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HERRIMAN — Salt Lake County's southwest bench is quickly becoming the county's newest outdoor recreation draw.
Fresh off acquiring 94 acres of land in Butterfield Canyon last week, Salt Lake County officials announced Tuesday they have reached an agreement with Rio Tinto Kennecott to lease an additional 17 acres of land near the canyon. All 111 acres will go toward outdoor recreation in various ways.
"We are moving quickly and deliberately with many partners to make hiking, biking and other recreation on our west bench trails a reality," Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said in a statement after the latest land agreement.
Salt Lake County previously received 1,681 acres of land in 2007 in an effort to preserve both Rose and Yellow Fork canyons, located just south of Butterfield Canyon. The county's 2022 budget includes $2.5 million in base budget land acquisition funds, aimed to support Salt Lake County's Parks and Recreation master plan.
The run of new public land in the area actually began in January, when the county traded the Salt Lake County Equestrian Center in South Jordan to Utah State University in exchange for 50 acres in Herriman given to the university by the Bastian Family Foundation. The land transfer opened up new land for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders in Butterfield Canyon.
Then, on March 22, county officials announced it had acquired 94 more acres of open space in Butterfield Canyon. With that and the USU deal, the county had amassed enough for about 2,500 acres of "new open space" that aims to support a trail system in southwest Salt Lake County.
"We've been saving and preserving land. And with this funding and property acquisition, we will now have improved public access to this incredible natural space," county parks and recreation director Martin Jensen said in a statement last week. "These trails will be open to multiple users and will enhance access to area the county has preserved for the past 15 years."
The run continued on Tuesday, as the Salt Lake County Council approved a lease agreement with Rio Tinto Kennecott for 17 acres of land in southwest Salt Lake County. While the mining company still owns the land, the parks and recreation department will assume stewardship of the land.
Rio Tinto managing director Gaby Poirier said the company hopes the addition of land available for recreation provides for enhanced community experience.
"Our hope is for more people to safely enjoy the outdoors and to appreciate them as much as we do," he said.
The agreement, with support from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, also allows for the county to build 12 miles of new trails in areas previously off-limits to the public. These trails will be a network of multi-use trails that improve access to Butterfield, Rose, Yellow Fork canyons.
"The collaborative efforts, a first of its kind for outdoor recreation, will provide residents and guests an enhanced outdoor experience in the southwest region of the county," Wilson said.
The county has been focusing on new recreation opportunities in it's southwest corner, where most of the county's new growth is happening. Herriman's population doubled between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, from 21,785 residents to 55,144, according to data.
The communities of Bluffdale, Herriman, South Jordan, Riverton and West Jordan, which are closest to the southwest benches, collectively gained close to 90,000 residents over the same span of time. That's more than half of the county's entire growth between censuses. West Jordan also became the state's third-largest city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Maps of current Salt Lake County trails, including some of the southwest benches, can be found here.
