Dutch John, Utah – A key parcel of land on the Green River opposite the popular Little Hole camping and launch site has been spared from a developer’s blade.
The Utah Department of Wildlife Resources last Thursday purchased the 358-acre site at public auction for $1.625 million, ensuring it will remain open to public access.
This purchase ended a months-long debate over a proposed lodge construction on Utah School Trust Land that included a prime shoreline stretch often used by anglers. The property also was valued as winter range for deer and elk.
The original proponent – Flint Timber, a Georgia-based development company, and the local Spinnerfall Guide Service – failed to bid on the property, leaving the wildlife agency to compete with another private entity in oral bidding.
A broad-based consortium that included Trout Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and rank-and-file anglers opposed the lodge project, with ramifications that echoed all the way to Utah’s statehouse.
