Volunteers and officials build fence to promote annual Public Lands Day
In an effort to defuse tensions between people using public land for recreation and neighboring landowners, around 50 volunteers and government employees dug holes and set posts for a fence in Wellsville for National Public Lands Day Saturday.
The National Forest Service purchased the land from farmers William Dean Murray and Allison Murray in 2005. The 604-acre area sits at the base of the Wellsville mountain range near 410 W., 800 South, Wellsville, Utah, and connects to trails in wilderness areas.
The service project was designed to help people distinguish public land from the private land still owned by Allison Murray, said Ron Vance, Logan District Recreation Resource Manager for the National Forest Service.
Since the Murrays sold the land, a few hikers, hunters and horseback riders have been considerate on Murray’s property, Vance said. Since motorized vehicle use isn’t allowed as the Forest Service land is currently zoned, recreationists park on Murray’s property.
“The main problem she’s having is people parking down there, letting their dogs run everywhere that’s on her private property, and she has cats,” Vance said. “She’s put signs up, and people have torn the signs down and ignored her.”
Allison Murray, whose husband died in 2011, declined to comment. Her son, Curtis Dean Murray, said the family doesn’t mind most people parking on the property.
“There’s about 1 percent of the people that make it miserable for the other 99,” Curtis Murray said. “That’s just the way it is.”
Once, he used a backhoe to remove horse manure from his mother’s property, he said.
“I had to shovel it in to get rid of it. I think they cleaned the whole trailer out and they just leave it there,” he said. “Stuff like that, it irritates you.”
The family had hoped the Forest Service would do more to develop a trailhead where public lands begin, about 100 feet from the house, Murray said.
“They were supposed to go up in that field where they’re working and put a parking lot area in there for people,” he said. “Then they could just drive up there and park, but I know they don’t have the funds right now. I guess they’ll all get it done in time.”
As troublesome as some dog and horse owners can be, Murray said he’s glad the land wasn’t turned into a subdivision. Developers offered $4.1 million for the land, he said. His father negotiated for 18 months and sold the land to the Forest Service for $2.35 million.
“He almost took half of what he could have got,” Murray said. “We didn’t want a bu
nch of houses up there ruining it. That would just be a nightmare.”
Murray said he wanted to continue farming the land after his father retired, but he understood when other family members were more interested in selling.
“It’s hard. You get a little family farm, and it’s worth that kind of money,” he said. “I could have never made that if I’d had two lifetimes to work here. That’s just the way it is.”
Kate Stephens, program director for the Utah Conservation Corps, said as populations grow and more land is developed for housing, it’s important to protect some land for public use.
“If public lands aren’t set aside, then we won’t have these lands for future generations,” she said.
Events like Public Lands Day give citizens the opportunity to get their hands dirty and give back for the public lands they enjoy, she said.
Across the state, residents were invited to participate in 31 projects, according to the National Public Lands Day website. On the national scale, organizers planned service at more than 2,100 sites.
Many of the volunteers came from offroading clubs from Ogden, Utah, including the Big Horn 4×4 Club and the Wasatch Outlaws. Matt Westrich, senior vice president of the Utah Four Wheel Drive Association, said the organization is one of the biggest sponsors of Public Lands Day in the state. Although motorized use isn’t allowed on the Murray Farms area, Westrich said service is important to preserve public access to recreational lands.
“For every hour you do on the trail, you should do an hour of cleanup somewhere else,” he said. “Mother nature is very forgiving. We don’t want to make any new trails, we just want to keep the trails that are open, open.”
Westrich said public lands should be open available for a variety of uses. Outdoor enthusiasts shouldn’t try to prevent a certain group from using public lands altogether, he said.
“I’m a disabled vet. I can’t hike into the middle of wherever to get a good view,” he said. “We want to make things so that everybody can have access to something.”
Taking care of public lands isn’t a new idea to four-wheel-drive enthusiasts, Westrich said.
“Off-roaders are the original conservationists,” he said. “We were maintaining and taking care of the outback long before hikers.”
Guitarist Taylor Wilson and drummer Doug Deakin of the local band Little Barefoot provided entertainment as volunteers worked on the fence. Both musicians attend USU. Deakin said he’s never played at a service project before.
“It’s kind of weird for a band to play here, but I think it’s been cool,” Deakin said.
– steve.kent@aggimail.usu.edu