BLM Issues Recreation and Public Purposes Lease for Uintah County Recreation Park

Contact: Karen Bloom (435) 781-4423

BLM's Jerry Kenczka, Bill Stringer, Selma Sierra and Uintah County's Mike McKee, Darlene Burns, Heather Hoyt

Commissioner Mike McKee signing the patent with Commissioner Darlene Burns looking on

Vernal, Utah—October 6, 2008—Bureau of Land Management granted a patent this week to Uintah County for the Buckskin Hills Motor Sports Park, located on 1,238 acres of public land.  Developed to provide a place close to town for riding, racing, and enjoying all types of motorized vehicles, the motor park is located about five miles east of Vernal, Utah, off  the Diamond Mountain Road near Sunshine Bench.  The Motor Park helps alleviate impacts on sensitive resources located on public lands around the county by providing a challenging course in one location. 

The facility will be owned and operated by Uintah County.  This is the second partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and Uintah County.  The first--the Buckskin Hills Shooting Range--was patented to the County in September, 2005, and is located north of the Motor Sports Park on 1,079 acres. 

County Commissioner Michael J. McKee said of the partnership, “The opportunity provided to the County by the Bureau of Land Management is almost unprecedented.  Thanks to the Bureau, the County has been able to create this phenomenal complex.  The County thanks the Bureau for its community spirit, and looks forward to years of working together to create a better Uintah County.” 

Bill Stringer, BLM Green River District Manager states, "The motor sports park is an excellent example of governments and community coming together to solve problems and provide recreational opportunities to a broad segment of the public. With increasing concerns over the growth in OHV use and the impacts to federal, state, and private lands, it's not effective to just try to regulate the problem away. The motor sports park provides a place for riders to go, designed for their use, and which provides a key piece for developing and managing an integrated trails system."

The park features a stock car oval, the Diamond Mountain Speedway, a moto cross track, an OHV Baja course, an OHV trailhead, OHV safety and training area, mud bogs, free ride area, along with three campgrounds, offering full hook-ups, for a total of 112 camp sites.  There are concessions at the larger venues and picnic and parking areas throughout the park.

Future development visions include a large, fenced Family Fun Park with picnic pavilions, barbeque pits, a pee wee dirt bike track, go cart track, BMX bike track, remote control car and plane area, along with a large playground.  The County is in the process of clearing an area for a future drag strip and may offer a permanent course for those who love rock crawling.