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Organizations, agencies, and entities involved in cooperative
& creative solutions for State Trust Lands within Castle Valley Castle Valley River Ranchos was once a large ranch, which sold in the early '70s to a developer from California. The land was divided into 448 5-acre lots. In 1985, members of the Property Owners Association incorporated the town of Castle Valley, primarily to stop the drilling of an oil well at the valley entrance. The Town Mayor and 4-person Town Council handle valley business and represent residents with Grand County and other governmental agencies.
Castle Valley River Ranchos Property Owners Association (CVRR POA) --
The POA was established by the original developers when the land was platted in 1973, and it was the primary funding vehicle before the town formed in 1985. Fifty percent of CV property owners live out of town, 25% out of state. The POA's role is to inform and represent all owners. Major decisions, including election of Board of Directors, are made at October Annual Meetings.
School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) --
The current mission of SITLA is to raise one billion dollars by 2007 for the beneficiaries of the Trust. With the Castle Valley planning project, SITLA has embarked on a new direction of community involvement in the disposition of their lands. Due to concern over sale of state-owned lands in Castle Valley, there is a moratorium on further sales until the planning process is complete. Though SITLA has objectives to dispose of its lands, it has agreed to do this in a way that makes local purchase an option. If agreements which benefit all sides can be made, SITLA will have demonstrated a willingness to work with communities that wish to direct their own growth.
Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy is the world's leading private, international conservation group. We preserve plants, animals and natural habitats by saving the lands and waters they need to survive.
Our results-oriented, nonconfrontational approach allows us to forge partnerships with landowners, corporations, and governments. And our commitment to working with local people gives us an on-the-ground presence in communities around the world.
Grand Canyon Trust is a regional conservation organization founded to protect and restore the canyon country of the Colorado Plateau -- its spectacular landscapes, flowing rivers, clean air, diversity of plants and animals, and areas of beauty and solitude. Our vision is of a region where generations of people and all of nature can thrive in harmony. To be enduring, conservation must be engaged at a landscape level and must have the goal of long-term ecological health across a broad region. Consequently, our landscape conservation strategy addresses root causes, systemic problems and major forces affecting the integrity of the natural system.
State and Federal Land Management Agencies -- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR); US Bureau of Land Management (BLM); US Forest Service (USFS):
These agencies agree on the importance of Castle Valley as critical winter range for the La Sal Mountain deer herd. Present size of herd is approximately 6,000, with area wildlife management objectives of 15,000 (1950's herd). About 1,000 now winter in Castle Valley. Though hunting was once of major economic value, it is now insignificant compared to other recreational pursuits. Other shared concerns are relationship of cattle and deer range, impact of new development on upper watersheds, increase in visitation and traffic.
Land trades may be possible with a number of hurdles: difficulty in determining lands of equal value for trade and extended time necessary to accomplish trades.
UGS is the source of our digitized maps, the foundation of our geographic research. UGS is conducting the Castle Valley hydrology study and has given grant assistance for this study.