August Letter from the CWC
During each monthly public meeting, the CWC Executive Director delivers a staff report to the Commission on all that CWC staff accomplished or made progress with during the preceding month. Please see below for the August report. By sharing these reports with you through the website, we hope to continue the tradition of transparency and engagement
August Overview
In August, the Central Wasatch Commission staff released the 8/19/19 discussion draft of the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act, made progress with the Environmental Dashboard, met with its Stakeholders Council, and continued interaction and communication with Central Wasatch Mountain interests, community groups, and individuals. Action was taken to hire an office manager for the Central Wasatch Commission. It is anticipated that the hiring process will continue and a candidate will be offered the position in the month of September.
Stakeholders Council
During the August Stakeholders Council meeting, stakeholders moved to create a Visitor Capacity committee. The first meeting of the Visitor Capacity Committee took place on Wednesday, August 28th at the Metropolitan Water District in Cottonwood Heights. The committee meetings are open to the public, and will take place at 4:00 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of the month at Metro Water. More information about these meetings on the CWC website. Stakeholder Brian Hutchinson updated the Stakeholders Council on the progress of the Millcreek Canyon Shuttle subcommittee.
The Stakeholders Council meetings are the third Wednesday of every month from 3-5 p.m. at Cottonwood Heights City Hall in the Community Room. These meetings are open to the public, and we encourage you to attend. If you would like to listen to these meetings, you may access the each meeting recording on the Utah Public Notice website, or the live-stream on the CWC website.
CWNCRA
The Central Wasatch Commission issued a new draft of the Congressional/federal legislative proposal to implement Mountain Accord and open a 30-day comment period. This 8/19/19 version of the bill and its accompanying guide and maps are available for public review and comment until 9/19/19. There are four documents to review: a Guide to the 8/19/19 Draft CWNCRA Legislation. This describes the changes since the last public review draft, including a narrative description and a section-by-section table of changes. The 8/19/19 Public Discussion Draft of the CWNCRA. The draft bill. The 8/19/19 Draft Proposed Central Wasatch Conservation and Recreation Area Map. Intended to be read in conjunction with the Guide and the Discussion Draft of the Bill. The 8/19/19 Draft Proposed CWNCRA Land Exchanges Map. The proposed land exchanges are under continual review and modification by the Forest Service and ski areas and do not reflect final land exchange proposals.
The public comment period is open now until 9/19/19. You may submit comments through the CWC website, by emailing comments@cwc.utah.gov by mailing a comment to the address below, or by attending a comment forum. The details for the forums are:
CWC September Public Meeting and Comment Forum
When: Monday, September 9th, 3:00 — 6:00 p.m.
Where: Cottonwood Heights City Hall, 2277 Bengal Blvd. Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
When: Tuesday, September 10th, 6:00 — 8:00 p.m.
Where: Park City High School Cafeteria, 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060
CWC September Stakeholders Council Meeting and Comment Forum
When: Wednesday, September 18th, 3:00 — 5:00 p.m.
Where: Cottonwood Heights City Hall, 2277 Bengal Blvd. Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
Postmark your written comments by 9/19/19 to:
Central Wasatch Commission
41 N. Rio Grande Street
Suite 102
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Environmental Dashboard
After the University of Utah and the Central Wasatch Commission both signed the interlocal agreement directing work on the Environmental Dashboard project, Jim Ehleringer assembled a team of biologists to assist his work bringing the environmental indicators that provide the framework for the dashboard — soil, water, air, plants and wildlife, and ecosystems to completion. In August, Mary Pendergast, a wildlife biologist from the Wild Utah Project, joined Phoebe McNeally from the DIGIT Lab and Susan Bush from Ehleringer lab. Throughout the month of August, a meeting schedule for the project team was installed and meetings with the project technical experts were set up to take place in September. Phase 1 of the project is projected to finish in November/December 2019. Phase 2 will begin after the start of 2020. The project team is on time and on budget.
Outreach
CWC staff conducted grassroots outreach during the month of August with the public and community members at the Patagonia Outlet in Salt Lake City and at the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance Festival. Grassroots outreach efforts will continue into the month of September with Recycle Utah in Park City and the Utah Avalanche Center. CWC staff have partnered with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation to co-host a trail-maintenance work day for National Public Lands Day on September 21st. For details about that trail maintenance work day, and to sign up to volunteer, visit cwc.utah.gov.
Administration
CWC staff took steps to hire an office manager and a Utah-based government affairs consultant. It is expected that those roles will be filled during September. The Central Wasatch Commission continued grassroots outreach efforts at community events, including the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance Festival in August, with outreach efforts continuing into September with Recycle Utah and the Utah Avalanche Center. Additional GRAMA requests have been responded to, public comments have been recorded and responses prepared, and administrative costs have been carefully monitored. CWC’s annual audit was completed in the month of August and a briefing of the audit will be presented to the Commission at September’s meeting. Steps have been taken to secure contracts for both Federal and local governmental affairs and consulting with Ron Dean and Casey Hill.
CWC staff will deliver this report to the full Commission during the September public meeting, happening Monday, September 9th, 3:00 — 6:00 p.m. at Cottonwood Heights City Hall. We hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Chris, Ralph, Blake, Lindsey, and Carly
