Bill seeking Hole in Rock state park goes to governor

The Utah House gave final passage Monday to a bill pursuing creation of a new state park on federal land around Hole in the Rock, a famous cleft in a cliff over the Colorado River that was traversed amid danger by early Mormon pioneers.

Representatives voted 73-1 to adopt Senate-passed amendment to HB63. It now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature or veto.

Its sponsor, Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, has said Mormon heritage groups would like to expand trekking operations there, but such efforts are thwarted by federal land agencies' 12-person limits on group sizes and a lack of camping and staging facilities.

Leasing federal land to create a new state park could solve those problems, he said, and his bill would allow state officials to pursue the possibility with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.

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