2023 Call for Short-Term Projects Call for Ideas Now Open
The Central Wasatch Commission is pleased to announce the launch of the 2023 Call for Ideas for new projects specific to the project area of the Central Wasatch Commission, which includes Millcreek Canyon, Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and the Wasatch Back.
This Call for Ideas is specifically focused on projects that protect the ecosystems or watershed originating in the project area, improve canyon transportation or transit, steward year-round recreation, and sustain the economic vitality of the Wasatch Canyons. These were the tenets laid out during Mountain Accord and form the basis for the work of the Central Wasatch Commission.
Background
The Central Wasatch Commission formed in 2017 through an interlocal agreement and is comprised of ten jurisdictions along the Central Wasatch Front and Back: Summit County, Park City, Salt Lake City, Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy City, Town of Brighton, Town of Alta, and the Utah Transit Authority, the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, and the Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest as ex officio members. Its mission is to implement the Mountain Accord which laid out proposals for addressing four major issue areas specific to the Central Wasatch Mountains: transportation, economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and recreation stewardship.
Following the 2019 retreat of the Central Wasatch Commission Board, the Commission created the Short-Term Projects Committee that would help further the goals of the Central Wasatch Commission by identifying projects that implement transportation and transit solutions, protect the ecosystems that originate in the Central Wasatch, steward recreational access, and sustain the economic vitality of the Cottonwood Canyons.
Purpose
The purpose of this Call for Ideas is to explore short-term project ideas in the Central Wasatch Commission project area that are largely “shovel-ready” for the Central Wasatch Commission to consider for funding. The project should:
- Address one or more of the areas of focus for the Central Wasatch Commission: canyon transportation/transit, environmental protection, recreational stewardship, or economic sustainability;
- If the project is proposed to occur on Forest Service land, the project should not require lengthy NEPA analysis, or be a project for which NEPA is already completed, or be a project that is eligible for a Categorical Exclusion;
- Be implemented within 6-12 months of contract;
- Not request more than $15,000 total from the Central Wasatch Projects with dedicated funds from the applying entity, or community partners will be given increased weighting during the review process;
- Be proposed by a non-profit organization, a community group, or private
Please Note
- This Call for Ideas is not a commitment to
- Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full project proposal including a project budget, timeline, and letters of support from appropriate land managers to the Central Wasatch Commission for consideration to fund.
How to Submit Your Idea
- Complete the idea worksheet and attach your question responses (questions are below).
- Multiple applications from an applicant are welcome, however please submit one application per idea.
- The completed idea worksheet with the attached question responses should be submitted to the Central Wasatch Commission digitally by emailing Lindsey Nielsen at lindsey@cwc.utah.gov. Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis, though, priority will be given to ideas submitted before April 3rd, 2023.
Questions
- Briefly describe your How will it implement transportation and transit solutions, protect the ecosystems that originate in the Central Wasatch, steward recreational access, or sustain the economic viability of the project area?
- Does this idea result in other benefits to the Central Wasatch and its users?