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You can find Lee and Debbie Elmgreens ranch at a shrubby fork in the narrow canyons of the Book Cliffs. On a recent fall day the greens have a map of southeastern Utah spread across their dining room table.
Lee Elmgreen is reading a new report by the Bureau of Land Management. It s a 1300 page study of a plan to put a massive road in their backyard.
LEE: The scope of this work included a review of available information. And a one day visual windshield reconnaissance of the project.
The 35-mile highway would carve through the enormous stretch of undesignated wilderness that abuts their property. The Elmgreens worry the road is unrealistic in the tight and steep gorges. They also worry it will harm ancient petroglyphs painted on the canyon s walls.
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The proposed Eastern Utah Regional Connection highway would connect Vernal and Moab through the Book Cliffs. Highway-191 (pictured) currently connects the two towns.
A controversial highway through the Book Cliffs in Grand County won t go forward at this time.
A group of rural counties called the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition voted unanimously to suspend the project in a meeting Friday, citing opposition from Grand County, where the highway would be located.
The 35-mile road, which was first proposed in the 1980s, was estimated to cost around $350 million dollars in 2015. Originally, it was meant to move oil out of the Uinta Basin, but now project proponents say it’s meant to connect tourist destinations in eastern Utah, like Dinosaur National Monument and Arches National Park.