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Show Chapter 5 Recommendations The public will be notified in advance of the permit regulations. The notification would also reach groups that are known to regularly use the back country. These groups include churches, scouts, and schools. Salt Lake City and the Forest Service are in favor of limiting use around the lake basins. People enjoy camping next to water for aesthetic and utility reasons. Unfortunately, water quality impacts occur unless strict precautions are followed by each back country user. Note: The permit system will also provide additional information on canyon uses to help provide a more complete picture for assessing water quality impacts. • Recommendation: Consider the feasibility of fee or information stations at the mouths of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons for future management improvements. Implementation: Begin exploring this option after the fee demonstration project has been evaluated by Congress. Evaluate the need for State statutory authority. Explanation: Fee or information stations represent an effective method of managing visitor use and addressing resource degradation. The Forest Service is presently testing the fee station concept throughout the National Forest system. For example, the Mirror Lake Highway and American Fork Canyon are two locations in Utah that are hosting the fee demonstration project. If in the future the fee station concept is found to be feasible, the Forest Service will need another agency to sponsor the project. The Millcreek Canyon fee station program coordinated between the Forest Service and Salt Lake County has been viewed as a success. Prior to the fee station, Millcreek Canyon was experiencing a large amount of vandalism and resource degradation. The fee station has provided a higher level of visitor management along with a new stream of funding. This funding is used for improving the facilities in Millcreek Canyon. The Forest Service and Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities feel that seasonally operated fee stations in Page 66 |