2024 Short-Term Projects Grant Awardees Have Been Selected
During the May meeting of the Central Wasatch Commission, the Commission approved funding for fourteen project proposals that resulted from the Call for Ideas opened to the public in March. The goal of the Call for Ideas was to identify projects for possible funding that implement transportation and transit solutions, protect the ecosystems and watershed that originate in the Central Wasatch, steward recreational access, and sustain the economic viability of the Cottonwood Canyons.
Starting in May, the CWC will partner on the following projects:
- The maintenance of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest bathrooms at trailheads located in the tri-canyons. Support for trailhead facility maintenance will build upon a multi-year partnership among the Central Wasatch Commission, Salt Lake City Public Utilities, the Town of Brighton, and the Uinta-Wasatch National Forest to service existing bathroom facilities at trailheads popular with the public.
- For the first year, the newly formed Central Wasatch Commission Youth Council was awarded two grants to plan and host a youth-oriented outdoor film festival and to build a community gear shed located at the Mobile Moon Co-op on the West side of Salt Lake City aimed at reducing barriers to accessing the Central Wasatch for historically under-served populations.
- New this year, the support for Summit Community Gardens Environmental Education program.
- For the second consecutive year, the CWC provided funding for the maintenance of aging fixed rock anchor hardware on climbing routes across the Central Wasatch, as part of the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance’s ongoing work to steward climbing access in the Wasatch. SLCA uses a combination of professional trail crews and volunteers to perform the maintenance.
- New this year, support for Salt Lake Climbers Alliance’s Alpenbock documentary film which will delve into the history of legendary Wasatch climbers, celebrating the climbing legacy in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and the enduring spirit of the Alpenbock Club amid contemporary preservation challenges.
- For the third consecutive year, support for Cottonwood Canyons Foundation’s Tri-Canyon Trail Deferred Maintenance and Invasive Weed Control Project, which provides for extensive trail maintenance work across the Cottonwood Canyons. During its 2023 Tri-Canyon Trail Deferred Maintenance and Invasive Weed Control Project, CCF maintained 60 miles of trail, installed 2,275 feet of new trail, installed 200 feet of rock wall, surveyed 220.25 miles of trail for weed control, removing a total of 11,331 pounds of invasive weeds, and planted 1,492 native wildflowers for restoration.
- In an effort to offset winter canyon traffic, the CWC is continuing its partnership with Wasatch Backcountry Alliance to provide a free Saturday backcountry ski shuttle in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons. This will be the third consecutive year the CWC will partially fund this transit initiative.
- For the third consecutive year, partial support of Save Our Canyons’ Wilderness Stewardship Project through the organization’s Conservation Program. Through this project and with CWC funding, Save Our Canyons removes illegal campfire rings, hosts trash cleanups and invasive weed pull days, conducts watershed education, and continues fuel management practices including burning, thinning, pruning, chipping across the Central Wasatch.
- The Central Wasatch Commission awarded Trails Utah two grants to support the extension of the Pipeline Trail, and the maintenance of the White Pine Trail bridge.
- For the fourth consecutive year, the CWC will support Utah Open Lands’ Transit to Trails Shuttle program, which provides a direct public transit option from the Park City Old Town area to the following trailheads along SR-224 and Guardsman Pass Road: Mid-Mountain Trailhead, Bonanza Flat Trailhead, and Bloods Lake Trailhead. New in 2024, this program will expand to shuttle recreationists from the Wasatch Front, picking up in Sandy City and Cottonwood Heights to shuttle to popular trailheads in the Wasatch Back, further reducing traffic in Parley’s Canyon and Guardsman Pass Road. Transit to Trails runs all summer until the first snowfall in October.
- New this year, Utah Open Lands was awarded funding to support the construction of an accessible trail at Bonanza Flat.
- The CWC continues to support the year-round abatement of graffiti tags across the Central Wasatch in partnership with the Wasatch Graffiti Busters.
“The Central Wasatch Commission is please to create new and build upon existing partnerships with organizations working to steward recreational access, sustain the ecosystems, and protect the watershed that originate in the Central Wasatch,” said Jeff Silvestrini, Chair of the Central Wasatch Commission, and Millcreek Mayor. “These projects signify the ongoing commitment of the CWC and the broader community to the preservation of the Central Wasatch Mountain Range. We are especially pleased to fund two project proposals from the newly created Central Wasatch Commission Youth Council.”
All fourteen of these projects will take place in 2024 and 2025, and will address tenets laid out in Mountain Accord including recreational stewardship, environmental and watershed protection. Partnering with nonprofit organizations, and other governmental entities on these projects will allow the CWC the opportunity to engage diverse stakeholders throughout the Central Wasatch and will help see these projects to completion.
Co-Chair of the Central Wasatch Commission Youth Council, Crystal Chen said, “The Youth Council is thrilled to be able to construct and stock a new community gear library this summer. With funding from the Board of Commissioners, we will be able to offer camping, backpacking, and other outdoor gear rentals free of charge to the community.” The Youth Council is an opportunity for people between the ages 16 – 30 to engage directly with the Central Wasatch Commission on issues in the Central Wasatch Mountains. For more information, or to join the Youth Council, visit cwc.utah.gov.
For the sixth Short-Term Projects Grant cycle, the Central Wasatch Commission will begin accepting project ideas in January 2025.