JUAB COUNTY, Utah, May 7, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The BLM Fillmore Field Office plans to reopen the Little Sahara Recreation Area on Wednesday following updates to COVID-19-related restrictions.
“The BLM will implement social distancing and dispersed camping restrictions when we rescind the emergency closure order,” said a news release Thursday. “Until the BLM rescinds the order, the recreation area remains closed.”
The BLM closed the recreation area on March 26, after working with state and local governments to address public health concerns related to COVID-19, the news release said. This closure was consistent with the state Public Health Order issued by the Utah Department of Health.
“The BLM is collaborating with state and local governments to plan and implement the reopening of Little Sahara Recreation Area,” the news release said. “Recommended restrictions will be posted to this web page in the coming days. On busy weekends in the spring, LSRA may receive up to 30,000 visitors, large camping groups, heavy use of public facilities, and significant employee-public contact. During the weekend of March 20-22, the LSRA received approximately 15,000 visitors.”
The BLM will extend Little Sahara Recreation Area season passes by two months. For example, a season pass that originally expired February 2021 will now expire April 2021.
The recreation area consists of 60,000 acres of sagebrush flats, hills, and free moving sand dunes located in Juab County. LSRA typically records 300,000 visitors annually.
