The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate the environmental effects of the BLM proposal to make improvements to the Calf Creek Recreation Area. The recreation area is located along Highway 12 between Escalante and Boulder, Utah, in Garfield County on lands administered by the GSENM. The project area is approximately 20 acres, includes the Calf Creek Campground and Day Use Area, as well as the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trailhead. This developed portion of the Calf Creek Recreation Area is the most visited site on GSENM. The EA includes two action alternatives for consideration that include the following improvements: increasing parking and camping capacity, moving the day use area and constructing new shade shelters, repairing the suspension bridge, replacing the low-water crossing with open-bottom box culverts, replacing the toilets, improving access to the water play area, and installing tent pads in all campsites.
BLM has released the EA for a 35-day public comment period ending on February 1, 2017. The EA describes the affected environment and discusses potential impacts from the project on the human environment. Issues and concerns expressed by the public and government agencies during the public scoping period for this EA have been considered in the analysis.
Construction that could begin as early as fall 2017, and the recreation area could be closed to the public for overnight and day use activities, including hiking the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail, potentially for several weeks at a time when the ground is not frozen during fall and winter months (September through March) to prevent impacts to migratory birds and the hummingbird monitoring study. When it is possible for the public to safely access the site during construction, it would be allowed.
