2020 was a very interesting year, ending with the preservation of Bridal Veil Falls.

Initiated by the executive leadership of Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon, Commissioner Nathan Ivie, and Commissioner Tanner Ainge put what had been a private process initiated by Commissioner Bill Lee and a local developer front and center for the public input.

The largest county commission meeting ever took place with hundreds of participants on zoom speaking out in support of placing Bridal Veil Falls into a Conservation Easement.

Utah County IT Department did beyond an amazing job directing comments and moving the public comments forward. Utah County Attorney Office worked diligently with Wendy Fisher and Utah Open Lands to establish a Conservation Easement in Perpetuity.

On December 9th, 2020 by unanimous vote by the Commissioners the easement was put into play. On December 30th, by consent the easement was effectuated and will be overseen by Open Utah Lands.

Some of the press articles which brought the public up to speed played an important role in getting the word out. Utah County Attorney David Leavitt and Robert Moore and other staff members in a matter of days had ironed out the details preserving this iconic waterfall working with Utah Open Lands.

County TRCC funds have been allocated to add simple amenities, restrooms or other to be decided at a later date.

It would be fitting for there to be a working group which in my view should be chaired by Commissioner Tanner Ainge, involve a member of Utah County Sheriff Department, UDOT, the Forest Service, local Mayors and interested leaders from 501c3 entities to help chart the future for the waterfall. Local control saved the waterfall and should help determine its destiny.

We believe placement of this into a State Monument would be last choice as then it would end up being more heavily visited and lose its natural state. Mother Nature has been a good steward and now with more localized control and being off the possible sales sheet, we must collectively look towards preservation of the North County Equestrian Center, for preservation of the foothills in our county, and to find other open spaces that should be protected for future generations.

Collectively we should work with local governments to reduce small lot sizes and congestion, there are other counties who could benefit from the growth if we spread the love around. We can help design our county destiny, please lend your voice to the choir.
One voice can make a difference, get involved in local government meetings, it can make a difference, it has in American Fork Canyon, now Bridal Veil Falls, but Utah Lake and the North County Equestrian Center need attention and expertise to restore what has been taken for granted. Utah Lake should be Utah Counties #1 asset for clean water, yet, is perhaps #1 liability with the toxic algae blooms. 

Mark Allen
Founder Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon
http://americanforkcanyon.com/
email americanforkcanyon  at gmail
Founder and Executive Director American Fork Canyon Alliance 501c(3)

News Articles

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/11/30/fate-bridal-veil-falls/