State lawmaker wants to take over BLM-managed Little Sahara

A proposed bill for the 2015 Legislature would transfer control of the popular Little Sahara Recreation Area currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management to Utah State Parks. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, is sponsoring the "Little Sahara State Park Designation" bill and says the the idea first came to him when one of his constituents asked why the annual Utah State Parks pass didn’t work at the federal recreation area. "In general, the Bureau of Land Management is not in the business of operating specific parks, which is what Little Sahara really is," Eliason said. "The state is in the business of operating parks and manages off-highway vehicles across the state, including at Little Sahara already. It seems like it might be a better fit as a state park." Eliason’s idea is just one of several suggested expansions of Utah’s system of state parks. State Park managers are focused on a proposal to expand Goblin Valley State Park onto surrounding BLM lands in Emery County. And Congressman Rob Bishop has encouraged county and state leaders to create "wish lists" of federal lands they might take over as part of his Public Lands Initiative — tentatively slated to go before Congress early next year...more