Press Release
The Carbon County Office of Tourism received funding from the Utah State Parks OHV Fiscal Incentive Grant (FIG) to track OHV traffic in Nine Mile Canyon.
Tina Henrie, Carbon County Tourism Specialist, learned about the grant opportunity by participating in the program’s BIG RIDE event in 2020. Carbon County was chosen to host the event in 2020, which gave Henrie the opportunity to network with not only the state partners but with OHV Club members from around the state.
Nine Mile Canyon has seen an increase in visitors since the COVID outbreak. Since there was not a tracking system in place to monitor traffic going in and out of the canyon, the county was unable to show the increase. Having accurate visitor information on the county’s current trails in Nine Mile Canyon, Dry Canyon and Cottonwood Canyon is important for new trail development, trail maintenance and other tourism enhancements that would be needed to make the visitor experience more enjoyable.
The Office of Tourism worked closely with the local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office to get additional information about the trail counters, including how they work and how to collect data. Henrie presented the idea of applying for FIG to Carbon County Commissioner Casey Hopes and he was in support of the project.
The BLM assisted the county road department with the installation of the trail counters as well. The BLM was very helpful with the project and offered their “in kind” services as part of the grant process. They agreed to assist the county in collecting the data as well as to train the tourism staff to be able to access the reports. A test data collection was done on May 19 to ensure the counters were working correctly and reports showed a significant amount of traffic in just a two-week span.
Jaydon Mead, Outdoor Recreation Planner for the BLM Price Field Office, commented on the project, “The BLM always encourages communities to have a better understanding of how many people are visiting destinations such as Nine Mile Canyon.” Mead continued, “We are also thankful for our growing partnership with Carbon County and look forward to continuing working together to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities and experiences in our area.”
Commissioner Hopes also shared his thoughts on the project, “We have recently spent a fair amount of time and energy enhancing the visitor experience and this project will help us track our efforts as well as plan for future projects.” Hopes continued, “We are grateful for our partnership with the BLM and State Parks and their willingness to assist us with our plans to make Nine Mile Canyon more accessible and to highlight it as a destination.”
According to their website, the State OHV Fiscal Incentive Grant is a quarterly grant. It is open to city, county and federal agencies as well as non-profit organizations. The grant provides assistance to sustain, enhance and improve upon motorized recreation within Utah. The Quarterly FIG currently has no limit, but proposals tend to range from $20-$100k. Each applicant must offer matching funds, and projects that offer more match (such as 50% of the total project cost) will be more competitive. For more information about the grant and eligible projects, please visit www.stateparks.utah.gove/resources/grants/quarteryly-fig
