Little Sahara holds ribbon-cutting ceremony for helicopter pads


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LITTLE SAHARA — Many people enjoy camping and having outdoor fun at Little Sahara, and the Bureau of Land Management now has another way to help people when they get hurt.

Little Sahara is packed with people and motorized vehicles this time of year. Roughly 25,000 people were having a great time on Easter weekend.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect,” Joel Chorniak, a Payson resident, said. “I’ve been out here when it’s crowded, but nothing like this. I mean, this is amazing."

Some people make it a yearly tradition.

“Easter, for the Ashbys, is Sand Mountain,” Lynn Ashby said.

The Ashby family has been going to Sand Mountain since 1968. They say one of the biggest differences they’ve seen is how much safer it has become.

“We used to circle our trailers just like the pioneers,” Ashby said. “We circled our wagons and protected our camp from everyone else.”

More safety is something the Bureau of Land Management has been working on.

“Our numbers of crime have really dropped over the years, and our safety has increased,” Lisa Reid of the Bureau of Land Management said. “That’s something we’re really proud of.”

Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony showed just how far they’ve come. New concrete helicopter pads allow people who get seriously hurt to get to hospitals faster.

“Accidents are going to happen,” Reid said. “That’s one thing we try to prepare for.”


Our numbers of crime have really dropped over the years, and our safety has increased. That's something we're really proud of.

–Lisa Reid, Bureau of Land Management


There are more patrols, medical sites, and rangers. The Bureau of Land Management even has a sandbulance — a dune buggy it can use to get to where it needs to go in a hurry.

Ken Poulsen of the Bureau of Land Management remembers when it took a lot of time to get to injured riders.

“There is no place out here we can’t access now,” Poulsen said.

Now that extra time can be spent on educating riders before they get hurt.

“Have fun,” Poulsen said. “We understand that’s what you came out here for — to have fun. But please just keep safety in mind.”

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