Summit County announced late Dec. 15 it was the new owner of the 834-acre Ure Ranch, a purchase that had been pending for almost three years.
The stated goal of the purchase has been to conserve the property, situated at the entrance to Kamas on state Route 248 and the headwaters of the Weber River, forever.
“The Ure Ranch is big enough to give the Kamas Valley a fighting chance to remain rooted in agriculture,” Summit Land Conservancy CEO Cheryl Fox said. “Preserving it protects the long-term livelihood of local producers, by creating synergies with other agricultural landscapes.”
The county says the land is home to animals like elk and mule deer, plus migratory waterbirds such as Sandhill cranes. The Ure family homesteaded there in the late 1800s. Since then, it’s also supported cattle and dairy.
The county has pledged much of the land on both sides of state Route 248 will remain a working farm. It says it may sell or lease the north and south meadows to accomplish that goal.
The county is working with the nonprofit Summit Land Conservancy to put conservation easements on the property, prior to any sale. One such easement, which bans nearly all development, already went on the meadows north of the road last month.
Summit County Council Chair Tonja Hanson thanked the Ure family and the various government agencies and staff who've worked on the deal.
”I lived directly across the street from this property for 28 years. My fear was that someday I would wake up and see nothing but rooftops across the beautiful Kamas Valley,” she said. ”With a conservation easement on this property that will never happen.”
Part of the property south of the road has also been earmarked for hiking, biking and equestrian trails.
From a funding perspective, the Ure Ranch is one big jigsaw puzzle. The county acquired portions of the ranch with different money, which will affect future use.
Of the roughly $25 million purchase price, $7 million came from a 2021 voter-approved open space bond. The county also says $10 million came from its transient room tax, a sales tax on hotel rooms and vacation homes, and $210,000 came from transportation sales taxes.
Half a million dollars came from the Utah Outdoor Recreation Initiative, $6.2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $2.5 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“It has been an honor to work alongside the Ure family throughout this conservation journey,” Summit County Director of Lands and Natural Resources Jess Kirby said. “Their decision to choose conservation over development is a profound gift to both the land and the community.”
Summit County made its initial down payment to begin the purchase price in the spring of 2023.
Closing the deal took longer than expected, partly because it involved federal funds and the federal government temporarily shut down in 2025. County staff were able to extend the closing date by one year.
Summit County and the Summit Land Conservancy are financial supporters of KPCW.
