The Summit County Council is accepting public comment on the 910 Cattle Ranch recreation plan at its June 24 meeting.
It’s just one part of the overall resource management plan that will guide how county staff takes care of the 8,600-acre property purchased in 2025.
The ranchland north of Jeremy Ranch cost $55 million, $40 million of which came from a U.S. Forest Service grant. The federal agency’s grant guidelines state that “public access is expected in deed acquisitions.”
According to Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby, Summit County told USFS there would be some public access in its grant application. But the county is still in charge of how much or how little.
During the most recent discussion of the recreation plan, Councilmember Roger Armstrong and his colleagues stressed access will be limited.
“I hope that the community understands that this is largely a conservation acquisition, not a recreational acquisition,” he said at the council’s May 20 meeting. “So, the notion of having hundreds of miles of trails for mountain biking and unlimited hiking and dogs roaming free, that's not what this is.”
The plan right now is to divide the ranch into three areas with escalating restrictions on public use. There would be no more than 240 parking spaces along East Canyon Road.
Councilmember Chris Robinson has compared the most restricted parts of the ranch — 53% of the property — to the Swaner Preserve.
MORE 910 RANCH: Grazing the 910 Cattle Ranch will change under county ownership
“It's restricted, and it's scheduled: it's not any day of the week I can just go out there and tromp around on the nature preserve at Swaner,” Robinson told KPCW after the council discussion in May.
Councilmembers are meeting at the Sheldon Richins Building and on Zoom Wednesday, June 24. The 910 recreation public hearing starts around 5:30 p.m.
The council is not expected to vote on the recreation plan or resource management plan as a whole. Staff are accepting councilmembers' and public input before they finalize the terms of the plan.
The 910 is still closed to the public until further notice. East Canyon Road is open for vehicles and pedestrians.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
