This website was started in June 2019 to share information about planning efforts in Mill Creek Canyon in Moab. It will be updated and changed as community meetings happen and there is more information to provide. Thanks for checking in!
Collaborators
The collaborative group is working with a RTCA facilitator to develop recommendations for community-supported short- and long-term strategies to manage the impacts of recreational use in Mill Creek. Some of the issues this group is working on include identifying collaborative strategies and resources to handle recreational use increases; improving access for emergency services or search and rescue; mitigating traffic congestion in nearby neighborhoods; and protecting the sensitive riparian environment and archeological sites.
The Mill Creek Community Collaborative is a group dedicated to working together to draft recommendations for creative and lasting management solutions. Each collaborator has its own guidelines it must follow. Opinions expressed by collaborators may differ from the recommendations generated through the collaborative process.
Stakeholders were identified and contacted in May 2019. Most have been involved in meetings and workshops since then, and a few have been added as time has passed:
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The City of Moab
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Mayor
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Moab City Police
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Bureau of Land Management- Moab Field Office
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Sand Flats Recreation Area
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Grand Conservation district
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Grand County
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Grand County Council
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Grand County Travel Council
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Grand County Sheriff's Office
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Grand County Search and Rescue
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Grand County Emergency Medical Services
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Grand County Water and Sewer
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Grand County Active Transport and Trails (formerly Trail Mix)
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Community and Economic Development Director
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School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration
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South East Utah Health Department
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Moab Area Watershed Partnership
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Moab Valley Fire District
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Mill Creek Village HoA
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Moab Solutions
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Rim to Rim Restoration
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Ride with Respect
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Utah Department of Wildlife Resources
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United States Forest Service
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Red Rock Four Wheelers
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Moab Irrigation Company
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Landowners adjacent to the Powerdam area
The Collaborative is identifying other user groups and interested entities to ensure that all voices are heard. Moab residents are encouraged to participate by taking the survey and participating in meetings through this summer and fall.
Collaboration Timeline
2016 & 2017
Meetings and discussions about congestion, public safety and neighborhood impacts at Powerhouse Lane with City, County, BLM LEO, BLM Recreation, Mayor, County Council members
Spring 2018
New City Mayors call Mill Creek Brainstorming meetings. Second meeting in June resulted in Rim to Rim Restoration being asked to submit RTCA application for the group
June 2018
Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) application submitted by Rim to Rim Restoration
October 2018
NPS RTCA grant awarded to group. Betsy Byrne assigned to be project facilitator. First RCTA led meeting Oct 21, where the group began identifying stakeholders and creating a work plan
November 2018
November 29th 2018 RTCA field tour of Powerhouse lane and Powerdam with stakeholders identified challenges and opportunities
December 2018
Gathered input from stakeholders through a email survey and phone calls. 47 groups, agencies or individuals were contacted
January 2019
First full stakeholder meeting to determine focus and objectives. Work groups addressed short-term concerns like: pedestrian signage, road signage , social media & outreach , and collaborative management.
February 2019
February 27th, Vision and Goals meeting. Road Signage Group worked with Moab City to install new signs on Powerhouse Lane to address traffic congestion in Spring 2019 season.
March 2019
March 20th meeting, vision and goals reviewed. Road Signage and Collaborative Working Group met in March
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May 2019
Working groups meeting. Public input survey developed and tested by Collaborative Management Working Group
May 2019
Collaborative Management Group meet. Public input survey out by last week of May
November Site Meeting, Photo by Kara Dohrenwend RRR
A few days after Thanksgiving in 2018 MCCC members toured Powerdam area. Meeting attendees included Sheriff White, Mayor Niehaus, Council member Mary McGann, Betsy Byrne (NPS Rivers,Trails & Conservation Assistance project faciliator), neighborhood residents, Moab Solutions, Grand Co Trail Mix, BLM representatives, City representatives, Sand Flats director and Rim to Rim Restoration staff
November Site Meeting, Photo by Kara Dohrenwend RRR
Signs like this one were developed by the group
MCCC Meeting, Photo by Kara Dohrenwend, Rim to Rim Restoration
June & July 2019
Public Outreach to encourage survey use and gathering responses
August & September 2019
Survey results compiled and used to evaluate goals set by stakeholders
October - December 2019
Stakeholder meetings focused on defining zones of use in the canyon, and generating options for management recommendations
January 2020
Stakeholder meeting to generate management options for high use access point, Powerdam. Maps drawn from them in February
March 20, 2020
Last in person stakeholder meeting to review options and discuss next steps. Meetings in 2020 were paused due to Covid.
June 10, 2020
Stakeholder meetings resumed remotely in June after visitor numbers around Memorial Day skyrocketed. The stakeholders met several times via Zoom and agreed a sub group would develop materials to present via the internet to gather community input
June 22 - August 6, 2020
Subgroup met several times to go over information from the group assembled by Betsy Byrne from NPS and Kara Dohrenwend of Rim to Rim as well as an online survey to collect community feedback.
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Breakout sessions in January 2020 that generated the 3 management options. A fourth was developed at the March 2020 meeting by the group to capture concepts missing.
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January Meeting, Photo by Betsy Byrne, NPS RTCA
January Meeting, Photo by Betsy Byrne, NPS RTCA
January Meeting, Photo by Betsy Byrne, NPS RTCA