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WILLARD, Box Elder County — Willard Mayor Travis Mote calls Willard Canyon "the centerpiece of the community" and really the centerpiece of northern Box Elder County ever since the city was settled.
But changing attitudes toward gravel mining, and the closure of a treasured trail system has been the source of conflict for Willard residents and beyond, some of whom are threatening legal action against a multigenerational family who owns property at the mouth of Willard Canyon.
"My son used to go up there in the summer, climb up to the top of the canyon," said Mark Murphy, a Willard resident. "He and his friends would pitch a tent and stay a couple nights."
The canyon acts as a gateway to the tallest peak in the northern Wasatch range, snaking along creek beds and beside waterfalls, providing views of the city and bay below.
Murphy said there's a history of mountain and ice climbing, wingsuit flying, hiking, and hunting in the area.
But in October 2023, barbed wire fencing and "No Trespassing" signage were installed at the trail access points.
"When the fence went up, it was pretty disturbing to a lot of people," Willard City Councilman Mike Braegger said, "because a lot of people all these years thought it was public property or service land, and that wasn't the case."
Brad Sweet, from Granite Construction and BJ Wells, the representative of the Wells family who owns the parcel that allows access to the canyon's trails, blamed the city's lack of communication for the perceived suddenness of the closure.
In a Willard City Council meeting in October, Sweet accused the mayor of not announcing the planned several-year closure, which became "a very important factor in the animosity that we have going on here," Sweet said.
"It's a lot bigger picture than just people walking up a hill," Wells told KSL.com. He said the family prepared a release to be distributed on social media, but the city of Willard never posted the information.
"We've never cared about people trespassing on our land to go to the canyon," Wells said, explaining that the closure is because of safety concerns. "Because we've been mining on the outer edges working toward the center. Well, now we're at the center."
For more than 80 years, the foothills bordering Willard Canyon and other locations across the range have been mined, blasted and hauled off to support infrastructure and growth across the state, leaving large scars in the otherwise beautiful landscape.
It's been a source of controversy as long as the practice has existed.
Ironically, the descendants of George Jason Wells, who have had the land since the beginning of the 20th century, were against the gravel pit when it was first formed.
It was the state of Utah that took the land under eminent domain to mine the foothills for aggregate to build I-15, according to Wells and corroborated by Mote.
"They just wanted to run cattle, they were cattle farmers," he said. When the highway was completed, the Wells were given their land back but were stuck with the pit.
"Honestly, if we could go back to the 1970s and let Granddad run his cattle up there, we never would have started it," Wells said. "When a gravel pit is started, you got to finish it out. You can't leave it half done, so we've been mining ever since."
The pit is currently operated by Granite Construction, and issues of safety have been the main reason why access to the canyon has been closed off. Falling debris near pedestrians is a significant liability, according to Wells.
"The plan was to finish the north side, mine it out, create a safety barrier, and then open the trail back out," he said.
Residents have been told that the trails would be closed for roughly five to seven years, but trail users are worried that they will lose the prescriptive easement that would guarantee access to the mountains.
In January, Murphy announced to the Willard City Council that "a number of concerned residents and people from the surrounding communities have come together to form what is known as the Willard Canyon Access Coalition."
The group has been trying to pressure officials into taking the fence down, and create a recorded easement for access into the canyon.
The trail "is a legally recognized roadway. So them cutting it off is actually an illegal act," Murphy believes.
In order to have a recognized prescriptive easement, a trail or roadway must be continuously used for at least 20 years, and used in a way that both the property owner and the public are aware of its existence, among other conditions, according to state law.
Nathan Nelson, executive director for the International Outdoor Recreation Asset Alliance, partnered with the local coalition to secure legal representation and a trail easement.
"The question is, when we're working with this delicate subject, does a lawsuit help? Or does it hinder?" Nelson told KSL.com. The group is looking for ways to find a solution to the problem that will benefit all parties, and Nelson has offered to serve in an advisory role to the city at no cost.
"I will say this, though — a lawsuit will be filed in July, if we don't have confirmation that they're taking down the fence," Nelson said.
Wells said he had no idea the group has been planning this lawsuit, but talks between the city of Willard, the county, and Granite Construction are in "infancy stages."
"There's a lot that needs to happen, but I think it'll happen pretty quick," he said.
