The Summit County Council took public comment on recreation plans for the 910 Ranch in June.
For Leslie Miller, the former property owner’s personal partner, it was a chance to voice a wide range of concerns. She criticized several things, including “staff’s decision to shoot a struggling bull elk at nightfall” last year.
After the June 24 hearing, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office says county leaders met and decided law enforcement should look into the circumstances surrounding some of Miller’s allegations.
Sheriff's spokesperson Skyler Talbot says the leaders who convened included the Sheriff Kacey Bates, County Manager Shayne Scott and Jess Kirby, the county’s top public lands staffer.
Deputies' inquiry into what led to the elk's death took less than a week and closed without any charges.
But the events surrounding what the sheriff's office says was euthanasia point to a rift between county leaders and some who enjoyed access to the 910 Ranch while it was still private property.
Ongoing debate about human impact
Summit County purchased its 8,600 acres for $55 million in January. The ranch north of the Jeremy Ranch neighborhood is still closed to the general public until Kirby and her staff finalize management policies.
Those policies will require Summit County to balance wildlife protection and human use, the main spot of local contention.
Miller has criticized the county’s land management publicly before. She and others who previously had privileged access to the 910 have strong feelings about what’s best for it under public ownership.
That includes future county leadership. Attorney Christie Babalis, the unopposed council District 4 nominee, was one of the people who found the elk Miller referenced.
Babalis confirmed she was hiking on the 910 Ranch with three others Aug. 31, 2025. At that time, Summit County was leasing the ranchland prior to purchasing it.
The hikers had found an elk stuck in a muddy spring and called people who worked on the ranch for help. The sheriff’s office says members of the group tried to remove the elk from the mud. Babalis said she only saw the elk, never touched it.
Wildlife is property of the state of Utah, so it can be a crime to touch or disturb wildlife without notifying state officials.
After reviewing those events 10 months later, Talbot said the sheriff's office and Utah Department of Natural Resources both decided not to close the case and not pursue criminal investigations.
Injured elk in dispute
That evening in August, Kirby encountered Babalis and other hikers leaving on East Canyon Road. Both sides later described the interaction as “heated.”
A recording of the exchange shows Babalis asked Kirby why she “didn’t do anything” about the elk when Kirby had also seen it that afternoon.
“I did do what I was supposed to do. I reported it to my warden, who then reported it to the [DNR Division of Wildlife Resources],” Kirby told KPCW. “It is not my job, nor is it any citizen's job, to save wildlife. It is the job of [state wildlife officials] to do that. It was rutting season, and they get gored. I hate to say it, but I mean, I said it to Christie that night: You cannot save them all. This is nature, and this is how they do it.”
Later that night, three shots rang out across the 910 Ranch.
DNR law enforcement spokesperson Chase Pili told KPCW the agency asked the county’s open space warden to put down the elk since it could not stand and may have been suffering.
County and DNR records show the elk had sustained chest trauma and a puncture wound.
Investigators found no injuries consistent with poaching. They believe the elk was injured during the rut, or mating season, when male elk often lock antlers.
Although Babalis and Miller may disagree with the decision to kill the elk, that’s just one part of their broader concern with the 910 Ranch’s trajectory under county ownership.
“I'd like to see it as a wildlife preserve, but that's me and a whole bunch of other people. That's just my opinion,” Babalis said. “I'd rather see it as a wildlife preserve than as a property that has paid parking for 240 cars and trails all up and down the water.”
Some degree of public access will be required as a condition of the federal grant that helped fund the purchase. Trails wouldn’t open until next spring at the earliest, and residents, staff and county councilmembers have all agreed it’s best not to rush.
Summit County and the David W. Bernolfo Memorial Foundation are financial supporters of KPCW.
