly, and there will be other opportunities to get involved and provide feedback.
To receive a survey and other information, please contact Betsy Byrne at betsy_byrne@nps.gov.