Updated 3/6/25
Good news, your advocacy is working!
In the second half of the 2025 Utah Legislative Session, we asked Save Our Canyons members to contact elected officials about two bills that would have been bad news for the Wasatch. Together, we sent nearly 3,000 messages to Senators and Representatives voicing our concerns, and it worked! Thanks to your advocacy, Senate Bill 337 was never brought to a floor vote, and Senate Bill 316 was substituted to remove the most concerning section.
SB 337 - Land Use and Development Amendments
Senate Bill 337 would have established the “Beehive Development Authority”. Among other duties, this quasi-governmental entity would have funneled taxpayer dollars into major development projects with little community involvement or oversight.
The Community Impact Projects established by the authority would have been initiated and led by developers, offering limited opportunities for genuine community input—despite the inclusion of the word “community” in the name. Our primary concern is that this would have created a pot of taxpayer money that ski resorts and gravel pit operators could have used for private development here in the Wasatch. Along with many other groups concerned about this power grab, we were successful in stalling the momentum of this bill to prevent it from passing this legislative session.
Though the bill has no feasible way of moving forward, we will continue tracking it along with other bills to ensure there is no funny business. Read more on SB 337’s demise in this Salt Lake Tribune article.
SB 316 - Military Installation Development Authority and Other Development Zone Amendments
Senate Bill 316 is the annual clean-up bill for the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). In addition to funding defense developments in the state, MIDA is responsible for funding ski resort expansion in the Wasatch to the tune of several hundred-million dollars.
To learn more, read these Salt Lake Tribune articles about MIDA-funded developments at both Sundance and Deer Valley. We are very concerned about the misuse of MIDA bonds to facilitate resort expansion in the Wasatch, but our primary concern with this bill was a provision allowing MIDA to act as the lead agency in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
This would have allowed this quasi-governmental authority to assume the role of a state agency in Environmental Impact Statements and Assessments in sensitive ecosystems. After over 2,000 messages to elected officials, the sponsor of this bill removed that provision in the third substitute, which was adopted. Save Our Canyons is still very critical of the misuse of MIDA funds for ski resort developments, and will continue to oppose any expansion of this authority until our concerns are addressed.
What's next?
We are never shocked to see bad bills surface in the final week of the Utah Legislative Session—it’s a tactic we’ve come to expect. Rushed, last-minute proposals like these are designed to limit public scrutiny and fast-track developments that would otherwise face serious opposition. Though we dodged a few bullets this session, there is still plenty of work to be done to limit the amount of taxpayer dollars subsidizing private development in the Wasatch. We will continue to watch these efforts vigorously, and keep you updated with any ways you can help preserve the beauty and wildness of the Wasatch.
Yours for the Wasatch,
Save Our Canyons Team
