What are some of our AFCA accomplishments?
How do your generous contributions, purchases, donations help us
do our work in American Fork Canyon.
Together our efforts have helped to protect the pristine places in Upper American Fork Canyon. Our landlease program has afforded the general public land “ownership” and the associated benefits that other private landowners enjoy in the canyon, including access protection.
In 2016 we began the challenging task of surveying a small parcel of ground at 10,000′ elevation, which straddles the ridge between Mary Ellen Gulch and Mineral Basin. This small parcel of ground we purchased for the purpose of protecting road access and recreational access on Miller Hill. Our team of surveyors, Kevin Bishop from Oak Hills Surveying and Fmr. Surveyor General of the U.S., Fran Eickbush, worked many days.
One of the tasks was to find prior surveying history, including identifying tree blazes (notches on trees), old monument markers, rock piles, U.S.G.S surveyor markers.
Once reference points were established they were able to determine the exact location of the AFCA property and survey markers were placed appropriately.
In the early fall of 2017, and in honor of the Max Evans family, our AFCA volunteers helped to transport a 300# engraved stone monument to the top of Miller Hill.
The efforts and teamwork required to cement this in place was humbling and rewarding. This monument is a testament to the Evans family and the respect they have for this beautiful area, and our commitment and stewardship to protect it.
In the late fall of 2017, our group sponsored the location of a ham radio repeater to assist in backcountry communication and safety.Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club (UVARC) will maintain the repeater.Our volunteers also assisted UVARC in installing solar panels to power the AFCA repeater.
The monument is looking good. The wildflowers are coming up and efforts continuing protecting this beautiful way still underway. Mark Allen shown below sits on a committee with the Forest Service at the request of the Forest ranger, along with Mayors, County Commissioners, County Sheriff, UDOT and the Superintendent of Timpanogos National Monument. Collectively we are working to adjust to the growth issues plaguing our canyons. Those who are part of clubs, whether it be the Backcountry Horsemen, Motorized clubs or other, are generally noted to be the solutions to the canyon, those who are rouge need to be better informed of what this jewel is, some seem to take for granted and abuse.
The repeater will assist communications not only in American Fork Canyon, but also the back of Mt. Timpanogos, the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team (TERT), Utah County Search and Rescue, as well as the hundreds of local ham radio operators. The repeater operates on 448.225 Mhz, and uses the standard offset and 100hz tone.
Additionally AFCA assisted in brokering an agreement between Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club (UVARC) and Sundance Ski Resort for the restoration of a repeater at Sundance 145.25Mhz / 100 hz tone. The Sundance repeater will in summer of 2018 be connected to the internet as well as linked to some Utah County repeaters, affording communication from the backside of AF Canyon, Mt. Timpanogos to the listening ears of ham radio operators in Utah County and Heber Valley.
Click on these links to learn more about UVARC or TERT .
We have enjoyed our association with trusted local elected officials and the Forest Service in promoting historic recreational activities in healthy ways. We look forward to working together in coming months and years.
in Early Spring 2018, we obtained our 501c3 Tax Exempt Status from IRS. We appreciate the efforts of the attorneys at Kirton McConkie who donated their services.
2018 – We have been told that the Chief BLM Cadastral Surveyor and his team, the Utah County Surveyor and their Cadastral Mapper will accurately map AF Canyon, define private landownership and get that on the maps. AF Canyon has in the past had private lands assessed by what is known as Central Assessing of the State Tax Commission. But in 1989, the State Tax Commission told each county to assess- therefore record and map private lands that were not being actively mined-whose purposes had changed from mining to something else.
Utah County and SL County seem to have not followed that policy, and have for decades piggybacked on Central Assessing to do the job of Utah County and SL County. As a result, the canyon private property has not been accurately mapped and is absent most if not all maps. The private citizen has no idea if he is on public lands or private lands.
Our AFCA project has cast sunshine on these policies which have not been followed. Its time for Utah County to follow policy of Central Assessing, to record, survey, map all private lands in AF Canyon. Once this is done, hunting conflicts will be minimized as the resort has posted no hunting signs all over Miller Hill, yet est. 2000 acres of land on Miller Hill is public land. Even the Forest Service personnel have no idea of the lands they manage as there are no accurate maps.
Update April 2020
Govern or Gary Herbert signed into law HB0297 making Yurts legal in remote locations. Here is a link for that. It is our belief that Snowbird Ski Resort will have the opportunity to place yurts in Upper MEG and do helicopter skiing, snowcat and human powered skiing and allowing a rustic overnight experience for their guests in yurts at high elevation under a canopy of stars, something other resorts will not have and if support is broad, that the already approved ski resort expansion could potentially be curbed, given Yurts become financially viable. For sure, placing yurts in Mary Ellen Gulch is less intrusive but more so, unique, and the custom nature of the experience provides Snowbird a win-win opportunity if they embrace it while protecting MEG from blasting, lift towers and other intrusive resort accommodations. So, please support Yurts in Utah, its a win-win-win. Consider camping in a yurt under a canopy of stars with your family in one modestly priced via our activities at AFCA.org. There is more to come, please contribute and know that your support affords us opportunity to pay out non-profit related debts and keep our efforts moving forward. The yurt bill passed the senate 29 to 0 and 99 out of 104 legislators. Those who voted no, didn’t understand that we have had yurts in our state parks that have been bypassing state laws, our bill, simply made them legal under certain circumstances. They can’t be permanent residences, can’t be located in areas zoned for houses, and its pack it in, pack it out. Headlamps and clean up after you are done, leave things better than you found them. This is the present trajectory.
May 2020 Utah County Attorney David Leavitt suggested in a townhall to Mark Allen that if AFCA would get together with one of his attorneys and the recorders office, perhaps they can sort out getting the AFCA land a parcel.tax I.D. That is a starting point, but beyond that, the BLM has provided a data set to Utah County Surveyor who could prep the files and give to the County Recorder who could plat them with notation they need on the ground surveys for accuracy, but this is best guess and then that data would move up to the state and be sold to companies like Onyx who have mapping software for GPS uses, this fashion would help identify where the public lands are in AF Canyon so the public is not mislead by no-trespass signs. As of this writing, there is new management at Snowbird and AFCA is hopeful and has good reason to believe that with the new management, win-win agreements can take place to benefit the public with Snowbird being supportive of such.
More details to follow.
EPA ordered clean up, still needs a schedule.
More news can be found at AmericanForkCanyon.com
Now selling 2020 landleases
To learn more https://kutv.com/news/local/local-non-profit-leases-land-to-preserve-american-fork-canyon
To purchase a landlease here is a link www.americanforkcanyonalliance.org/store
