Daggett County pins economic hopes on wilderness land swap

(Courtesy Karen Perry) Daggett County Commission Chair Karen Perry and her husband, Boyd, moved to the county after falling in love with the area. Perry and the rest of the commission have submitted proposals to Rep. Rob Bishop and his Public Lands Initiative legislation they hope will generate more tourism in the county.

Manila Karen Perry knows firsthand the power of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

The landscape, people and outdoor lifestyle pulled her family back again and again until they finally bought a trailer and parked it on property near Manila.

Now a county commissioner, Perry and others believe if they can just get people to visit their spot in the rugged and remote northeastern corner of Utah, theyll come back.

The Daggett County commissioners are hoping Congressman Rob Bishops Public Lands Initiative will help them put that tourism and economic development strategy into play.

In trade for designating additional wilderness lands in the High Uintas, county leaders hope to build additional resorts along the reservoir and a ski hill on the horizon.

"Our businesses have not been doing quite so well as they did in the 70s and 80s," Perry said. "We are trying to garner new interests and other activities that will bring more people to our beautiful county."

The idea of another ski area in Daggett County population 1,059 in the 2010 Census may raise eyebrows along the Wasatch Front, but its the kind of bucket list item Utah counties are floating as part of Bishops far-reaching legislative push. Daggett County is one of the first to put its plan on paper.

The Public Lands Initiative, also backed by Utah congressmen Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart, has been pitched as a way to "bring resolution to some of the most challenging land disputes in the state of Utah," according to a staff report. Bishop, the report says, is hoping to prove that conservation and economic development can coexist in Utah.

Proposals in Daggett County include designating wilderness, swapping land between federal and state agencies to allow commercial development and securing designation for the Green River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

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Daggett County pins economic hopes on wilderness land swap