Development in S. Utah desert reserve? Official shares plans if Northern Corridor is rejected

Trails meander through the southern Utah landscape in this undated photo. State officials are looking at plans for developing wilderness areas in southern Utah.

Trails meander through the southern Utah landscape in this undated photo. State officials are looking at plans for developing wilderness areas in southern Utah. (Alysha Lundgren, St. George News)


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ST. GEORGE — What happens to the Moe's Valley Climbing Area, Bearclaw Poppy Trail System and other popular recreation areas if the Northern Corridor Highway is not approved? The Utah Trust Lands Administration has some ideas.

The topic arose in September at the regularly scheduled Washington County Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee meeting.

The Habitat Conservation Plan was created in the 1990s, establishing the Red Cliff Desert Reserve, primarily to protect the federally threatened Mojave desert tortoise.

Aaron Langston, deputy assistant director of planning and development for the Trust Lands Administration, announced that big changes could be coming to Red Cliffs Desert Reserve's Zone 6, which was added to the reserve in 2021 as part of an agreement related to the Northern Corridor.

Read the entire story at St. George News.

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