July 16, 2024 |
Photo – Snowy Range and Battle Pass Scenic Byways – Courtesy Discover Carbon County, Wyoming
Discover Carbon County is working to create a scenic byway management plan for the Snowy Range and Battle Pass byways.
Carbon County Visitor’s Council Chief Executive Officer Leslie Jefferson said she would like to open our area’s two scenic byways up for federal recognition. To do so, Jefferson said an updated corridor management plan is required for Highways 130 and 70. The existing plans are either far out of date or missing, said Jefferson.
A corridor management plan is a multi-year strategy to address how byway resources will be protected over time.
Typically, the National Forest Service updates the corridor management plan every ten years. Jefferson said the Carbon County Visitor’s Council hired Wanda Maloney, owner of Corridor Solutions, to create a new plan for both the Snowy Range and Battle Pass byways. Jefferson said Maloney was responsible for obtaining federal recognition for the Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway.
Jefferson said the Snowy Range and Battle Pass are currently only recognized as scenic byways by the state of Wyoming. Having an up-to-date corridor management plan will help Carbon County obtain additional funding for maintenance and improvements to the seasonal roads.
Jefferson is asking property and business owners near either byway to take a ten-question survey to collect information and gauge public support for the creation of a corridor management plan. The Visitor’s Council CEO said the survey contains questions about a variety of potential projects that could be instituted if federal recognition is obtained.
Time is of the essence. While it will be online until the end of the month, Jefferson is asking the public to take the survey today. That way, Jefferson said, the results can be discussed during tomorrow’s corridor management plan steering committee meeting.
A link to the corridor management plan survey will be included with this story when it is posted to the Bigfoot99 website later today.
Jefferson said the federal government only considers national scenic byways and all-American road designations every few years. Having a completed and up-to-date corridor management plan will allow Carbon County to quickly apply for federal recognition when the time comes.
